Elizabeth V. Chew's Books

Notorious Woman

The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines

By: Elizabeth Urban Alexander

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Notorious Woman

The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines

By: Elizabeth Urban Alexander

The legal crusade of Myra Clark Gaines (1804?--1885) has all the trappings of classic melodrama -- a lost heir, a missing will, an illicit relationship, a questionable marriage, a bigamous husband, and a murder. For a half century the daughter of New Orleans millionaire Daniel Clark struggled to justify her claim to his enormous fortune in a case that captivated the nineteenth-century public. Elizabeth Urban Alexander taps voluminous court records and letters to unravel the twists and turns of Gaines's litigation and reveal the truth behind the mysterious saga of this notorious woman. Myra, the daughter of real estate heir Clark and Zulime Carrière, a beautiful young Frenchwoman, was raised by friends of Clark and kept ignorant of her real parentage until 1832, when she discovered her true lineage in letters among her foster father's papers. She thereupon returned to Louisiana with tales of a lost will and a secret marriage between Clark and Carrière and claimed to be Clark's missing heir. Was Myra the legitimate daughter of the prominent merchant or the "fruit of an adulterous union?" The courts would decide. The Great Gaines Case wound its tortuous path through the United States legal system from 1834 until 1891. It was considered by the U.S. Supreme Court seventeen times and pursued even after Gaines's death by lawyers trying to recoup fees. By courageously bringing her case to the courtroom and doggedly keeping it there, Alexander asserts, Gaines helped instigate a new type of family law that provided special protection of women, children, and marriages. Though Gaines never recovered more than a tiny fraction of the rumored millions, this riveting chronicle of her struggle for legitimacy and legacy as told by Elizabeth Urban Alexander is a gold mine for anyone interested in legal history, women's studies, or a good yarn superbly spun.

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Page Count

327

Publisher

LSU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807130249

ISBN 13

9780807130247

Thomas Jefferson

A Day at Monticello

By: Elizabeth V. Chew,The Thomas Jefferson Foundation

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Thomas Jefferson

A Day at Monticello

By: Elizabeth V. Chew,The Thomas Jefferson Foundation

In this fascinating story, readers spend a day with Thomas Jefferson as he and his grandson visit the vast plantation of Monticello. Readers learn about Jefferson; the gadgets and household items that he reinterpreted and the plow he invented; the famous house; the surrounding farms with their gardens, fields, factories, and mills; the workshops of the enslaved people on Mulberry Row; and much, much more. The book is illustrated with archival as well as newly commissioned illustrations and includes a timeline, bibliography, and index. Praise for Thomas Jefferson "The illustrations include excellent photos of sites, artifacts, and documents as well as paintings that extend the text. The lightly fictionalized, engaging narrative, which includes many conversations, is bolstered by sidebars offering additional information..." --Booklist "After finishing this beautifully illustrated book, also stocked with abundant photographs of artifacts housed at Monticello, readers will be left more curious than ever about the life and accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson." --School Library Journal

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Publisher

Abrams

Published Date

ISBN 10

161312533X

ISBN 13

9781613125335

The Philadelphia Country House

Architecture and Landscape in Colonial America

By: Mark E. Reinberger,Elizabeth McLean

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The Philadelphia Country House

Architecture and Landscape in Colonial America

By: Mark E. Reinberger,Elizabeth McLean

Cedar Grove, The Cliffs, Grumblethorpe, Mount Airy, Bartram's House and Garden: Accommodation of the Vernacular

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Page Count

465

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421411636

ISBN 13

9781421411637

Book's by Elizabeth V. Chew

Notorious Woman

Notorious Woman

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

The Philadelphia Country House

The Philadelphia Country House

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