ISBN: 0394903471 9780394903477

Category: Biography & Autobiography / Historical

Page count: 184

At fifteen, young Dolley Payne's family moved to Philadelphia from rural Virginia. She married John Todd, but her happiness was all too brief, as John died of yellow fever. Dolly's vivacity, despite her Quaker background, her love of society, parties, and pretty things, all contributed to shaping her into the young woman James Madison soon came to notice. His story - and the part he was playing in politics of the day - complement Dolley's story, until they merge in marriage, and their public life in Philadelphia and Washington. She was renowned as one of the most charming and beloved of American women, and revered for her bravery during the War of 1812, saving the classic portrait of George Washington from the burning White House.