I am about to review a book written back in 1975 and because of the age of the book, I haven’t been able to find a picture of it. I’ll have to come back later after I’ve taken a picture of it to add to this post.
The Velvet Glove
A Life of Dolly Madison
by Noel B. Gerson
Review written by: MaryEllen Herrera
This is the portrait of Dolly that is on the book cover.
I found this treasure at my local library. Each year they have a book sale to raise funds and this year I found and bought this book. It took me awhile to read it – even though it has less than 250 pages – because it is written more like a history book than a story. The writer takes you through the life of Dolly but doesn’t quite do it in a smooth way. His style of writing is more of stating facts surrounded by detail than by weaving a story. Overall I did enjoy the book and learned a lot about Mrs. Madison.
This book introduces us to the inside life of Dolly Madison which includes her family, her character, and her impact on America. By reading about Dolly you also learn about the early years of our country and how the founding fathers impacted the way America was born, how America dealt with other countries, and how our government was established. You also get an inside peek at James Madison, the husband of Dolly.
I would recommend this book to those who love history, who love America, and who love to read biographies. Even for those who are not interested in reading history book style writing, I encourage you to give this book a try; Dolly was an amazing woman and to read this book is to discover her and the way she affected America.
Thanks MaryEllen. I do love history, so I will put this one on my “Must Reads” list.
Sounds like a good read I love colonial, early American history and this is sounds right up my alley. I remember taking a college class where we had to read excerpts from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin and the style, and how life was really got me hooked to that period in time.
I also think that’s why I latched on so well to Washington Irving’s stories like The legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle etc.
Great review!
Me too, I enjoy reading history and biographies. This sounds like a nice book to add to the kids book list in a few years when they hit junior high…ack!