“An absorbing tale of lovers in adversity and reveals the humanity of an ambitious, calculating politician.” –Publishers Weekly
“No picture of the charismatic and compelling Andrew Jackson is complete without an understanding of his utter devotion to his “dearest heart,” his wife Rachel. Jackson’s fury at the political attacks on his wife as an unsavory adulteress affected everything he did as president. But Patricia Brady reveals that Jackson spent a lifetime in defense of the beauty he eloped with while she was married to another man. Here finally we have a book that looks at the relationship between the general and his wife from both of their perspectives and puts it in the context of the world they lived in-the rough and daring eighteenth century American frontier.” –Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty
“A fast-paced political drama combined with a controversial love story that was shocking in its day. Patricia Brady’s A Being So Gentle is, frankly, irresistible.” –John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
“Rachel Donelson was truly a child of wilderness America and her second husband, Andrew Jackson, a force of nature. Their story,
a compelling one, is told here with passion and zest.” –Andrew Burstein, author of The Passions of Andrew Jackson
“No picture of the charismatic and compelling Andrew Jackson is complete without an understanding of his utter devotion to his “dearest heart,” his wife Rachel. Jackson’s fury at the political attacks on his wife as an unsavory adulteress affected everything he did as president. But Patricia Brady reveals that Jackson spent a lifetime in defense of the beauty he eloped with while she was married to another man. Here finally we have a book that looks at the relationship between the general and his wife from both of their perspectives and puts it in the context of the world they lived in-the rough and daring eighteenth century American frontier.” –Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty
“A fast-paced political drama combined with a controversial love story that was shocking in its day. Patricia Brady’s A Being So Gentle is, frankly, irresistible.” –John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
“Rachel Donelson was truly a child of wilderness America and her second husband, Andrew Jackson, a force of nature. Their story,
a compelling one, is told here with passion and zest.” –Andrew Burstein, author of The Passions of Andrew Jackson
“A lively and eminently readable account of the relationship between Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel. Brady demonstrates that, despite the scandal for which it is most frequently remembered, theirs was a marriage of great duration and affection. While Andrew Jackson’s activities form the backbone of the story, Brady breathes life into the lesser-known figure of Rachel, who steadfastly supported her husband throughout his improbable rise to prominence. Dying on the cusp of her husband’s inauguration as president, Rachel missed out on the opportunity of serving as the nation’s First Lady and never had the chance to restore her reputation. This book does that for her.” –Margaret A. Hogan, The Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society and Co-Editor, My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams.
“Although Rachel Jackson died before her husband’s inauguration, no history of the job of first lady can ignore her. She cast
a long shadow over her husband’s presidency. Patricia Brady uncovers the mystery behind the woman and gives a lively account of
the Jackson love story. It is a frontier romance, with a botched divorce and a duel to protect Rachel’s honor, but rumors about it played out on a national stage, causing rifts in Washington’s social cliques and political realignments.” –Betty Boyd Caroli, author of First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama
“Although Rachel Jackson died before her husband’s inauguration, no history of the job of first lady can ignore her. She cast
a long shadow over her husband’s presidency. Patricia Brady uncovers the mystery behind the woman and gives a lively account of
the Jackson love story. It is a frontier romance, with a botched divorce and a duel to protect Rachel’s honor, but rumors about it played out on a national stage, causing rifts in Washington’s social cliques and political realignments.” –Betty Boyd Caroli, author of First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama