Synopses & Reviews
Although Martha Washington has been the subject of several popular biographies, her writings, scattered into private hands, archives, and repositories, have never before been collected and published. This book attempts to publish all the known Martha Washington papers from every possible source. Most of her correspondence relates to key periods in her life--her first widowhood, the Revolutionary War, Washington's presidency, and the period after his death. Widowed at the age of twenty-six, her early correspondence was to settle and manage the affairs of her husband's estate, documenting well both legal and commercial affairs. During the revolutionary era, her letters, to friends, family, and acquaintances, are especially revealing for references to military affairs. The largest portion of the letters, written to friends and relatives during the presidential years, shed light on the Washingtons' life at Mount Vernon, New York, and Philadephia. This book will be valuable to scholars of the Washington era and will interest all who are curious about Martha Washington.
Review
Fields provides thorough annotation, readable genealogical narratives, and an excellent overview of the documents and their history....by collecting and editing these scattered documents, Fields has performed an important service.The Journal of Southern History
Review
Among the fascinations of Fields's book are the estate inventories and wills, exhaustive annotations, an excellent bibliography by former Mount Vernon librarian Ellen McCallister Clark and five sometimes scandalous appendices. The invaluable result is well worth the 40 years of work by Fields.Washington Post
Synopsis
"Brought together for the first time in one volume, these letters to and by Martha Washington remind readers that in the midst of revolutionary turmoil and nation-building, the everyday concerns and processes of life go on....For every public and academic library with a good Colonial collection." Choice
About the Author
JOSEPH E. FIELDS is a retired obstetrician and gynecologist, living in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is a long time manuscript collector and was the founding president of The Manuscript Society.
Table of Contents
The Young Widow Custis, 1757-59
Young Mrs. Washington, 1759-1774
The Revolutionary Period, 1775-1783
Return to Mount Vernon: The Period of Peace, 1784-1789
The Presidential Era, 1789-1797
Under Our Own Vine and Fig Tree, 1797-1799
Alas, Alone: Widow Washington, 1799-1802
Appendixes
The Marriage of Martha Dandridge and Daniel Parke Custis
The Marriage of Martha Dandridge Custis and George Washington
Preservation and Destruction
The Spurious Letter to Martha Washington
George Washington's "Love Letter" to Martha Dandridge Custis
Bibliography
Index