DEFAMED

Defamed is the true story of Nancy Randolph (1774-1837), the most scandalous woman in Jeffersonian America. Born into Virginia’s oldest, wealthiest dynasty, Nancy was doomed and damned, cast out of her privileged world and driven into obscurity. Accused of prostitution, miscegenation, incest and murder, her alleged misdeeds resulted in a sensational trial, helmed by famed orator/lawyer Patrick Henry, that shocked the nation. But was this eighteenth-century Lucrezia Borgia, the so-called Jezebel of the Old Dominion, guilty as charged? Set against the turbulent background of our young, emerging republic and populated by the larger-than-life characters Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, John Randolph, and Gouverneur Morris, Defamed is about much more than a young woman's stunning fall from grace. It is a cautionary tale chronicling the perils of an elitist patriarchal society, the oppression of Southern white women, and the collapse of a dynasty devoured from within. Born into this fragile, troubled society, Nancy Randolph paid an unimaginable price for bearing that prestigious surname. What once provided entrée to the finest parlors in Richmond and Williamsburg would become a curse. From the Foreword: “Virginia in the late eighteenth century demanded manners and social dictates all but impossible to comprehend today. Honor was an essential commodity, as much about survival as pride. If a gentleman’s good name was sullied, whether genuinely or merely perceived as such, he was deemed unworthy of holding public office, unable to secure a loan and without social peers to provide crucial business connections. Ladies fared far worse. Social peccadilloes made public could savage a genteel reputation, the worst offense, of course, being loss of virtue. If a woman bore a child out of wedlock, gentlemen dismissed her as damaged goods, and she was relegated to life as a family ward. What befell those poor souls without kin was unimaginable.” Michael Llewellyn is the author of twenty-two books under various pen names in the genres of historical fiction, time travel, mystery, contemporary fiction and Southern humor. Michael is married and lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Visit him at michael-llewellyn.net
ASIN: B0B53FVTRD
VSKU: BVV.B0B53FVTRD.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Llewellyn, Michael|Thomas, Christa
Binding: Paperback
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.