Customer Reviews

Washington's Lady (Ladies of History Series #3)

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If you've ever suffered through a junior high American History class, you probably think you know all you'll ever need to know about the forming of our country. If only history class had been as captivating and enthralling as this novel!

In Washington's Lady, Nancy Moser shines a light on the reluctant First Lady of America. Her life was plagued with heartbreak and the deaths of many that she loved. Yet she also experienced great joy with the love of her life and soul mate, George. She was a woman off contradictions, having great strength during adversity, but fearful of the specter of death that loomed over her life. She showed grace and affection to the soldiers under her husband's command, but she was loathe to become a public figure. Martha Washington was a unique woman, flaws and all.

History truly comes alive in Moser's capable hands. I learned so much reading this story, not just about Martha, but about George and the struggles to form our country. And I enjoyed it immensely. At the end of the book, Moser includes a section titled Fact or Fiction in Washington's Lady. It's another glimpse at the care and diligence taken in presenting the fascinating tale of an extraordinary woman and the family and country she loved.

When her beloved Daniel died as well as two of their children, wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis vowed death would never mock her again. However, being affluent and young, many want to court her; none interest her. That is until she meets the French and Indian War Colonel George Washington, a shy warrior. She knows she has met her soulmate.

They marry and live in his Mount Vernon home. However, their life together is interrupted by war as George now a general leads the rebel forces against the mightiest army in the world; a side he once belong to. There are several years of separation and worry as Martha tries to hold the family together while George is at war. When they reunite, their love is stronger and helps them several years later when she becomes the first First Lady; but death will return to mock her once again.

As she has done with Jane Austen (see JUST JANE) and Nannerl Mozart (see MOZART'S SISTER), Nancy Moser provides a strong look at the first First Lady, who Washington insisted was "my other self". Readers will see how deaths of loved ones shaped her adult life and helped her as the "mother of our country". Biographical fiction fans and historical novel readers will appreciate this superb glimpse of WASHINGTON'S LADY, Martha.

Harriet Klausner

My Mom read this book and she told me I needed to read it. So, she had been bothering me for quite some time to read it therefore it sat on the top of my closet for a few weeks...Sorry Mom! In addition, I am not a lover of romance novels and for some reason this book looked like a boring case of "Why Me?" "whininess" over a lost lover wrapped in a dry history lesson. However, I was wrong in all of my "judging a book by its cover" mentality rather, this book became MY romance as Martha Washington was so beautifully unfolded in my mind. Also, I had a whole new appreciation for George Washington and the struggles he endured. In the end, I truly enjoyed this book and I AM NOT giving it back to my Mom:)

I consider myself a fan of Nancy Moser, now having read and own three of her books. The first two were Mozart's Sister and Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2). This third book of hers did not disappoint.

If you are unfamiliar with her work, Nancy Moser takes a historical figure, like Martha Washington, and instead of writing a biography of her (which has already been done) she instead writes about her life in the form of a novel. A novel that has a lot of truth in it, in fact she finds as much true evidence as she can to include in her books and only adds or recreates when necessary. In most cases it is hard to find enough documentation to piece together a person's whole life and it doesn't help that Martha Washington burned all the correspondence she had with George. But I applaud her efforts in tackling the challenge and commend her on a job well done. I immensely enjoyed learning about Martha Washington, George Washington, and their life before, during, and after the American Revolution. I have come to admire Martha and George; and I feel that I understand them and their lives so much more after reading this book. At the end of the book Nancy Moser, includes a section where she explains to the readers what was factual about her book and what she recreated. She goes into the thorough detail and I appreciate her honesty.

The only complaint I have with the book (and this is the reason I am not giving it 5 stars) is that the ending came too abruptly. We traveled with Martha and George through the first years of their marriage, the start of the Revolutionary War, the end of the Revolutionary, George Washington being elected President, and then the last chapter says "10 years later" under it. I was disappointed the author left out all of the years where George was out first president. I don't know if she thought it would make the book to long, but I wouldn't have minded! I think the Presidency was something very important in both their lives, and not something to be summarized in a few paragraphs. Especially when she was so thorough in the years 1775-1788, it seems wrong to not continue to be thorough in the years 1789-1799. It feels inconsistent.

Overall, if you enjoy learning about history, but you aren't a fan of reading biographies, you will enjoy this book, I call it a "bio-novel."

I look forward to Nancy Moser's next release about Elizabeth Barrett Browning How Do I Love Thee?.

This is usually the type of book I so enjoy...women of history with the added drama of fictional dialogue and true descriptions of the times. This account may have been researched and accuarate, I found it boring. I did not like the first person musing of the main character, which I see is typical of this author. Also, the book spend too much time on the Washingtons' early years of aquaintance, and did not shed much light onto the Revolutionary War or Presidential timeframes. I acutally would have preferred to read a history book than this version.

In Washington's Lady, Nancy Moser has managed to capture the flavor and essence of 18th Century America. I'm not a big fan of first-person fiction, but Ms. Moser's prose quickly pulled me in and I became Martha. I fell in love with George right along with her. The tender portrayal of their courtship and marriage is touchingly beautiful, giving the reader a whole new perspective on the man who became the first President of a brand-new nation.

I found the narrative a bit dry at times, but the vivid description of all the famous, and infamous, locations and the men and women that peopled them, made up for a lot. I could see Mount Vernon. I felt the cold and misery of Valley Forge and the other winter camps Martha endured to be with George. And the dialog sparkles with period words and phrases and patterns of speech that kept me centered right there in that time.

All in all, I enjoyed this book immensely and can recommend it to all readers who love historical fiction.

I've always been fascinated by Martha Washington, and this novel does her justice. The book was so well written that I raced to the Fact or Fiction section in the back. There Nancy lays out what parts of the story are historical and where she deviated a bit. I LOVE THAT!

And because the book is written in first-person, the author had the extra challenge of writing in a voice that rang true for a 1700s woman. I found it so easy to believe that I was sitting across the table from Martha as she told me about her life. The characterization was rich and believable.

This book is a wonderful addition to anyone's library who loves well-written historical novels.

I throughly enjoyed Washington's Lady. I always wondered about Martha Washington and this book told me so much about her. Nancy Moser did her research, because I am now reading the book "The Real George Washington subtitle The True Story of America's Most Indispensable Man". And Ms Moser's knowledge of all that Washington went through is right on the mark. Ms. Moser brought both Martha and George Washingotn to life in this book. She showed their deep love for each other, their willingness to deal with all the problems they faced with making this the great nation it is. I am now looking forward to reading all of her books about women of history.

Nancy Moser's book,"Washington's Lady," is an extended first person account of the first first lady of the United States, Martha Washington, nee Dandridge, Custis from the time of her first husband's death, ca 1757, through her marriage to George Washignton and finally her own death in 1802. It is the story of the beginnings of the United States, its revolutionary war, constitutional foundation, and the first stumbling steps of the new nation. It is also has to be the story of the great loves of an 18th century couple and the perilous conditions in the English Colonies in America.

"Washington's Lady" as one might expect is primarily a tale of the new republic told from the point of view of the wealthiest of its settlers, albeit those of great compassion and humanity not unlike some 20th century families, e.g., the Roosevelts and the Kennedys. This novel also invites us into a view of the plight of men and women, primarily women, and the enormous mortality statistics of the age, babies, children, and adults, dead of disease, epidemics, malnutrition, and wars with indigenous peoples as well as European nations. We see, too, the cruelty toward the colonists and their subjugation by their own fellows and families in Britain to an extent not often revealed. Author Moser's thorough knowledge of period and place in this 17th century story is awesome.

Written in first person, the novel feels like a memoir, a personal tale that unfailingly identifies the players and reveals intimate details of their lives up to and including the president and first lady in their bed chamber. Moser's use of language is further proof of her skills, evidenced by her surprising turns of phrase, eg., "..(he) oozed bitterness the way a wound oozes the poison that inflames it"; "Sally placed her hands in her lap letting them find company one with the other"; "I bypassed the desk and went to him, finding a place in his lap"; "My mind could not comprehend and so left me, as though it had business elsewhere ...".

In my opinion, author Moser is also to be congratulated for her courage in risking so famous a couple as subject for her book -- if only because her readers know so much about them; any errors in fact that she might make are too easily discovered. It's a greater pleasure then to recommend a book that is both accurate for the facts of a famous couple and convincing for its clever and inventive use of language. Brava! Nancy Moser!

Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser is light historical novel about the first First Lady, Martha Washington. Martha Dandridge Custis had faced an overwhelming amount of death in her life before she met George Washington, losing two children and her first husband, as well as siblings and her father. She was an amazingly resourceful woman who left her estate to live on Washington's less well established of Mount Vernon, rallied fundraising drives for poor soldiers during the Revolutionary War, and took care of the family and estates during Washington's six years as leader of the Colonial Army. She sacrificed much of her personal life for his public one, and before she died burned all of their personal letters, so it's difficult to really know who Martha Washington was. Moser does a great job of capturing this enigmatic woman and portraying her fear of death, over-protection of her children, and support of one of America's Founding Fathers. The narrative skips along a bit, making the story a little choppy at first, but Moser really shines a light on Martha Washington and what motivated the woman behind the man who helped create this country.