Gordonreeds book chronicles the hemings family from the mid1700s, when an english sea captain fathered a child by an enslaved woman. The captain, whose surname was hemings, and the woman had a daughter. Much anticipated, this book promises to be the most important history of an american slave family ever written. Ron wynn writes for the nashville city paper and other publications. The author took the opportunity provided by jeffersons fame and recordkeeping to profile a slave family, the hemingses, because accounts about the lives of slaves in early america are few and far between. An american family by by annette gordon reed this the hemingses of monticello. Annette gordonreeds collective biography of the hemingses of monticello is an epic tale capturing on the head of a pin, as it were the enormous tragedy that was american slavery, the staggering complexity of the human heart, the sometimes brutal. The book recounts the extended history of three generations of the hemingses and the relationship between thomas jefferson and them that. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
The book is an exhaustive study of sally hemings and her role in. Hemingses of monticello pdf an american family by annette gordonreed w. The hemingses of monticello an american family by annette gordonreed illustrated. As the title suggests, the hemingses of monticello. Review of the hemingses of monticello by annette gordonreed posted on 11032017 by rhapsodyinbooks the first thing to understand about this book is that it is not just a story about thomas jefferson and sally hemings, nor is it in fact focused on jefferson, although he naturally plays a large role in this history. The hemmings of monticello by carignan see profile 010611 it is time that history is written giving out the facts, what really happened rather than what our government wants us to know. It came into a world that midwived it with difficulty and was ill disposed to bless its growth or trust in its possibilities. The hemingses of monticello sets the familys compelling saga against the backdrop of revolutionary america, paris on the eve of its own revolution, 1790s philadelphia, and plantation life at monticello. The book succeeds on this score by showing how generations of hemingses labored at monticello. Gordonreed has now turned her attention to an even more ambitious project. Wayles was the father of thomas jeffersons wife, martha. Oct 09, 2008 like monticello, which was erected, redesigned on an ever grander scale, and rebuilt by fits and starts, the jeffersonian ideal had no easy birth.
The hemingses of monticello is annette gordonreeds riveting history of the hemings family, whose story comes to life in this researched and moving work. Oct 04, 2008 the hemingses of monticello an american family by annette gordonreed illustrated. Gordonreed unearths startling new information about the hemingses, jefferson, and his white family. Now, author and historian annette gordonreed seeks to fill in these historical gaps in her new book, the hemingses of monticello. Only in an earlier aside do we learn that madison hemingss sons fought in the union army during the civil war. Winner of the national book award and the pulitzer prize. Book descriptionthis epic work tells the story of the hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from american. It offers a stunning illustration of the tragedy that slavery could wreak. Rather than analyze the issue through the lens of jefferson. Historian and legal scholar gordonreed presents this epic work that tells the story of the hemingses, an american slave family and their close blood ties to thomas jefferson. Jun 01, 2011 interestingly, gordonreeds judgment of jefferson changes, sometimes dramatically, over the life of the book, from jefferson as a relatively and reasonably good master to one driven by his selfish determination to be happy, satisfied, and live lavishly at the expense of both the hemingses and his white family. The one historian willing to assert that this relationship likely did exist, annette gordonreed, made her claims in the book, thomas jefferson and sally hemings. Pdf monticello a daughter and her father a novel download. An american family by annette gordonreed in chm, djvu, txt download e book.
The hemingses of monticello has been nominated for the 2008 national book award in nonfiction. The hemingses of monticello by annette gordonreed, a historian and law professor, is a doorstop corrective to early american history, painting a composite portrait of a family that stood at the wellspring of the jefferson, slave sally hemings, their children and kin fascinate and surprise. Sometime around 1800, an anonymous american artist produced an arresting. Given the absence of diaries, letters, paintings, or direct accounts from the subjects in the book that would provide direct evidence for such a project, this was a very tricky task.
Although gordonreed displays great erudition, the book avoids the academic imperative to theorize in abstruse terms about many of its concerns. Oct 05, 2008 the hemingses of monticello ends at this point. An american family brings an entire family out of the historic shadows that have been cast across jeffersons famous virginia home. Although the book presents the most detailed and richly drawn portrait ever written of sarah hemings, better known by her nickname sally, who bore seven children by jefferson over the course of their thirtyeightyear liaison, the hemingses of monticello tells more than the story of her life with jefferson and their children. The hemingses of monticello quotes by annette gordonreed. The hemingses of monticello explores a thorny but important chapter in american history with distinction and clarity, offering a poignant, if also often ugly, chronicle of slavery, secrecy and family tension. Interestingly, gordonreeds judgment of jefferson changes, sometimes dramatically, over the life of the book, from jefferson as a relatively and reasonably good master to one driven by his selfish determination to be happy, satisfied, and live lavishly at.
Same with this book, in the past it seemed that books i read gave you a choice, believe jefferson fathered hemmings children and b this was a great book. The hemmings of monticello by carignan see profile 121010. The hemingses of monticello bring a sandwich, because this one takes all day. Join the leading website for book clubs with over 35,000 clubs and 20,000 reading guides. This epic work tells the story of the hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from american history until very recently. This book is not just about thomas jefferson and sally hemings, but much, much more. Although the book presents the most detailed and richly drawn portrait ever written of sarah hemings, better known by her nickname sally, who bore seven children by jefferson over the course of their thirtyeightyear liaison, the hemingses of monticello tells more. Review of the hemingses of monticello by annette gordon. Jill lepore, the new yorker, the hemingses of monticello. An american family by annette gordon reed available from rakuten kobo. So begins this epic worknamed a best book of the year. The hemingses of monticello is an academic historians book, meticulously documented, with a wide range of reference to previous studies of thomas jeffersons domestic circle. Reeds book deals with thomas jefferson and the sin of slavery which, inandofitself, is nothing new.
At first i was nervous about how she was going to get 600 pages of material from so few written records without having to go deep into speculation, but she does it by knowing an incredible amount about slavery and its time and using her knowledge to give as much information about the context the. Jeffersons monticello finally gives sally hemings her. Unearthing sally hemings legacy at monticello visitors have long come to monticello. Winner of the 2009 pulitzer prize for historical biography. Jan 27, 2018 extra resources for the hemingses of monticello. The hemingses of monticello annette gordonreed pdf an. Archived from the original on dec 08, kimberly rated it it was ok shelves. Read free book excerpt from the hemingses of monticello by annette gordonreed, page 3 of 7. In the hemingses of monticello, a work based on prodigious research in the voluminous jefferson papers and other sources, she traces the experiences of this slave family over three generations. An american family, and answers questions at monticellos jefferson library. It recounts the history of four generations of the africanamerican hemings family, from their african and virginia origins until the 1826 death of thomas jefferson, their master and the father of sally hemings children. She details numerous family members who preceded the better known sally hemings, who had a thirtyeight year relationship with thomas jefferson and bore seven of his children. The work of historian annette gordonreed, including her pulitzer prizewinning 2008 book the hemingses of monticello.
Gordonreed profiles the lineage of the hemings family. Like monticello, which was erected, redesigned on an ever grander scale, and rebuilt by fits and starts, the jeffersonian ideal had no easy birth. Heavy handed and overly long, annette gordonreeds pulitzer prize winning, the hemingses of monticello, is a chore to read which is probably why it won the pulitzer prize in the first place. The hemingses of monticello sets the backdrop of revolutionary america, paris on the eve of its own revolution, 1790s philadelphia, and plantation life at monticello. Elizabeth hemings, the mother of sally, had six children by john wayles. Annette gordonreed talks about her new book, the hemingses of monticello. In the hemingses of monticello, gordonreed goes much further than her previous book in fully imagining the world in which jefferson interacted with his slaves. In the mid1700s the english captain of a trading ship that made runs between england and the virginia colony fathered a child by an enslaved woman living near williamsburg. The hemingses of monticello quotes showing 117 of 17 laws are sometimes put on the books not for purposes of strict enforcement but as statements about the communitys values. As long as he lived, he endeavored to keep the hemingses together and in a somewhat privileged position visavis other slaves at monticello. Following her pulitzer prizewinning the hemingses of monticello. Oct 11, 2019 fifty years later these things would have made no difference at all.
An american family, annette gordonreed, a professor of both law new york law school and history rutgers, doesnt waste time trying to. This is a very ambitious attempt to reconstruct the world of the hemingses who lived at monticello with thomas jefferson. The hemingses of monticello meet your next favorite book. Download winner of the national book award and the pulitzer prize. Pdf the hemingses of monticello download full pdf book. As many as 70 members of the hemings family lived in slavery at monticello over five generations. The hemingses of monticello, part 1 annette gordonreed talks about her new book, the hemingses of monticello. An american family, has helped move the larger public to consensus on. It recounts the history of four generations of the africanamerican hemings family, from their african and virginia origins until the 1826 death of thomas jefferson, their master and the father of sally hemings children it is based on gordonreeds study of legal records, diaries, farm. Sep 22, 2008 now, author and historian annette gordonreed seeks to fill in these historical gaps in her new book, the hemingses of monticello.