Martha Washington: An American Life

With this revelatory and painstakingly researched book, Martha Washington, the invisible woman of American history, at last gets the biography she deserves. In place of the domestic frump of popular imagination, Patricia Brady resurrects the wealthy, attractive, and vivacious young widow who captivated the youthful George Washington. Here are the able landowner, the indomitable patriot (who faithfully joined her husband each winter at Valley Forge), and the shrewd diplomat and emotional mainstay. And even as it brings Martha Washington into sharper and more accurate focus, this sterling life sheds light on her marriage, her society, and the precedents she established for future First Ladies.

Patricia Brady has a Ph.D. in history from Tulane University and served for twenty years as director of publications at the Historic New Orleans Collection. Her previous books include George Washington's Beautiful Nell. She is the recipient of a Mellon fellowship.

One: Little Patsy Dandridge

Two: Courtship

Three: Young Mrs. Custis

Four: The Widow Custis and Colonel Washington

Five: Gentry Life at Mount Vernon

Six: Lady Washington and the American Revolution

Seven: Valley Forge and Eventual Victory

Eight: Mount Vernon and a New Family

Nine: The President's Lady

Ten: The Torments of the Second Term

Eleven: "Under Their Vine and Under Their Fig Tree"

Twelve: The Widow Washington

Epilogue: The Real Martha Washington

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index