The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant)

by JohnY.Simon (Author), JuliaDentGrant (Author)

New
Paperback
1996
$28.85

Julia Dent Grant wrote her reminiscences with the vivacity and charm she exhibited throughout her life, telling her story in the easy flow of an afternoon conversation with a close friend. Mrs. Grant was raised the pampered daughter of a Missouri planter, and she later remembered her girlhood as an idyll that she wished could have lasted.Many of the anecdotes she relates give fascinating glimpses into a very troubled period of American history. A dramatic reminiscence recounts the night that Lincoln was assassinated. Mrs. Grant insisted that she and her husband turn down an invitation to the theater in favor of returning home. It saved her husband s life: he had also been marked for assassination.Throughout these memoirs, which she ends with her husband s death, Mrs. Grant strives to correct the misconceptions she believed were being circulated about him. She wanted posterity to share her pride in this man, whom she saw as one of America's greatest heroes.

Synopsis

Julia Dent Grant wrote her reminiscences with the vivacity and charm she exhibited throughout her life, telling her story in the easy flow of an afternoon conversation with a close friend. Mrs. Grant was raised the pampered daughter of a Missouri planter, and she later remembered her girlhood as an idyll that she wished could have lasted.Many of the anecdotes she relates give fascinating glimpses into a very troubled period of American history. A dramatic reminiscence recounts the night that Lincoln was assassinated. Mrs. Grant insisted that she and her husband turn down an invitation to the theater in favor of returning home. It saved her husband s life: he had also been marked for assassination.Throughout these memoirs, which she ends with her husband s death, Mrs. Grant strives to correct the misconceptions she believed were being circulated about him. She wanted posterity to share her pride in this man, whom she saw as one of America's greatest heroes."

$28.85

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
Published: 15 May 1996
ISBN 10: 0809314436
ISBN 13: 9780809314430

Media Reviews

Certainly this book is a literary and historic find, an engrossing book that reaffirms what historians have long known--that Julia and her famous husband had a loving and richly supportive relationship. --PublishersWeekly

Her charm, which is perhaps best expressed in the rambling conversational style of the book, is such that the reader is left with a sense of great loss at not having had the opportunity to have made Mrs. Grant's acquaintance. --Chicago Tribune

She spins a story of romantic love, of happiness, of contentment, and there is no reason to doubt that she worked hard to make this possible both for herself and 'my dear Ulys.' --New York Times

Julia Dent Grant's memoirs are just perfect. This book combines history, love, personal insights, and a unique feminine viewpoint with one of America's most turbulent eras. --West Coast Review of Books

Whatever happened to the old-fashioned love story? Well, you will find it in full bloom in The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant, edited by John Y. Simon. That is only one facet of the book. --Wall Street Journal

Author Bio

John Y. Simon, a professor of history at Southern Illinois University, was the executive director and managing editor of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant (31 vols.), for which he was awarded the prestigious Lincoln Prize. He wrote four books, edited several essay collections, and wrote dozens of articles and chapters in other books.