Readers ages 16 and older are invited to join Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage for a monthly virtual book club! Grab a snack and your favorite beverage for an hour-long virtual meet-up with fellow readers. Discuss that month’s selection, ask questions and get to know that book on a deeper level. Meetings will happen the first Tuesday of the month.
Books will be chosen quarterly and will include historical and modern works in both fiction and nonfiction. This is a fun way to engage with fellow readers worldwide. We look forward to diving in with you!
Reading List
June 6, 2023: Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope.
Frances Milton Trollope left her home in London in 1828 and sailed for the United States, intending to enroll her son in a school at Nashoba, a utopian society located near Memphis, Tennessee. Trollope began her journey with an idea of recording her impressions of this new, bustling nation she was so enamored with. Did the reality of life in frontier Tennessee and Ohio live up to her English sensibilities? Join us to find out. Copies of the book can be acquired through all public libraries, including Overdrive and Libby apps. Free ebooks and audiobooks are available through Project Gutenberg. A Kindle version can be purchased via Amazon. Consider supporting The Hermitage by purchasing the book through The Hermitage’s Museum Store.
July 4, 2023
Jackson’s Library Card Virtual Book Club will not meet in July, but you can celebrate Independence Day with these specially curated readings:
- Orders From Andrew Jackson to the 2nd Division, 7 March 1812. [Attached PDF} Watch this speech delivered on January 8, 2023 from The Hermitage Mansion balcony.
- Bank Veto Message, 1832. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/july-10-1832-bank-veto
- Proclamation by Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, 1832. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc01863
August 1, 2023: Old Hickory’s Nephew: The Political and Private Struggles of Andrew Jackson Donelson by Mark Cheathem.
Andrew Jackson fostered the careers and ambitions of a number of young men in whom he saw the potential for greatness. Chief among these men was his nephew, Andrew Jackson Donelson. Orphaned at a young age, A.J. Donelson was raised by the Jacksons and accompanied Jackson to New Orleans, to Florida and later to the White House, serving as his uncle’s private secretary. Donelson’s wife, Emily, conducted the affairs of Jackson’s White House after Rachel Jackson’s death.
Join us as we peek into the fascinating life and times of Andrew Jackson Donelson. The book is available in Kindle format, as well as from all major booksellers. The book is also available at all Nashville-area public libraries.
September 5, 2023: The Coming of Democracy: Presidential Campaigning in the Age of Jackson by Mark Cheathem.
Before campaigns turn personal and divisive, they can often be enjoyable, stirring up hopes for the future and inspiring fresh energy in citizens. Clever uses of art, language, humor and insinuation allows a conversation to happen between candidates and voters. Between 1824 and 1840, American political campaigns evolved into a bridge that linked the Early Republic to present-day campaign practices. Explore the ways in which culture and politics blended to engage the voter and the candidate.
Available in both Kindle and audiobook formats, as well as from all major booksellers.