Visitors to Monticello

by Merrill D. Peterson (Editor)

Overview

Many visitors over the generations have recorded their impressions of Monticello and its creator. These writings, especialy those from Jefferson's lifetime, preserve important details about him and the house and grounds that might otherwise have been lost. In Visitors to Monticello, Merrill D. Peterson provides a collegtion of thirty-five of these writings dating from 1780 to 1984.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813912318
Publisher:	University of Virginia Press
Publication date:	09/29/1989
Pages:	210
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.25(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Merrill D. Peterson is Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, Emeritus, at the University of Virginia. His previous books are numerous and include The Jefferson Image in the American Mind; James Madison: A Biography in His Own Words; and Jefferson and Madison and the Making of Constitutions.

Editorial Reviews

This unique anthology brings together 35 accounts written between 1780 and 1984 by visitors to Thomas Jefferson's historic home. Collectively, the selections add up to a history of Monticello, from its conception and construction, to its neglect and near-loss, to its 20th-century restoration. Contributors include the French Chevalier de Chastellux (1782), the British diplomat Augustus John Foster (1807), Richard Rush (1816), Daniel Webster (1824), the historian Benson J. Lossing (1853), the architect Fiske Kimball (1924), and The New Yorker' s ``Our Man Stanley'' (1958). Normally we study Jefferson to learn about his house; here we view the house across time to learn Jefferson's philosophy, interests, and values. A welcome addition to Jeffersonian literature.-- Harry W. Fritz, Univ. of Montana, Missoula

Library Journal