Dear George, Dear Mary

February 1, 2019
Long before the Revolutionary War?1756, to be precise?young George Washington is making a name for himself as a military leader in New York. He has no money or education, nothing but ambition and his good name, which he tends carefully. Broadcast journalist Calvi's first novel draws on public and personal documents to provide details not only on Washington's battles with the French and Indians and his skirmishes with his British superiors but also on his own high standards. To that end, a match with Mary Philipse, an heiress a few years older than him, seems perfect. He proposes; she accepts. But when George can't get leave, Mary's battle with depression resurfaces and makes her act in unpredictable ways. Calvi's portrait of Washington as an earnest young man striving for success but beleaguered on every front is convincing and, in a way, endearing. It is also a fascinating and unique look at pre-Revolutionary War society, with its misunderstandings and simmering resentments, and notable for the author's use of contemporaneous documents.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2018

A nine-time Emmy Award-winning journalist at WCBS-TV and the First Lady of Yonkers, NY, Calvi always wondered about the beautiful manor house in her hometown. That led her to the story of New York heiress Mary Philipse, the richest woman in Colonial America and George Washington's first love. Calvi reimagined their story after poring over letters, witness accounts, and journal entries.

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