- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: University of Virginia Press; Univ of Virgini edition (Mar 22 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0813922194
- ISBN-13: 978-0813922195
- Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.5 x 0.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 454 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#1,939,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Books > Professional & Technical > Architecture > Architects, A-Z > Jefferson, Thomas
- #14 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Architects, A-Z > Jefferson, Thomas
- #20 in Books > Reference > Genealogy > United States > Virginia
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this excellent account of Monticello's ownership after Thomas Jefferson's death, Leepson, who has written for the New York Times, Preservation and Smithsonian, turns the spotlight on a family that contributed to the preservation of history but heretofore went unnoticed. When Jefferson died in 1826 his enormous debt (even by today's standards) forced his heirs to sell the beloved estate. Unfortunately, James Turner Barclay, a Charlottesville, Va., druggist who paid $7,000 for it, let the house decline during the few years he owned it. In 1834 the house was purchased by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Uriah Phillips Levy, a wealthy, bold, passionate admirer of Jefferson who quickly poured money into its repair. Thus began this Jewish-American family's nearly 90-year proprietorship of Monticello. After being briefly appropriated by the Confederacy during the Civil War, it again landed in the hands of a Levy, Uriah's nephew Jefferson Levy. Monticello became a kind of surrogate child for this extremely successful, unmarried businessman and sometime politician. When the patriotic New York socialite Maud Littleton began her campaign to make Monticello a government-owned shrine in 1911, the battle that ensued in Congress and the newspapers was as emotional as any child custody battle, but more compelling for the dynamic lives and personalities involved. Through extensive research and with fascinating detail, Leepson uncovers the facts surrounding Monticello's owners and preservation involved are great wealth, patriotism, anti-Semitism, and social and political influence. Leepson's absorbing account is an overdue chronicle and homage to the national treasure and its memorable saviors.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Review
Ira Dye author of "The Fatal Cruise of the Argus: Two Captains in the War of 1812" Excellent and highly readable, "Saving Monticello" is filled with fascinating detail about the life and times of the jewel of American architecture, from its design by the most brilliant of the Founding Fathers, through its close calls with destruction, to its status today as one of the most beloved of our national monuments. Marc Leepson skillfully parallels the story of Monticello itself with the saga of two generations of the remarkable family that preserved it.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Thomas Jefferson, the original American Renaissance man, began clearing the land atop a small mountaintop to build the house of his dreams in 1768. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Thomas Jefferson, the original American Renaissance man, began clearing the land atop a small mountaintop to build the house of his dreams in 1768. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Saving Monticello" is a much needed book!,
By Barbara P. Burdette (Pittsburgh, PA. USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built (Hardcover)
I highly recommend Marc Leepson's book 'Saving Monticello' because it gives credit to the Levy family without whose help and stewardship Monticello may have been erased forever.His detail and insight of story serve to hold the reader's interest of not only Thomas Jefferson, but of the history of the time. Mr. Leepson very patiently educates us about the Levy family and their unwavering loyalty to Monticello. I had often wondered what had happened to Monticello during the years after Jefferson's death until the Memorial Foundation took it over and now is supplied to us a fascinating history, a thread which we must all be tempted to follow and remember as part of our own history. I cannot imagine looking at Monticello in the same way as I did before I read Mr. Leepson's, "Saving Monticello".
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Lost,
By Richard "lewis63" (Hopewell Junction, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built (Hardcover)
I have just finished reading "Saving Monticello" and want to say just how much I enjoyed it. I am a long-time fan of Jefferson and particularly his architectural endeavors (the subject of my master's thesis) so I go out of my way to find new items on the subject. It was great to learn about those "lost years" of Monticello that up until now have barely been touched on and I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in American history. The author has clearly delineated what a tenuous hold we sometimes have on important landmarks and how easily they can be lost to future generations if we are not careful.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dull, dull, dull,
By A Customer
This review is from: Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built (Hardcover)
Pass on this one. Monticello itself takes a back seat to the Levy saga of buying the estate.
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