Jefferson’s Daughters By Catherine Kerrison
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Genre: Biographical, Historical Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Adult
What is this book about? In the late 18th century, two out of six children Thomas Jefferson had with his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton, survived into adulthood. These two children were his daughters Martha Jefferson Randolph and Mary Jefferson Eppes. However, since the 1990s, the world has known for certain that Thomas Jefferson also fathered children with his slave, Sally Hemings. One of these children was also a daughter, Harriet Hemings. The lives of these women all varied greatly despite sharing a father and ostensibly living with him. With Martha’s mostly French-Catholic education, Mary’s formative years in Pennsylvania while her father was Secretary of State and Vice President, and Harriet’s favored-slave status as Sally’s daughter, these women had vastly different opportunities for education and advancement. This book not only describes the courses of their lives, it also delves into the late 18th century attitudes towards female education as well as the reality of slavery and the roots of systemic racism that shaped the lives of these three women.
My Review: I listened to the eaudiobook version of this title on Axis360 and found it a very interesting read. This book seems impressively researched and soberly forthright about 18th and 19th century race relations. A good portion of the book is spent on the eldest daughter Martha’s upbringing and life after marriage as she is the most well-known and well-documented of Jefferson’s daughters. Her European education gave her a significant advantage in life, even compared to other contemporary colonial women of European descent. Mary’s circumstances seem to have been filled with near-abandonment and loss that carved deep holes in her life that she was never able to fill. And despite being born a slave, Harriet may have been the one to have greatly exceeded expectations by leaving Monticello and recreating herself as a white woman. I would definitely recommend this book for those who have an interest in the status and predicament of women in the early years of the Unites States.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Interesting, Thought-Provoking, Diligent
Give This a Try if You Like…Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and Times by Cynthia Kierner, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed, and The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family by Bettye Kearse
Rating: 4/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
