America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie came recommended to me by my wife after she read a review on line. It sounded quite interesting. This is the story of Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter and it is based on her original letters as well as extensive research of the time period.
Started: 9/7/2018
Completed: 1/3/2020
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: My wife
Review:
This book is not a biography, but it is not exactly fiction either. The authors do take some license and identify a personal relationship which is only circumstantially supported. Of course, it is impossible to know exactly what one person said to another, but they crib letters and put the text from the letters in the mouths of the speakers when it makes sense. In short, this is pretty close to a biography, but it is very approachable as a novel. Occasionally timelines or foreshortened or the sequence of events is not strictly adhered to in order to allow the book to flow as a narrative and this is not distracting to the casual reader.
This book is not a biography, but it is not exactly fiction either. The authors do take some license and identify a personal relationship which is only circumstantially supported. Of course, it is impossible to know exactly what one person said to another, but they crib letters and put the text from the letters in the mouths of the speakers when it makes sense. In short, this is pretty close to a biography, but it is very approachable as a novel. Occasionally timelines or foreshortened or the sequence of events is not strictly adhered to in order to allow the book to flow as a narrative and this is not distracting to the casual reader.
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