She had the president’s ear and the nation’s heart.
She’s the wife of the fourth president of the United States; a spirited charmer who adores parties, the latest French fashions, and the tender, brilliant man who is her husband. But while many love her, few suspect how complex Dolley Madison really is.
Only in the pages of her diary—as imagined by novelist Rita Mae Brown—can Dolley fully reveal herself....

It's unimaginable today, even for a generation that saw the Twin Towers fall and the Pentagon attacked. It's unimaginable because in 1814 enemies didn't fly overhead, they marched through the streets; and for 26 hours in August, the British enemy marched through Washington, D.C. and set fire to government buildings, including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Relying on first-hand accounts, historian Jane Hampton Cook weaves together several different...

Many people know the story of Dolley Madison, one of the first First Ladies to live in the White House, and how she saved the famous painting of George Washington as the British attacked and burned Washington, D. C. But few know what happened next. With the U.S. soldiers in retreat and Dolley fleeing, what drove the British soldiers out of the city they were intent on destroying? Was it really a tornado? Or was it something else?