{"product_id":"the-intimate-lives-of-the-founding-fathers-isbn-9780061139123","title":"The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers","description":"In \u003cem\u003eThe Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers \u003c\/em\u003efrom Smithsonian Books, historian Thomas Fleming, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Perils of Peace\u003c\/em\u003e, offers a fresh look at the critical role of women in the lives of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison. Fleming nimbly takes readers through a great deal of early American history, as our founding fathers struggle to reconcile the private and public–and often deal with a media every bit as gossip-seeking and inflammatory as ours today. | \u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eA compelling, intimate look at the founders—George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison—and the women who played essential roles in their lives\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith his usual storytelling flair and unparalleled research, Tom Fleming examines the women who were at the center of the lives of the founding fathers. From hot-tempered Mary Ball Washington to promiscuous Rachel Lavien Hamilton, the founding fathers' mothers powerfully shaped their sons' visions of domestic life. But lovers and wives played more critical roles as friends and often partners in fame. We learn of the youthful Washington's tortured love for the coquettish Sarah Fairfax, wife of his close friend; of Franklin's two \"wives,\" one in London and one in Philadelphia; of Adams's long absences, which required a lonely, deeply unhappy Abigail to keep home and family together for years on end; of Hamilton's adulterous betrayal of his wife and then their reconciliation; of how the brilliant Madison was jilted by a flirtatious fifteen-year-old and went on to marry the effervescent Dolley, who helped make this shy man into a popular president. Jefferson's controversial relationship to Sally Hemings is also examined, with a different vision of where his heart lay.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFleming nimbly takes us through a great deal of early American history, as his founding fathers strove to reconcile the private and public, often beset by a media every bit as gossip seeking and inflammatory as ours today. He offers a powerful look at the challenges women faced in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. While often brilliant and articulate, the wives of the founding fathers all struggled with the distractions and dangers of frequent childbearing and searing anxiety about infant mortality—Jefferson's wife, Martha, died from complications following labor, as did his daughter. All the more remarkable, then, that these women loomed so large in the lives of their husbands—and, in some cases, their country.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“No one understands the Revolutionary Era better. No one brings it to life with such amazing insight and intimacy.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn C. McManus, author of THE DEADLY BROTHERHOOD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A remarkable achievenment, brilliant in conception and illuminating in the way in which heroes and villains...walk off the page.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCharles Bracelen Flood, author of RISE AND FIGHT AGAIN, winner of the American Revolution Round Table Award\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thomas Fleming is one of our most interesting scholars of the Revolutionary period, and in his insightful latest work he does not disappoint. Focusing on the wives and women of the founding fathers, Intimate Lives is thoroughly fresh, frequently fun, at times touching, and always fascinating. A significant achievement.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJay Winik, author of The Great Upheaval and April 1865\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“With his ample gifts as a novelist and his brilliant historical reach, the esteemed Thomas Fleming never disappoints...A remarkable achievement-- and hard to put down.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBrenda Wineapple, author of WHITE HEAT: THE FRIENDSHIP OF EMILY DICKINSON AND THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tom Fleming is a rare combination - a fine historian and a fine writer. His assessment of George Washington’s relationships with Sally Fairfax and Martha Custis is right on target.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeter R. Henriques, author of REALISTIC VISIONARY: A PORTRAIT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is better than any history book you’ve ever read. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCurled Up with a Good Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smithsonian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888601854181,"sku":"NP9780061139123","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061139123.jpg?v=1730229421","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-intimate-lives-of-the-founding-fathers-isbn-9780061139123","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}