The Papers of Martha Washington

"The Papers of Martha Washington is the first scholarly edition of Martha Washington's correspondence, spanning her entire life, from her youth as a wealthy but largely unknown Virginian plantation mistress through her ascent to becoming an American icon. Her family letters (including the four letters and brief postcript that comprise her surviving correspondence with George Washington) make up most of the volume, bringing to light Martha Washington's personality in her own words. As she rose to fame, she began to correspond with such significant figures in American history as Mercy Otis Warren, Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Willing Powel, and the Marquis de Lafayette, and this correspondence paints a picture of the social life during the Revolutionary War and the Early Republic. For periods where few documents survive, the editors have selected financial papers and third-party documents that fill in some of the blanks. The volume, which includes biographical directories, timelines, maps, editorial essays, a calendar of financial documents, and appendices in order to flesh out Martha Washington's world and her intricate family connections, will serve both as a valuable historical tool and a readable introduction to the life of America's first "First Lady.""--]cProvided by publisher.