Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison

I have actively studied history for a quarter century. Rarely does it get this good, and it doesn't get any better. From the standpoint of pure reading enjoyment, _Strength and Honor_ is an outright winner. Mr. Côté's pace, dramatic timing, word choices and level of detail are just right. There isn't a slow page, never a `say what?' moment. The portrait of our most revered First Lady is engaging, credible and perceptive. The author has the prized ability, one I don't think can be taught, to put oneself into the other gender's shoes and describe the world as another would view it. Dolley Madison thus smiles at us from these pages with all the insight one might expect of a female author. The result is charm like unto Dolley herself. I looked forward to each day's reading session. As history, this is far more than one prominent woman's life story. This is an essay on a young Republic in all its lusty, bumptious, disorganized glory. In Constitutional arguments, you know you're in for a load of baloney when someone begins a sentence with "If you read the Federalist Papers, the Founding Fathers intended..." Few have ever read them for themselves, nor even realize how they were first published and by whom. Here are some views of Founding Fathers and Federalists as seen through the eyes of the wife, friend and confidante of several. Dolley Madison was Thomas Jefferson's White House Hostess (stand-in for a First Lady), then James Madison's First Lady. She saved many national treasures from British fire while armed militiamen fled for their lives. She was perhaps the most influential American woman of her time. She lived into the era of early photography, so we are even treated to actual daguerreotypes of Dolley in her sprightly, impoverished, dignified final years. As told by Côté, her story remedied many embarrassing weaknesses in my own understanding of the era. I would propose _Strength and Honor_ as an excellent candidate for college-level American course material. It is an important contribution to American history, to women's history, and to the world of enjoyable literature. If William Manchester were to have written a biography of Dolley Madison, he might have done as well. History isn't boring; most people just write it that way. Work such as this is the clear antidote.

Not just a colonial lady for whom children's cupcakes were named, Dolley Madison was the first true American heroine and set the standard by which all first ladies would be judged. Long before Jackie Kennedy wowed us with her fashion sense, the former Quaker and wife of America's fourth president, James Madison bedazzled everyone with her French-inspired gowns, turbans and décolleté. This thorough account by Richard N. Côté describes the complex woman that Dolley was - a devout Quaker who gave up her religion for love and metamorphosed from a plain Friend into a fashionista. Most importantly, though, the author exposes the bravery and integrity of Mrs. Madison's character in times of great crisis, both personal and national. The tale of her life as a colonial American woman who found love but experienced distressing heartaches, took great pride in her family yet suffered disappointment for it, an admired society matron who also faced poverty in later years is skillfully interwoven through surviving correspondence and painstaking research. Richard N. Côté's ability to masterfully tell the story of historical figures was apparent in his previous biographies, Mary's World and Theodosia. But Strength and Honor is even more beautiful a tome than his earlier works. I found myself turning this book about Dolley Madison over and over to admire the care and beauty of the volume itself, before I even began to read it. The reproduced illustrations, paintings, photographs and maps are plentifully dispersed throughout the work and make for a gorgeous tribute to a lovely lady.

"Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolly Madison" by Richard (...) Cote is excellent reading and a work of art. Mr. Cote has once again shown that he is one of the best writers of our era. His work continues to excel and there is no limit to his artistic ability to dazzel the reader with his painting of history with a flair that only his author's brush can make. This is another masterpiece that hangs well beside "Mary's World" and "Theodosia Burr Alston"

After reading "Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison," I am convinced more than ever that Dolley Madison was the most beloved First Lady in American History. In my lifetime the women who have been married to the President have often been figures of admiration more than affection. Eleanor Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy were both greatly admired, for quite different reasons. Betty Ford and Barbara Bush have probably engendered the most affection along with that admiration, but it did not reach the sort of transcendent heights that exists long after their time in the White House. The greatest common denominator for First Ladies the last several decades has been the recurring idea that these women have been smarter than their husbands, a bipartisan belief that applies as much to Nancy Reagan as it does to Hilary Clinton. Being smarter than her husband is one thing that could not be said about Dolley Madison, who second husband, "the great little Madison," was the only person on the American continent who had a mind on the same level of Thomas Jefferson. The idea that Dolley Madison was beloved is ingrained in many of the examples related about her "Days of Grace and Honor" after Madison's death. In 1844 she was present when Samuel Morse made the first public demonstration of his electric recording telegraph. After the initial transmission of Numbers 23:23, "What hath God wrought?", Morse asked Dolley if she wished to send a message. With a Baltimore cousin at the other end, the wife of a U.S. Representative, she asked Morse to send: "Message from Mrs. Madison. She sends her love to Mrs. Wethered." This made her the first person to senc a personal message by telegraph. The following year, when American troops marched off to Mexico they marched past Dolley's home on Lafayette Square to cheer and salute their heroine. Of course, Dolley Madison has been assured a footnote in American History because as she fled the Executive Mansion at the last minute while British troops were marching on Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812 she made a point of saving the nation's treasures, including the celebrated 1797 Lansdowne portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart along with cabinet papers, at the expense of her personal belongings, including a miniature of Dolley. Richard N. C?t? relates that defining event as part of a chapter entitled "From Hostess to Heroine," but the book begins in media res with Dolley "In Harm's Way" on the day that would make her an American immortal. Yet what this book really underscores is how for half a century Dolley Madison was the most important woman in the social circles of America. Born a Quaker firm girl in the North Carolina wilderness, Dolley Payne grew up in Philadelphia following the strict discipline of the Society of Friends, but was always considered to have a happy personality and warm heart. In 1790 she married John Todd, Jr., a lawyer, but three years later

Having read both of Richard Cote's previous biographies, as well as his novel, I was delighted to find his new book prominently displayed in my local bookstore, and I promptly brought it home. I was not disappointed. Once again, Mr. Cote has chosen a strong, unique woman to profile. Dolley Madison was no shrinking violet. After her first marriage ended in tragedy, she attracted the attention of one of the most intelligent, influential politicians America has ever produced-James Madison. When she became his adored wife and helpmate, she successfully transformed herself from a simply dressed, farm-raised, Quaker girl into a fashionable plantation owner's wife and later into a memorable First Lady. As in his other two biographies, Mr. Cote's extensive use of quotes from personal letters allows his readers to see his subject as a human being instead of a one-dimensional historical figure. There are also numerous illustrations, which are delightful because I enjoy comparing a face with a name to see how my preconceptions match up. Mr. Cote always finds the "small treasures" in his subjects' lives that other biographers often miss. One of these is a photograph of Dolley's engagement ring, which is astonishing and totally unlike anything you would expect. In addition to telling an engrossing story about a true American heroine, Mr. Cote manages to leave the impression that you could invite First Lady Dolley Madison to dinner-and she would come and be the most entertaining guest you ever had.