Dolley Madison: Courageous First Lady

by Lynda Pflueger

A biography of the wife of James Madison, focusing on her role as this country's fourth First Lady.

128 pages, Library Binding

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

I am a history buff, particularly US history. I love visiting museums and libraries. Nothing pleases me more than roaming around dusty old archives and finding diaries, letters, newspaper articles or photographs I can use in her books.

Reviews

[apollo · Rating 3 out of 5]

it would be cool if this had less about her husband and her clothes and more about dolley madison herself, but it’s whatever.

[Mahdi Essekelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If not for the efforts of the courageous first lady, part of America’s history would have been destroyed.” (Pflueger, back page). The deeply thought book Dolley Madison was a resourceful biography by Lynda Pflueger. Dolley Madison contains a mass of facts very relevant to the first lady in relation to American History. While reading this biography, the reader learns the reason of Dolley Madison being such an important figure. She was the First Lady in American history, which is the honor of being the president’s wife. As the First Lady, Dolley was elegant, kind, respected, helpful and finally, an example to be followed by future ladies. Another thrilling fact concerning Ms. Madison is that without her courageousness, part of American history may have been burned. Because of her bravery, she saved James Madison’s papers, which were in the White House. If she hadn’t shown a sign of love to America, the British would have burned the presidential papers along with the white house. Lastly, the reader also learns the origin of Dolley Madison. She is a Quaker, like her parents, whom their names are Paul and Mary. As one can see, Lynda Pflueger was a capable author whom wrote an interesting biography Dolley Madison.

As the biography states, Dolley Madison was an important figure to Americans in the 19th century. First of all, to understand the nonfiction book Dolley Madison, the reader should comprehend why this is considered a biography, among the diverse genres of a nonfiction book. A biography is when a book dedicates all its text to a single well-known person. Dolley Madison, unlike other nonfiction books, has the exact qualities of a biography; it talks only about Dolley Madison, America’s famous First Lady. When the reader recognizes it as a biography, they usually ask questions about the person described in the biography. One question that I asked before reading Dolley Madison was the reason for why she was famous in American history. By reading it, I acquired enough knowledge to seek an answer to my question, like the thousands of other people who read this informative book. However, while reading this book, the reader also makes discoveries about Dolley. The reader learns that she changed America in two ways. First of all, she was a superlative example to be followed by future First Ladies in America. Second of all, she saved the presidential papers, which were a part of America’s history, from being burned. By reading this, the reader can tell that she merited her place in god’s hands. Thus, through the amazingly well-done biography, the reader can tell that Dolley Madison was a patriot among Americans.

Dolley Madison is an informative nonfiction book that pleases the reader enormously when read. However, this resourceful book will only be a pleasure to the reader depending on their taste. First of all, the piece of text Dolley Madison is for both genders. That is because, this book is mostly about history; an interesting subject appealing to both boys and girls. Also, the text is full of historical facts, so the people who most enjoy it are political and historical fans. Also said, this book may lead to different political careers if it is between the right hands. Dolley Madison may also gain the interest of students who like biographies, for this book is mostly about the courageous first lady, Dolley Madison. Lastly, this biography is recommended to Middle School, especially for 7th grade. One reason for this is that this story is long, has few irrelevant pictures, and, in other words, is a pain to read for young ages. Thus, Dolley Madison may be a very resourcefully done book, however, it still does not appeal to everyone.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is good so far.