Dear Companion: The Inner Life of Martha Jefferson (River Lethe Book) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Frank DeMarco (Author) "Dearest Pattsey: The perceptions of our youth being so greatly different from those of our maturity, I will hazard that when you read this little..." (more)
Key Phrases: dressing sacque, sweet mercy, old jenny, Elk Hill, The Forest, George Gilmer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kelly Neff has found what every historian yearns for: the details that give the past a pulse. Her Patty...in a moving love story, becomes the 'dear companion' of Thomas Jefferson's life. Through Patty's voice, we step back into an eighteenth century Virginia...and into the everyday life of a plantation wife. Kelly Neff has done an extraordinary job of imagining who Patty Jefferson must have been." --Natalie S. Bober, author of Thomas Jefferson: Man on a Mountain

Product Description

Martha (Patty) Jefferson is often seen as little more than a background figure overshadowed by her husband's political, literary, and scientific achievements. Dear Companion, by contrast, vividly depicts a wife, mother, and busy mistress of a plantation. We come to know the Jeffersons as a young couple very much in love and share in all the joys and sorrows of their ten-year marriage.

Although presented as historical fiction, this biography is actually reconstructed from the author's past-life recall. Ms. Neff's intense familiarity with the period enables her to bring wonderfully to life a time and family that will be forever of interest to all Americans.

Product Details

• Paperback: 632 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571740759
• ISBN-13: 978-1571740755
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,044,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story of astounding magnitude, November 16, 1999

By	Linda Keen, author of Across the Universe wit... (Washington State) - See all my reviews

Kelly Joyce Neff's birthing of major historical information astounds me. Her writing style hauntingly evokes the distinctive vernacular of the times. My eyes hungrily devoured every word of her Dear Companion, and I was there with her in heart-beating technicolor. We became transported backwards through time hundreds of years, straight into Martha (Patty) Jefferson's expert housewifery, motherhood---even boudoir---into her heart full of joys and misfortune. Thomas Jefferson's feminine "other half" makes it plainly clear to us how precious and pivotal was their mortal life behind the scenes. I praise Kelly Joyce Neff for her courage in bringing this vital information forward for future generations to assimilate. Dear Companion will inspire all students of metaphysics and would be great required reading for high school and college students as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas Jefferson like you've never seen him before!, October 14, 1997

By A Customer

This extraordinary book tells the real story of Thomas and Martha Jefferson in a fast-moving and incredibly detailed format that brings the period to LIFE! Supposedly written from the author's own past-life recall this is a must-read for anyone interested in metaphysics, American history or women's studies. Vibrantly alive, Neff's Patty Jefferson emerges as a compelling figure in TJ's life. This vivid portrayal brings up more questions than it answers.... namely HOW does the author know all this?!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The truth about Martha Jefferson, October 2, 2000

By	Shelley L. Germeaux, West Coast Correspondent... (kirkland, wa United States) - See all my reviews

Martha Jefferson did not live long enough to see her husband enter the White House. Because of that, so little was known about her. Through Kelly's painstakingly detailed research, intuition, and clairvoyance, not to mention her memories of love for Thomas, she has retraced Martha's life, and earned the respect of her fellow Jefferson historians. Martha's life was not always joyful and she struggled with her health. Rather than being a romantisized view of a famous President's wife, this is a portrait of a real woman, with the backdrop of the reality of those times.