About book Patriot Hearts: A Novel Of The Founding Mothers (2007)
For me, Hambly is always first a science fiction or fantasy author. This is because the first book I ever read by her was about a dragon that falls in love with a human. Her historical fiction, however, tends to be a cut above her sf/fantasy writing, though that implies that her work in that genre isn’t good. That’s not true; her work is usually excellent, even her work in Star Trek and Star Wars is above average.tBut there seems to be a tad more passion or feeling in her historical fiction.tPatriot Hearts is a book about the women behind the Founding Fathers. Martha, Dolley, Abigail, and Sally are the four heroines, no longer standing in the shadows of George, James, John, and Thomas. The focus is on the different types of battles and sacrifices that the women made while the men were getting the attention founding the country.tThis means that while Dolley Madison’s saving of Washington’s portrait does get attention so does her struggles with politics. tIn many ways, this book is what Abigail Adams might have been thinking when she told her husband not to forget the women. Adams’ scarf ices are brought to the forefront here as all the impact of the War of Independence on Martha Washington. This makes the book quieter in many aspects because the grand battles and politic fighting is granted a back seat while the more hidden struggles, the decisions that the women have to make to back up the power plays of their husbands.tThis conflict in the book is best exemplified by Sally Hemmings, whose place in American history is conflicted at best. Hambly does not romanticize the relationship, though undoubtedly some readers will find the relationship to be too seemingly equal or too easily started. In fairness to Hambly, this must have been a difficult relationship to deal with, and her Hemmings is always aware of status and her lack of it. This especially true in the sequence of Hemmings in France. A few reviewers have pointed out, correctly, that the physical aspect of the Jefferson/Hemmings relationship is given more focus than the corresponding relationships of the other women. I do wonder if this is because of the inequality of the relationship and showing the physically highlighted this. Because of Jefferson’s status and ownership of Hemmings and of how other slave owners treated their female slaves, Hambly might have decided to focus on the physical aspect to illustrate this. This does seem to be the class because Hemmings does deal with attempted assaults from Jefferson’s guests. This physically conflicts with Hemmings intelligence and her sense of self, further showcasing the difference between master and slave; wife and mistress; and opened and closed relationship.tIn terms of plot, the book is not as tight as Hambly’s mystery series or Homeland, but the focus is on the home front. The device holding the different lives of the women together is an invented character that may or may not be working for the British. How this plot thread is resolved is one of the more emotional parts of this book.
Again, I'll read whatever Barbara Hambly writes. This one did not get picked up by me for a bit. Honestly, I was a bit afraid of the sweep of the book- the first four first ladies, no less! However, I was fascinated by learning more about these women. We get Martha Washington, conflicted about the time she spent away from her children to be with her husband during the war. Abigail Adams is perhaps the least well fleshed-out character, but perhaps that's because Hambly is now writing a mystery series starring her. We get Sally Heming, Jefferson's concubine (Hambly's word). This was a very delicate relationship to write, and I get the feeling that the author really doesn't care for Jefferson much, but you can still understand this young girl, trying to be realistic, still getting caught up in the relationship. Finally, Dolly Madison (did you know she was born a Quaker?) frames the book as she prepares to flee the capital during the war of 1812.The human details of these women make you fall in love with each one of them. My only complaint is that the author's thesis, that first ladies were the social glue that made so many political negotiations and alliances possible, began feeling a bit overdone by the end. I understood and agreed with the thesis, just didn't need it laid out there one last time. But I think the author was trying to show the passing of the torch among first ladies, which was why that last scene was there.
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This read a little bit too much like a history and not a work of fiction, not surprising, with the exception of Sally Hemmings, the main characters have extensive written materials so it's hard to play too fast with them. I think if the author had turned this into a straight history or used lesser known or fictional folks as the foreground characters it might have been a better read.Her Benjamin January series is outstanding, if you like historical fiction, I recommend reading that. After reading this I think I will pass on The Emancipator's Wife and stick with her fantasy and Benjamin January stories.
—James Eckman
This was a fictionalized account of 4 women in their real-time history spanning the revolutionary war and the days afterward. I love reading about strong women and these ladies lived in a time that required duty, sacrifice of personal happiness, and strict dedication to the cause of liberty and freedom. Though apparently this didn't mean freedom for all at the time, the founding fathers gave the constitution the foundation to right the wrongs of slavery and a devastating civil war years later settled the issue. I loved the "voice" these women had in sharing in the lives of the men who dared to dream the American dream.
—Shelee Bush
Patriot Hearts by Barbara Hambly about Dolley Madison, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Sally Hemings covers their lives from the 1770’s through 1814. The story jumps from one person to another, one time to another that it nearly gave me heart palpitations. Mind you, I like a book told during more than one time and from more than one perspective, however it has to be done cleanly and clearly so the reader can follow it or exquisitely as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Hambly isn’t Marquez.Hambly does present the various political factions which kept disagreements constant in the young country. The reader can see how political wrangling during that time was no less divisive than what occurs now. She describes how fisticuffs broke out in congress at one point over a contentious issue. The reader shares Abigail Adams sadness over Jefferson’s and John Adam’s friendship forsaken because of political belief despite what those two gentleman had been through together.Personally, I believe that the book would have been stronger if she had presented it from one perspective and allowed the others to be characters within the book. She certainly gave a clear view of Dolley Madison’s character and that would have been a good choice.I did enjoy the book as I am interested in the time period. I would caution anyone who isn’t intensely interested in this period to avoid reading it. It was really unfortunate that it wasn’t more coherent as I enjoy her Benjamin January series.
—Booknblues
