America's First Daughter

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jeffersons eldest daughter, Martha Patsy Jefferson Randolpha woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.From her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jeffersons oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mothers death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France.It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her fathers troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in lovewith her fathers protg William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions whether she can choose a life as Williams wife and still be a devoted daughter.Her choice will follow her in the years to come, to Virginia farmland, Monticello, and even the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father's reputation, in the process defining not just his political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.