A Slave in the White House
by Elizabeth Dowling Taylor
Paul Jennings and the Madisons
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
85%
Critic Reviews: 10
-
- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
46%
Reader Ratings: 137
Write a review
Synopsis
Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolley Madison in Virginia, later becoming part of the Madison household staff at the White House. Once finally emancipated by Senator Daniel Webster later in life, he would give an aged and impoverished Dolley Madison, his former owner, money from his own pocket, write the first White House memoir, and see his sons fight with the Union Army in the Civil War. He died a free man in northwest... more
About Elizabeth Dowling Taylor
Bestsellers
- Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer
- Standing in Another Man's Grave (Detective Inspector Rebus)
- Life After Life: A Novel
- Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers
- Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy
- All Critics: 10
- Positive: 9
- Negative: 1
-
Washington Post | 13 Jan 2012
Elizabeth Dowling Taylor speculates that the “likely picture that emerges is of a young Paul absorbing language skills by ‘standing in’ on lessons offered to one or more boys of the Madison extended family.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
BC Books | 21 Nov 2011
Even if you are not a lover of biographies and/or memoirs, please pick this one up. The author did an amazing job in researching this book with the help of Jennings descendants.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
BookLust | 2 Dec 2011
Overall, this book was a good introduction to a fascinating and important historical person, but I don't think the title is indicative of the contents...
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
Christian Science Monitor | 6 Jan 2012
...sometimes reads slowly due to the meticulous work Taylor had to do in piecing together small scraps of information from multiple sources. But as a whole it tells a story that is as intriguing as it is uncomfortable.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
Kirkus Reviews | 15 Oct 2011
An important story of human struggle, determination and triumph.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
The Book Dorks. | 14 Oct 2012
Repetitive, boring, and not incredibly enlightening, A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons is poorly named and not a fun or even educational read.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
TheTimesWeekly.com | 31 Jan 2012
You might think you know our nation’s past, but this book may surprise you. If you’re up for a great historical biography, in fact, “A Slave in the White House” will surely keep you in your seat.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
CNN Money | 9 Mar 2012
Reading Taylor's book, I was repeatedly struck by how few leaps are required to connect the present with slave days, and even with the era of the founders.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
That's What She Read | 14 Jun 2012
...is a fascinating inside look at an era that changed the face of the nation, at a subject that continues to divide the country, and at the most powerful and influential men and women the country has ever seen.
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P... -
The Seattle Times | 23 Jan 2012
However, she describes some of the subtle and not-so-subtle methods that white slaveholders, even including the libertarian Madison, used to dehumanize their "property."
Full ReviewA Slave in the White House: P...