Monticello

September 15, 2016

How was it possible that the man most known for his famous defense of human rights, the Declaration of Independence, not only kept human beings as slaves but bought and sold them as well? Gunning's (Benjamin Franklin's Bastard) new historical novel is a brilliant exploration of what it meant to be a slave owner in antebellum Virginia where farming depended on slaves, and their presence in the household gave them an intimacy with family members that could be both comforting and threatening. This story of Thomas Jefferson's devoted daughter, the indomitable Martha Jefferson Randolph, helps us understand all the complexities and contradictions endured by Martha and her family as they struggle with their consciences and responsibilities toward their families, their plantations, and the people who work for them. Women especially will identify with Martha's conflicting loyalties and duties to her father, husband, children, servants, and country. Readers interested in Martha may also want to consult Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie's America's First Daughter. VERDICT Highly recommended as an engrossing tale of a strong woman in tumultuous times, with deftly interwoven historical details that make her trials all the more authentic.--Cynthia Johnson, formerly with Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2016
Monticello is one of a half-dozen residences of former American presidents that enjoy widespread name recognition, so how fitting it is that experienced historical-novelist Gunning (The Rebellion of Jane Clarke, 2011) titles her latest highly researched and gracefully presented novel with that beautiful name. The focus is on the Jefferson home in Virginia, in both a physical and emotional sense, as Gunning explores the close relationship between the third president and his eldest daughter. As the novel opens, Martha, though only 17, has acquired a foundation of sophistication while spending the past five years with her father while he completed his diplomatic mission to America's only ally, France. Through Martha's loving eyes, we observe Jefferson back home in Monticello as she begins to discern the true nature of his relationship with her aunt, the slave Sally Hemings. Gunning also dramatizes Martha's relationship with her distant cousin, Tom Randolph, whom she will eventually marry; the economic conditions of the neglected Monticello estate; and Martha's growing discomfort with slavery, themes that give Gunning's novel both muscle and drive.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)