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Tidewater Dynasty: The Lees of Stratford Hall
Three generations of the Lee family--from Thomas Lee, the founding father, to Robert E. Lee, destined to become the greatest member of the family--make their mark on American history
- GenresHistorical Fiction
436 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 13, 2011
I think I learned more about the early history of America in this one book than I did in 11 years of American public education. Strangest of all, I was so enthralled I found myself sneaking chapters in the bathroom at work, just to find out what happened to all of the characters -- perhaps all the more because I knew that almost everything in this book actually happened and every event I was reading about had in some way shaped the world we live in today.
This book has been on my mom's shelf since the 1980s. I never really noticed it before, but she recently moved and I found it while unpacking a box of books this past fall, the yellowed receipt from a Richmond Virginia bookshop fluttering from its covers. I knew that my dad was descended from the Virginia Lees and I was curious, so I tucked the book into my bag and took it home with me to England, intending to learn a bit more about my ancestors. My knowledge before then had been fairly limited - my dad's mother, Marjorie Vore, had an elaborately drawn illustration of her family tree in her house when I was a kid and I loved to trace the branches back to General Robert E. Lee - the only name I recognized amongst all the Elijahs, Algernons, and Horatios.
So, first - a little about this book. Although it is a novel, the authors are careful to note in the beginning that every character is a real person and every event that happens in the book, and manifest personality, has been meticulously researched -- as evidenced by the literally hundreds of pamphlets, books, documents, articles, and personal letters listed at the back of the book. Some of the personal letters are even quoted verbatim in the text.
I should also say that while this book is about the Lees, it is also very much about early American history - and one of the reasons it is so remarkable is that the early Lees were so bound up with the great events of their time. There is intricate detail about how the American Revolution came about, and for the first time I realised how closely English, French, and American history are linked -- the Cromwell revolution, Napoleon, George III, are all described.
Even so, I most enjoyed reading about the differences between characters from the Revolution itself, those we often conflate into "the Founding Fathers". Wow, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington hated each other? Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were at each others throats? The Federalists (Washington, Hamilton, Adams) who favoured some national unifying power wrote vicious mud-slinging newspaper articles slandering the personal characters of the Republicans (Jefferson, Madison, Monroe) who believed that only the States should be able to make their own laws -- and wrote the same in return? Why, that sounds like how it is right now! Somehow it's comforting to know that it's always been this way.
The story mostly takes place from the 1720s - 1820s. Robert E. Lee's resigning of his commission to the American Army and joining the Confederacy is used as a framing device but there is very little in here about General Lee. The main protagonists are Tom Lee, Robert's great uncle who built Stratford Hall, Lee's childhood home; his son Richard Henry Lee, who helped to frame the Constitution and, along with his brothers, played a major part in the American Revolution; and their cousin "Lighthorse" Harry Lee, a favourite of General Washington's and the father of Robert E.
There are A LOT of characters and many of them share the same name (there are about five each of Anns, Harrys, Thomases, Hannahs, etc.), and yet their personalities are kept distinct enough that you can usually tell them apart. It probably helps that there's a family tree at the beginning of the book, along with a map of Virginia showing where all of the mentioned plantations are. I hadn't realised what a huge part Virginia played in the Revolutionary war. In my schools when I was young, such a huge emphasis was put on the Pilgrims and Puritans of the north that they didn't speak much about the fact that Virginia was settled by the second sons of the English landed gentry, along with those loyal to Charles I who escaped during the Cromwellian Revolution. They lived very much like characters in a Jane Austen novel, and their children held high minded philosophies and ideals borrowed from contemporaries like Adam Smith and John Locke. They owned large stately homes with stables full of race horses, imported fine furniture from France and England, and threw elaborate balls where they chatted to each other about art and politics over a bowl of punch and slivers of poached pear (the period food descriptions in this bood are also elaborate and fascinating!).
There are also some cracking love stories -- some old fashioned feminism (the story where Missy Lee beats Philip in the horse race actually made me cry I was so proud!) -- and a whole lot of adventure.
It isn't a literary masterpiece -- yes, some of the dialogue is a little bit soapy, the love stories a little bit "Harlequin", and the rough edges of some of the lead characters a bit sanded down -- but it's a wonderful read, packed with facts, and better than that -- it transports you right ino the era. So that you too feel like a Virginia Lee, riding across the cliffs of the Northern Neck, staring out across the sea and dreaming of a new America.
(...and now I 'm inspired to read a lot more about the often strange and equally epic lives of our "Founding Fathers" - thanks "Tidewater Dynasty"!)
This book has been on my mom's shelf since the 1980s. I never really noticed it before, but she recently moved and I found it while unpacking a box of books this past fall, the yellowed receipt from a Richmond Virginia bookshop fluttering from its covers. I knew that my dad was descended from the Virginia Lees and I was curious, so I tucked the book into my bag and took it home with me to England, intending to learn a bit more about my ancestors. My knowledge before then had been fairly limited - my dad's mother, Marjorie Vore, had an elaborately drawn illustration of her family tree in her house when I was a kid and I loved to trace the branches back to General Robert E. Lee - the only name I recognized amongst all the Elijahs, Algernons, and Horatios.
So, first - a little about this book. Although it is a novel, the authors are careful to note in the beginning that every character is a real person and every event that happens in the book, and manifest personality, has been meticulously researched -- as evidenced by the literally hundreds of pamphlets, books, documents, articles, and personal letters listed at the back of the book. Some of the personal letters are even quoted verbatim in the text.
I should also say that while this book is about the Lees, it is also very much about early American history - and one of the reasons it is so remarkable is that the early Lees were so bound up with the great events of their time. There is intricate detail about how the American Revolution came about, and for the first time I realised how closely English, French, and American history are linked -- the Cromwell revolution, Napoleon, George III, are all described.
Even so, I most enjoyed reading about the differences between characters from the Revolution itself, those we often conflate into "the Founding Fathers". Wow, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington hated each other? Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were at each others throats? The Federalists (Washington, Hamilton, Adams) who favoured some national unifying power wrote vicious mud-slinging newspaper articles slandering the personal characters of the Republicans (Jefferson, Madison, Monroe) who believed that only the States should be able to make their own laws -- and wrote the same in return? Why, that sounds like how it is right now! Somehow it's comforting to know that it's always been this way.
The story mostly takes place from the 1720s - 1820s. Robert E. Lee's resigning of his commission to the American Army and joining the Confederacy is used as a framing device but there is very little in here about General Lee. The main protagonists are Tom Lee, Robert's great uncle who built Stratford Hall, Lee's childhood home; his son Richard Henry Lee, who helped to frame the Constitution and, along with his brothers, played a major part in the American Revolution; and their cousin "Lighthorse" Harry Lee, a favourite of General Washington's and the father of Robert E.
There are A LOT of characters and many of them share the same name (there are about five each of Anns, Harrys, Thomases, Hannahs, etc.), and yet their personalities are kept distinct enough that you can usually tell them apart. It probably helps that there's a family tree at the beginning of the book, along with a map of Virginia showing where all of the mentioned plantations are. I hadn't realised what a huge part Virginia played in the Revolutionary war. In my schools when I was young, such a huge emphasis was put on the Pilgrims and Puritans of the north that they didn't speak much about the fact that Virginia was settled by the second sons of the English landed gentry, along with those loyal to Charles I who escaped during the Cromwellian Revolution. They lived very much like characters in a Jane Austen novel, and their children held high minded philosophies and ideals borrowed from contemporaries like Adam Smith and John Locke. They owned large stately homes with stables full of race horses, imported fine furniture from France and England, and threw elaborate balls where they chatted to each other about art and politics over a bowl of punch and slivers of poached pear (the period food descriptions in this bood are also elaborate and fascinating!).
There are also some cracking love stories -- some old fashioned feminism (the story where Missy Lee beats Philip in the horse race actually made me cry I was so proud!) -- and a whole lot of adventure.
It isn't a literary masterpiece -- yes, some of the dialogue is a little bit soapy, the love stories a little bit "Harlequin", and the rough edges of some of the lead characters a bit sanded down -- but it's a wonderful read, packed with facts, and better than that -- it transports you right ino the era. So that you too feel like a Virginia Lee, riding across the cliffs of the Northern Neck, staring out across the sea and dreaming of a new America.
(...and now I 'm inspired to read a lot more about the often strange and equally epic lives of our "Founding Fathers" - thanks "Tidewater Dynasty"!)
August 28, 2012
As a "from-here" Westmoreland County resident, Roberts and Seely brought alive the old homes and roads that surround this area, opening my eyes to the role the Tidewater played in shaping American history. Well worth reading, and then taking a trip to the NNK to see first hand the area.
April 13, 2013
I lovee this for all the Virginia history and early American history. It gives a nice perspective on the colonies and their differences. The Lee's were an important and distinctive family which helped shape our nation.
July 31, 2009
A wonderful read. I learned more bout Robert E. Lee's family than I have in any other reading. His family certainly contributed much to the formation of this country.
August 4, 2013
This book ticked off all of the milstones of the late 1700 as seen thur the eyss of the Lees. A great refresher in Virginia and US early history.
The dialogue keep me going as I was reminded we were just the poor folks up in the Shendandoah Valley!
I now need to go back to Stratford Hall and reading this book inspired me to visit Sully House (home of Richard Bland Lee) a real treasure on Rt 28 by Dullas Airport in northern VA.
The dialogue keep me going as I was reminded we were just the poor folks up in the Shendandoah Valley!
I now need to go back to Stratford Hall and reading this book inspired me to visit Sully House (home of Richard Bland Lee) a real treasure on Rt 28 by Dullas Airport in northern VA.
February 11, 2013
A very interesting biographical novel about the Lee family of Virginia. Starts in 1861 for just a bit and then backtracks to tell the Lee story from 1718-1810. If you are interested in Virginia history and/or Robert E. Lee's ancestors, I think you would like this book. Does get repetitive and dry at times but I still enjoyed it.
March 27, 2007
This was my first foray into historical fiction when I was in high school. I loved this book!
October 31, 2011
I'm sure the fact that I just returned from a trip to Washington DC made this book all the more enjoyable for me, but it was definitely an interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews