Darlene's Digest

Image via Wikipedia Today's the anniversary of the British burning Washington during the War of 1812. Could have been worse. And you have to admit, they did have a legitimate beef since we trashed York up in Canada. But Dolley Madison got to be a heroine, saving Gilbert Stuart's painting of George Washington. So here's a salute to you, Dolley, fashion leader, social lioness, and rescuer of national artifacts!

Image via Wikipedia The Blurb I Want on My Next Book... ...would be from John Adams. Yes, that John Adams. I'm reading Cokie Roberts' Ladies of Liberty (highly recommended) and ran across a line today that made me grin real hard: "But they didn't lead a retired life...John Adams, so accustomed to having Abigail run everything, took to reading romance novels, much to his wife's amazement, and continued to rely on her to manage their finances." I'd love to know what he was reading! Dang, I knew I liked the Federalists, and this is just another reason why.

Out of nowhere today the idea came to me that the way I can end my WIP is at the Battle of New Orleans. After all, my hero is an American pirate, so what better way to build up to a rousing finish than to have him participate in this pivotal event of the War of 1812? I know the common wisdom is that the BoNO wasn't necessary because the war was officially over, but I've read enough histories of the event to side with those who say that had the British won that battle, they would have kept their foothold in the US at the base of the Mississippi. Who would have dislodged them? I read an excellent history last year of the battle and its key players. Two men who were poles apart in their lives came together in New Orleans because they knew they needed one another to win the war. If you'd like to read more, I recommend to you Winston Groom's Patriotic Fire--Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans. And in the meantime, I'll go back to figuring out...

I'm reading The Great Upheaval--America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 by Jay Winik, and I cannot help but be struck again with amazement at a generation that produced a Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Washington, Madison, Adams, Benjamin Rush, Thomas Paine, Gouverneur Morris and others. Can we say with certainty that others would have risen to the occasion? I don't think so. The combination of brains, charisma, talent and leadership in that generation of Founding Fathers was something special. They were able to hammer out a fledgling republic when every nation in Europe anticipated failure. They even overcame the difficulties of the Articles of Confederation and the antipathy of their own countrymen to create the United States. To me, histories like this read like thrillers. So much could have gone wrong with so little effort. A stray bullet could have taken out George Washington, who gained power by refusing power, something no other political leader migh...