A Being So Gentle

November 1, 2010

A scandalous marriage proves Old Hickory's political scourge and emotional rock in this uncomplicated, accessible biography of the Jacksons.

Rachel Donelson and her family were early settlers to the newly opened-up frontier of Tennessee, then Kentucky, purchasing a large tract of land near Harrodsburg. Her early marriage to Capt. Lewis Robards in 1785 swiftly turned sour. Rachel was "a girl of spirit," writes New Orleans–based historian Brady (Martha Washington: An American Life, 2005, etc.), and her new husband was jealous. A few years into her marriage, Rachel met Andrew Jackson, a fledgling lawyer from North Carolina who had gone West like many other brash, determined young men seeking their fortune. The couple eloped to Natchez, Miss., where they claimed to be married—yet Rachel was not yet divorced. This obfuscation would haunt Jackson's career, especially when he ran for president in 1824. However, it was by all accounts a sweet match, as Brady demonstrates through Jackson's ardent letters dispatched during his frequent absences from his wife. He moved from being attorney to attorney general, Tennessee state delegate, congressman, senator and governor of Florida, all while Rachel was largely left alone to run the house and farm. As Jackson's star rose in the military, Rachel remained childless, stout, Presbyterian and capable, fond of smoking her pipe and supervising their growing homestead near Nashville, christened the Hermitage, for the next 17 years. Despite his reputation for violence, dueling and Wild West expansionism, Jackson was a great favorite of the public, and while he narrowly lost the 1824 election to John Quincy Adams, he gained the White House four years later. Rachel, sadly, would not live long enough to attend his inauguration.

Brady's melodious account rarely digs beneath the official line in the lives of these two strong characters.

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January 1, 2011

Brady (former director of publications, Historic New Orleans; Martha Washington: An American Life) interweaves a tri-fold story: a loving romance, the history of the fledging United States, and a not-so-new tale of dirty politics. Rachel Donelson married, for a brief time, the jealous and abusive Lewis Robards. The confused circumstances of their divorce and Rachel's subsequent courtship with and marriage to Andrew Jackson would haunt Rachel and Andrew for the rest of their lives. Rachel had happily married Jackson, though he was not her social or economic equal. He won her heart with his charismatic presence and resolute personality. By the time their partnership led to the White House, he was a widower: Rachel died between his election and inauguration. Rachel Jackson emerges here as a gracious, kind, and remarkable woman whose life was shortened by the stress of the public bull's-eye with its unremitting attacks on her character. VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers; skill and scholarship for general readers are at their best here as Brady tells a remarkable story of an enduring and touching relationship.--Nancy Richey, Western Kentucky Univ. Lib., Bowling Green

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010
Brady, author of Martha Washington: An American Life (2005), turns her attention to a dyed-in-the-wool American love story. Trapped in a loveless and emotionally abusive marriage, spunky Rachel Donelson Robards nevertheless fell fast and hard for Andrew Jackson, the chivalrous backwoods lawyer who ambled to her rescue. In customary frontier fashion, Rachel eloped with Andrew without the benefit of a legal divorce decree. Though self-marriage and self-divorce were accepted western concepts and practices in the late eighteenth century, this bold decision would haunt the ambitious Jackson throughout the course of his lengthy and contentious political career. Still, the extraordinary love that bound these two soul mates together was enough to overcome all political and social obstacles. Brimming with warmth and pioneer spirit, this true-blue love story is an uplifting slice of Americana.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)