The Fairfax County Courthouse anthology intricately weaves together historical narrative and micro-histories, casting a spotlight on the pivotal role that this iconic structure played within American heritage. Through a diverse array of literary styles ranging from analytical essays to evocative memoirs, this collection examines the courthouse not merely as a structure of justice but as a living testament to the evolving tapestry of legal, social, and political complexities. Readers will f...

The Fairfax County Courthouse presents a captivating exploration of history, jurisprudence, and architecture through carefully curated literary and historical essays. This anthology brings together a rich tapestry of narratives that reflect the evolution of Fairfax County's judicial and cultural identity. The diversity of literary styles, including analytical dissertations, narrative histories, and reflective essays, creates a multi-faceted portrayal of this enduring symbol of justice. Sta...

Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Biography“A rich narrative of the Crafts, an enslaved couple who escaped from Georgia in 1848, with light-skinned Ellen disguised as a disabled white gentleman and William as her manservant, exploiting assumptions about race, class, and disability to hide in public on their journey to the North, where they became famous abolitionists while evading bounty hunters.” —The Pulitzer PrizesNamed one of...

Signing Their Lives Away introduces readers to the eclectic group of statesmen, soldiers, slaveholders, and scoundrels who signed this historic document—and the many strange fates that awaited them. Some prospered and rose to the highest levels of United States government, while others had their homes and farms seized by British soldiers. Signer George Wythe was poisoned by his nephew; Button Gwinnett was killed in a duel; Robert Morris went to prison; Thomas Lynch was lost at sea...

In the early to mid-nineteenth century, Isaac Brown, a slave, was accused of the attempted murder of a prominent plantation owner, despite there being no evidence of his guilt. Brown, after enduring two brutal floggings, was shipped to a New Orleans slave pen. From there the resourceful Brown was able to make a daring escape to Philadelphia in the free state of Pennsylvania. His biggest error was writing a note informing his free wife and eleven children in Maryland of his whereabouts. The...

George Washington's Mount Vernon brings together--for the first time--the details of Washington's 45-year endeavor to build and perfect Mount Vernon. In doing so it introduces us to a Washington few of his contemporaries knew, and one little noticed by historians since. Here we meet the planter/patriot who also genuinely loved building, a man passionately human in his desire to impress on his physical surroundings the stamp of his character and personal beliefs. As chief architect...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Step back in time to the creation of America’s founding document with this fascinating history for young readers, part of the beloved What Was? series. The perfect way to celebrate the U.S.A.’s 250th anniversary!On a hot summer day near Philadelphia in 1776, Thomas Jefferson sat at his desk and wrote furiously well into the night. He was drafting the Declaration of Independence, a document that would sever ties with Britain and ...

A close-up look at this historic Massachusetts landmark, including photos and illustrations.Though Salem is located on Massachusetts's scenic North Shore, its history has not always been picturesque. The "Witch City," as it is internationally known, is home to numerous landmarks dedicated to the notorious trials of 1692.Of these, the Witch House is perhaps most significant—the former residence of Judge Jonathan Corwin, whose court ordered the execution of t...

The little-known story of the architectural project that lay at the heart of Tom Paine’s political blueprint for the United States.In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams judged the author of Common Sense as having “a better hand at pulling down than building.” Adams’s dismissive remark has helped shape the prevailing view of Tom Paine ever since. But, as Edward G. Gray shows in this fresh, illuminating work, Paine was a builder. He had a clear vision ...

A VIVID AND FASCINATING LOOK AT AMERICAN HISTORY THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST STORIED HIGHWAY, THE BOSTON POST ROADDuring its evolution from Indian trails to modern interstates, the Boston Post Road, a system of over-land routes between New York City and Boston, has carried not just travelers and mail but the march of American history itself. Eric Jaffe captures the progress of people and culture along the road through four centuries, from its earliest days as the king o...

Yes, they make rather an odd couple-but, truly, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and Fiske Kimball (1888-1955) are the Johnson and Boswell of the story of American architecture. If not for Dr. Fiske Kimball, we might never have known that Thomas Jefferson was an architect. Though he was hailed as a brilliant statesman, Jefferson was all but unknown as an artist and an architect for nearly a century. But Kimball, an industrious scholar with a keen eye, made a series of critical discoveries that...

As preservationist Mary Carol Miller talked with Mississippians about her books on lost mansions and landmarks, enthusiasts brought her more stories of great architecture ravaged by time. The twenty-seven houses included in her new book are among the most memorable of Mississippi's vanished antebellum and Victorian mansions. The list ranges from the oldest house in the Natchez region, lost in a 1966 fire, to a Reconstruction-era home that found new life as a school for freed slaves. From t...