‘Would Washington have ever been commander of the revolutionary army, or President of the United States, if he had not married the rich widow of Mr Custis?’ asked John Adams. The answer, says Flora Fraser, is no. We like to see our ‘men of destiny’ as striding the world alone before stepping onto the customary plinth, so some might find it inconvenient to consider the role, in George Washington’s glorious career, of America’s first First Lady. But in her lifetime, no one put Martha in the corner.
George and Martha Washington is a balanced and vivid account of a marriage which was both remarkable and strikingly down-to-earth. Because Martha burned their correspondence after his death, Fraser takes what she calls ‘an oblique look’ at the couple. Her sources are those who observed them: Washington, one friend noted, was ‘more respectful’ to his wife than ‘tender’, while Martha was known to be pious, outspoken and fiercely loyal, a woman who ‘talked’, it was reported, ‘like a Spartan mother to her son’. She shared Washington’s confidences, upheld his patriotism, and worshipped him as a hero. But Martha was not, Fraser insists, the power behind the throne. Nor did she live her husband’s life to the full: stoutly independent, Martha Washington trod her own path, keeping her focus firmly on family life.
Fraser does more than scrutinise a strong match: she places the stability of the Washington union at the heart of a sweeping account of the turbulence of their times. We are given a dual perspective on the eight years of the American Revolutionary war, in which Washington was the commander-in-chief of the continental army: the view from afar, with all the advantages of hindsight, and the events as they would have filtered through to Martha, anxiously awaiting news.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in