Jefferson's Daughters

Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America

By: Catherine Kerrison

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

The remarkable untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s three daughters — two White and free, one Black and enslaved — and the divergent paths they forged in a newly independent America

Finalist for the George Washington Prize

“Beautifully written.... To a nuanced study of Jefferson’s two white daughters, Martha and Maria, [Kerrison] innovatively adds a discussion of his only enslaved daughter, Harriet Hemings.” (The New York Times Book Review)

Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. Although the three women shared a father, the similarities end there.

Martha and Maria received a fine convent school education while they lived with their father during his diplomatic posting in Paris. Once they returned home, however, the sisters found their options limited by the laws and customs of early America. Harriet Hemings followed a different path. She escaped slavery — apparently with the assistance of Jefferson himself. Leaving Monticello behind, she boarded a coach and set off for a decidedly uncertain future. For this groundbreaking triple biography, history scholar Catherine Kerrison has uncovered never-before-published documents written by the Jefferson sisters, as well as letters written by members of the Jefferson and Hemings families. The richly interwoven stories of these strong women and their fight to shape their own destinies shed new light on issues of race and gender that are still relevant today — and on the legacy of one of our most controversial Founding Fathers.

Praise for Jefferson’s Daughters

“A fascinating glimpse of where we have been as a nation.... Catherine Kerrison tells us the stories of three of Thomas Jefferson’s children, who, due to their gender and race, lived lives whose most intimate details are lost to time.” (USA Today)

“A valuable addition to the history of Revolutionary-era America.” (The Boston Globe)

“A thought-provoking nonfiction narrative that reads like a novel.” (BookPage)

©2018 Catherine Kerrison (P)2018 Random House Audio

Long but informative.

This book is long but informative. The author gave many details about what took place in that era. Towards the end you learn more about Harriet Hemmings.

fabulous history

this book reads like a novel but teaches us so much about each of the three daughters. and about the era, jefferson in paris and at Monticello, about slavery and day to day life, and about the daughter Harriet who passed over into white culture and out of Jefferson history.

Riveting biography on Jefferson’s Daughters

Catherine Kerrison does an excellent job following the complex lives of Martha and Maria Jefferson, and their half sister Harriet Hemings. While it is sad that we do not have more factual information on the date of Hemings, Kerrison investigates possible scenarios while relating the stories of Harriet’s brothers, who are better documenting. Slavery and miscegenation are difficult topics but Kerrison does an excellent job of relating the facts and interpreting them in a relatively unbiased manner. The last chapter goes off the rails, spinning out in a diatribe about modern race relations without completely tying back to the story. It was like Kerrison suddenly realized that she had a platform and she needed to make use of it.

Other than that, this is an excellent read. I do feel that Kerrison is a bit of an apologist for Martha Jefferson who was responsible for selling off the majority of the enslaved workforce after her father’s death. Though it does seem that she suffered in the years that followed so perhaps her debt was paid.

Fair but biased

There was good information in this book. There was also much conjecture and supposition.
To get inside the heads of Jefferson and his daughters from his wife or mistress can only be imagined unless proof through their own hand is available. Jefferson is an enigma... a great and flawed man who loved his wife and children desperately. Slavery IS evil in any time period. But to vilify Jefferson will not change the history of this country.

Great research and story telling.

Fascinating story of the Jefferson's. I liked how the author explained how she searched for Harriet. Quite a search. I learned so much.

Jefferson’s daughters

I liked the book. Full of history, but wanted more about Harriet. Sad how the family needed up with nothing.

wonderful!

A clear and concise history of the Jefferson sisters. Fascinating and well worth the listen!

Definitely biased.

As a white person who has discovered through 23 & Me that I have a small amount of “black blood“, I found it the latter chapters to be interesting. Some chapters were pretty boring, but I made myself. listen to them. I found it sad that we don’t have any records to find out the family of Harriet Hemmings and where they are today.

Very Informative, A little long in some places

I heard about this book from the podcast The History Chicks and wanted to read it. I was glad I did an audible version because I think I would have struggled to read it on my own. I enjoyed the information though the layout was a little wonky for me because of going back and forth between all of the sisters. But I thoroughly enjoyed learning about these women.

Powerful Historical Saga

Thoroughly enjoyed! Well researched! Brilliantly presented! A look back at the life, times and legacy of one of our most renowned founding fathers.