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thecaptainsquarters 's review for:
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
by Annette Gordon-Reed
Ahoy there mateys! This was another fantastic audiobook. This is the story of the Hemings family from their 1700s beginnings in Virginia to what happened to them when Jefferson died in 1826. Sally Hemings was Jefferson’s mistress. She was first mentioned in a newspaper in 1802. And yet, the Hemingses were systematically erased out of history because of the problems that arose with the glorious Thomas Jefferson having fathered children with her.
I actually remember readin’ a book for young adults back in the day where it hinted that Jefferson had a young mixed daughter who passed for white and escaped Monticello. I had visited Monticello and had fallen in love with the history and architecture and mystique of the place. And yet the Hemings were not mentioned in this tour at all. It wasn’t until much later in 1998 when DNA evidence linked Jefferson’s male line to the Hemings male line that I first heard the name of Sally Hemings. After that I always wanted to know more. So when I saw that this book had come out and that the focus was on the Hemingses as people in their own right and on their family as a whole, I knew I had to read it.
It is a very powerful and frustrating portrayal. Sally Hemings was 14 and Jefferson was 44 when their relationship likely started in France. She was free under French law but chose to come back to the US with Jefferson. This book goes through the generations of Hemings and how the relationship with the Jeffersons began. In addition, it paints a stark and alarming picture of race relations in the United States and how convoluted and insane it has been since the beginning.
In fact, one of the highlights of this book was the insight into the changes in Southern law, and Virginia in particular concerning slavery. The author is a black professor of law at New York Law School. She knows her stuff. I found the law discussing riveting. It is full of contradictions that show how ridiculous the viewpoints on slavery were and how self-serving white men were. This book makes it clear that for all of his brilliance, Jefferson was actually narrow-minded and selfish and ran Monticello like a king in his little fiefdom. Seriously, this book should be required reading for all Americans.
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
I actually remember readin’ a book for young adults back in the day where it hinted that Jefferson had a young mixed daughter who passed for white and escaped Monticello. I had visited Monticello and had fallen in love with the history and architecture and mystique of the place. And yet the Hemings were not mentioned in this tour at all. It wasn’t until much later in 1998 when DNA evidence linked Jefferson’s male line to the Hemings male line that I first heard the name of Sally Hemings. After that I always wanted to know more. So when I saw that this book had come out and that the focus was on the Hemingses as people in their own right and on their family as a whole, I knew I had to read it.
It is a very powerful and frustrating portrayal. Sally Hemings was 14 and Jefferson was 44 when their relationship likely started in France. She was free under French law but chose to come back to the US with Jefferson. This book goes through the generations of Hemings and how the relationship with the Jeffersons began. In addition, it paints a stark and alarming picture of race relations in the United States and how convoluted and insane it has been since the beginning.
In fact, one of the highlights of this book was the insight into the changes in Southern law, and Virginia in particular concerning slavery. The author is a black professor of law at New York Law School. She knows her stuff. I found the law discussing riveting. It is full of contradictions that show how ridiculous the viewpoints on slavery were and how self-serving white men were. This book makes it clear that for all of his brilliance, Jefferson was actually narrow-minded and selfish and ran Monticello like a king in his little fiefdom. Seriously, this book should be required reading for all Americans.
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/