''The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family'' is a 2008 book by American historian

Annette Gordon-Reed Annette Gordon-Reed (born November 19, 1958) is an American historian and law professor. She is currently the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and a professor of history in the university's Faculty of Arts & Sciences. She ...

. It recounts the history of four generations of the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Hemings family The Hemings family lived in Virginia in the 1700s and 1800s. They were Elizabeth Hemings and her children and other descendants. They were enslaved people with at least one ancestor who had lived in Africa and been brought over the Atlantic Ocean ...

, from their African and Virginia origins until the 1826 death of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, their master and the father of

Sally Hemings Sarah "Sally" Hemings ( 1773 – 1835) was an enslaved woman with one-quarter African ancestry owned by president of the United States Thomas Jefferson, one of many he inherited from his father-in-law, John Wayles. Hemings's mother Elizabet ...

' children.Cohen, Patricia
"Seeing past the slave to study the person"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (September 19, 2008). It is based on Gordon-Reed's study of legal records, diaries, farm books, letters, wills, newspapers, archives, and

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

. Gordon-Reed wanted readers to "see slave people as individuals" and to "tell the story of this family in a way not done before". Jefferson scholar

Joseph Ellis Joseph John-Michael Ellis III (born July 18, 1943) is an American historian whose work focuses on the lives and times of the founders of the United States of America. '' American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' won a National Boo ...

has called the book "the best study of a slave family ever written". The book has won sixteen awards and was a finalist for the 2008

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Mark Lynton History Prize The Mark Lynton History Prize is an annual award in the amount of $10,000 given to a book "of history, on any subject, that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression". The prize is one of three awards given as p ...

In 2008

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five U.S. annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists ...

,"National Book Awards – 2008"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-02-20. (With interview and acceptance speech.) and *

Society for Historians of the Early American Republic The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) is an organization that was established in 1977 to study the history of the United States in the period between 1775 and 1861. The Society holds annual conferences, awards prizes an ...

Book Award

In 2009

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

in History (Gordon-Reed was the first African American to be awarded this prize) *

George Washington Book Prize The George Washington Book Prize was instituted in 2005 and is awarded annually to the best book on the founding era of the United States; especially ones that have the potential to advance broad public understanding of American history. It is admi ...

, *

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

, *New Jersey Council of the Humanities Book Award, *

Frederick Douglass Prize The Frederick Douglass Book Prize is awarded annually by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University Yale University is a Private unive ...

, *Owsley Award from the Southern Historical Association, and *

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and i ...

Literary Award"Rutgers-Newark prof Annette Gordon-Reed wins Pulitzer Prize"
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In 2010

was awarded a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

for her works on colonial and early American history, race and slavery. The Foundation noted that her "persistent investigation into the life of an iconic American president has dramatically changed the course of Jeffersonian scholarship.""Annette Gordon-Reed"
NPR

References

External links

François Furstenberg, "Jefferson's Other Family: His concubine was also his wife's half-sister"
review of Annette Gordon-Reed, ''The Hemingses of Monticello'', ''Slate'', 23 September 2008 * Video
Annette Gordon-Reed discusses ''The Hemingses of Monticello''
* Listen
Annette Gordon-Reed on NPR's ''Talk of the Nation''
* Excerpt
Gordon-Reed examines Sally Hemings' time in Paris with Thomas Jefferson
(via TheRoot.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingses 2008 non-fiction books 21st-century history books History books about the United States American biographies Non-fiction books about American slavery History of slavery in Virginia National Book Award for Nonfiction winning works Pulitzer Prize for History-winning works W. W. Norton & Company books Sally Hemings