Summary

Note to Readers – The authors explain they have used letters to and from Thomas Jefferson and his daughter, Patsy, to form the core of the novel. However, the authors' own words directly drive the plot.

Thomas Jefferson explains to Robert Walsh in a letter dated April 5, 1823, that letters form the best and only genuine journal of his life.

July 5, 1826 – Patsy Jefferson stands in her father’s room the day after he was buried. She reflects on how the daughters of the sons of the American Revolution have given their souls for their fathers. She finds a sketch of the grave her father wanted, remembering him not as president but as author of the Declaration of Independence, author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and as Father of the University of Virginia. She glances at the cabinet where...