Brown, Don. 2007. Dolley Madison Saves George Washington. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Born a simple, Quaker farm girl Dolley Payne grew up in Virginia. Because of their faith Dolley's family freed their slaves in 1783 and moved to Philadelphia where her mother opened a boarding house. Dolley lost her first husband, John Todd, in the 1793 yellow fever epidemic and met future husband James Madison through Aaron Burr; a boarder of her mother's. During her husband's tenure as Thomas Jefferson's secretary of state, Dolley served as hostess for the widowed Jefferson. When James Madison became president Dolley continued her reign as "the capital's leading hostess." But, it was during the war of 1812 when British troops set fire to the presidential mansion that Dolley proved she was brave and quick thinking as well as a marvelous hostess. Snatching important documents and valuable artifacts, she was preparing to flee when she remembered George Washington. Unable to remove the father of our country's painting from the wall, she ordered two servants to smash the frame and remove the painting. Only then did Dolley Madison flee for her life with George Washington rolled up safely at her side. The famous portrait by Gilbert Stuart hangs today in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution thanks to the bravery and quick thinking of Dolley Madison. Using quotes from Dolley Madison, the people who knew her, and citizens who lived through the War of 1812 Don Brown paints a vivid portrait of the person Dolley Madison. His pen, ink, and pastel-watercolor illustrations lend an old-fashioned, soft-focus sweetness to the people, fashions, and Dolley herself, while the stark contrast of the black, white, and gray tone photograph of Washington's portrait allows readers to see the reality of the piece of history Dolley Madison saved.
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