James Madison Book List

I have contacted “Mrs. Madison” from Montpelier and she was so kind as to get me in touch with two curators from Montpelier. I was looking for a list of books that Mr. Madison would have owned for our library. Here is the list they were so kind as to send me. If we could get these for the “James Madison” section of our library, we would be most grateful.

 Books owned by Madison

Author	Title
Adams, John	Defence of the Constitutions
Burns, Robert	Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
Crevecoeur, J. Hector St. John de	Letters from an American Farmer
Filson, John	Discovery, Settlement, & Present State of Kentucky
Gibbon, Edward	History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
A. Hamilton, J. Jay, and J. Madison	The Federalist
Jefferson, Thomas	Notes on the State of Virginia
Ledyard, John	Journal of Captain Cook’s Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean
Locke, John	Treatises on Government
Longacre, James Barton	National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans
Montesquieu	The Spirit of the Laws
Morse, Jedidiah	Geography Made Easy
Shakespeare, William	Hamlet
Plato	The Republic
Raleigh, Sir Walter	History of the World
Ramsay, David	History of the American Revolution
Vattell, Emerich de	The Law of Nations
Warville, J.P. Brissot de	The Commerce of America with Europe

 Books about Madison

Ketcham, Ralph	James Madison: A Biography
Banning, Lance	The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the founding of the Federal Republic
Brookhiser, Richard	James Madison
Burstein, Andrew and Nancy Isenberg	Madison and Jefferson
Madison, James	Notes of Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787
Mattern, David and H. Schulman	The Selected Letters of Dolley Payne Madison
Mattern, David B.	James Madison’s Advice to My Country
Rakove, Jack	James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic
Stagg, J.C.A.	Mr. Madison’s War: Politics, Diplomacy, & Warfare in the Early American Republic
Wood, Gordon	Empire of Liberty

Our “Virtual Housewarming Party” is to stock Belle Grove Plantation’s library.

We have five sections of shelves with five long shelves each. This is allot of book to find and buy. And personally we would like to have a good mix that are recommended reading from others.

So this is where you come in.

We would like to break each section down to catalogs.

Here is what they are:

Books that James Madison would have had in his library – These are books that James Madison would have had to read in his personal library. Or it could have been books that Thomas Jefferson would have allowed him to borrow. Here is a link of reading material Thomas Jefferson wrote about : http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/reading2.htm

Books on the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) and the Constitution – These are books that are about the great men and women who help form America. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, Martha Washington, Dolley Madison and on. We would also like to have books on the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

Books on the military events and American History – Since Belle Grove’s history spans every period in American history, we would like this section to have books about the periods in American History. Of course the American Revolution and Civil Wars touched Belle Grove because they happened here, we would like to have several on these. But we would also like to have the rest too because it would have touched each family in some way.

Books on Virginia and American Life – These books would talk about life in Virginia and in America. Send us a book about your great state or your favorite Virginia sights.

General Interest Books – These can be of any interest. Fact or Fiction. Good stories that you think people would like to read. You may also like to send us a copy of a book you have had published.

A Couple of Requests

Because these books are going to be placed in this historic home, we would like to acknowledge you for making this donation to our library. In the front of the book, we ask that you place the following information:

“This book was donated to Belle Grove Plantation by (your name) from (City, State and Country) on (date) to help complete their library.”

This will help us preserve your place in our history.

We would also like to request that your book be a hardback book that isn’t too large. If the book is too large, it may not fit on the shelf. Paperback books are nice and inexpensive, but as people read them, they get worn over time. We would like your book to last as long as possible.

Books we already have

So we don’t get repeat books, once we receive a book, we will list it on our a blog page. Look on our left column under “About Us”. It is listed as “Housewarming for the Library”

Here is what we have picked up so far:

The Asent of George Washington – John Ferling

Madison Writings – Jack N. Rakove

A Slave in the White House – Elizabeth Dowling Taylor

The Debate on the Constitution – Bernard Barilyn

James Madison – Garry Wills

War at Our Doors – Rebecca Campbell Light

Images of America Virginia Presidential Homes – Patrick L. O’Neill

Places I Have Known Along the Rappahannock River – Beverley C Pratt

Come Retribution – William A Tidwell

A Perfect Union – Catherine Allgor

Gordonsville Virginia – William H.B. Thomas

Orange Virginia – William H.B. Thomas

Dearest Friend  A Life of Abigail Adams – Lynne Withey

Patriots of the UpCountry – William H.B. Thomas

The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

Dolores Claiborne – Stephen King

The Dead Zone – Stephen King

Pet Sematary – Stephen King

The Tommyknockers – Stephen King

To get your books to us, please ship them to the following address:

Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast

9221 Belle Grove Drive

King George, Virginia 22485

Brett and I would like to thank you so much for supporting us throughout this last year and continuing to follow along with us as we reach that all important Opening Day. We look forward to see each of you at the plantation and sharing this beloved plantation with the rest of the world!

To see more of Belle Grove Plantation, please view our virtual tour at 

http://virginiaplantation.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/take-a-tour-with-us/

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