Dolley

A Novel

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Mass Market Paperback
$7.99 US
4.22"W x 6.76"H x 0.95"D   | 9 oz | 48 per carton
On sale Apr 01, 1995 | 432 Pages | 978-0-553-56949-0
She had the president’s ear and the nation’s heart.

She’s the wife of the fourth president of the United States; a spirited charmer who adores parties, the latest French fashions, and the tender, brilliant man who is her husband. But while many love her, few suspect how complex Dolley Madison really is.

Only in the pages of her diary—as imagined by novelist Rita Mae Brown—can Dolley fully reveal herself. And there we discover the real first lady—impulsive, courageous, and wise—as she faces her harshest trial: in 1814, the United States is once more at war with mighty Britain, and her beloved James is the most hated man in America.

From the White House receptions she gaily presides over to her wild escape from a Washington under siege, Dolley gives us a legend, made warmly human. For there has never been a first lady so tested—or one who came through the fire so brilliantly.
© Mark Homan
Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of the Sneaky Pie Brown series; the Sister Jane series; the Runnymede novels, including Six of One and Cakewalk; A Nose for Justice and Murder Unleashed; Rubyfruit Jungle; In Her Day; and many other books. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia, and is a Master of Foxhounds and the huntsman.
 
To inquire about booking Rita Mae Brown for a speaking engagement, please contact the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau at speakers@penguinrandomhouse.com. View titles by Rita Mae Brown
"Full-blown and vibrant."—Booklist

"[Dolley P. Madison] is revealed as an enchantingly imperfect First Ladyè. Eight years of research went into this book, and it shows. Brown's version of the day Dolley salvages the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washingtonè is a humdinger."—Chicago Tribune

About

She had the president’s ear and the nation’s heart.

She’s the wife of the fourth president of the United States; a spirited charmer who adores parties, the latest French fashions, and the tender, brilliant man who is her husband. But while many love her, few suspect how complex Dolley Madison really is.

Only in the pages of her diary—as imagined by novelist Rita Mae Brown—can Dolley fully reveal herself. And there we discover the real first lady—impulsive, courageous, and wise—as she faces her harshest trial: in 1814, the United States is once more at war with mighty Britain, and her beloved James is the most hated man in America.

From the White House receptions she gaily presides over to her wild escape from a Washington under siege, Dolley gives us a legend, made warmly human. For there has never been a first lady so tested—or one who came through the fire so brilliantly.

Creators

© Mark Homan
Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of the Sneaky Pie Brown series; the Sister Jane series; the Runnymede novels, including Six of One and Cakewalk; A Nose for Justice and Murder Unleashed; Rubyfruit Jungle; In Her Day; and many other books. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia, and is a Master of Foxhounds and the huntsman.
 
To inquire about booking Rita Mae Brown for a speaking engagement, please contact the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau at speakers@penguinrandomhouse.com. View titles by Rita Mae Brown

Praise

"Full-blown and vibrant."—Booklist

"[Dolley P. Madison] is revealed as an enchantingly imperfect First Ladyè. Eight years of research went into this book, and it shows. Brown's version of the day Dolley salvages the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washingtonè is a humdinger."—Chicago Tribune