Caught on Tape: Martha Washington

Martha Washington is a historical personage that I have seen re-enacted in person at various events at Colonial Williamsburg, but haven’t seen on television or the big screen. So I thought I would take the opportunity to explore the possibilities here on the blog – however there are not all that many and I had a TERRIBLE time finding clips.

George Washington (1984)

“The early life and career of the American General and President through his participation in the Revolutionary War.”

Wow, I must say, that is a stellar description right there! This was a TV mini-series that revolves around the life of George Washington, so of course Martha was included. We see her not only as the wife of George, but earlier as the wife of Daniel Custis as well as the Custis widow. There were some relatively big names in this mini-series: Barry Bostwick as George Washington, Patty Duke as Martha Washington, Jaclyn Smith as Sally Fairfax, and Hal Holbrook as John Adams. While I haven’t watched the whole series (it is approximately 6 hours in length) I have watched significant portions. They certainly got the height factor between Martha and George down! I thought much of the acting was very boring, even the “exciting” scenes. I think my problem is with Bostwick’s George – while he may have been stolid in real life, you have to keep the viewer engaged! Patty Duke made a convincing, bubbly Martha and Smith embodied my impression of Sally Fairfax, that minx! It was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards, including a nomination for Patty Duke for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special.

There is a cute proposal scene here, around the 9:32 mark you can queue up below. However, if you should want to watch the entire mini-series, I made a playlist.

The Courtship of George Washington and Martha Custiss (1955)

“The courtship of George Washington and Martha Custis, a widowed mother of two.”

Another made for TV movie that was part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series – however I cannot, no matter how hard I try, find a video clip (or images, etc!). This movie starred Marshall Thompson as George Washington and Karen Sharpe as Martha. 

 

That’s it, truly.  Well, according to Wikipedia there was also an erotic film made about the Founding Fathers that apparently also includes Martha Washington – but I’m not going there. Thanks Wikipedia for that piece of info.

Have you seen Martha Washington personified in any films?

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Washington’s Lady by Nancy Moser

Washington’s Lady by Nancy Moser
Ladies of History Series
Unabridged, 14 hr. 36 min.
Recorded Books
Linda Stevens (Narrator)
October 28, 2008
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Personal Collection

“She dreams of a quiet life with her beloved George, but war looms... Though still a young woman, Martha Custis is a widow. But she is not without means and has no desire to remarry. Not, that is, until a striking war hero steps into her life and she realizes she is ready to love again. Yet she wonders whether this man, accustomed to courageous military exploits, can settle down to a simple life of farming and being a father to her children. Even as she longs for domestic bliss, Martha soon realizes she will have to risk everything dear to her and find the courage to get behind a dream much larger than her own. Known for moving first-person novels of Nannerl Mozart and Jane Austen, Nancy Moser now brings to life the loves and trials of the First First Lady of the United States.”

Martha is one of those Revolutionary women that has always intrigued me, but is one that I don’t know much about (I am much more well versed with Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison). The part of her life that I knew the most about was the Presidential years, so I was most interested in reading about her earlier life, especially her first husband, Daniel Custis. Interestingly, last summer while in Williamsburg, Virginia I accidentally happened upon the graves of Daniel Custis and two of their children, which intrigued me to know more.

A decent amount of time was spent on her marriage to Daniel Custis – comparable to the seven years in which they were married. While I didn’t get to know Daniel as well George Washington, I felt that Moser gave us enough to understand Martha’s relationship with him. On the other hand, Martha was portrayed well. She was given her own voice, in her own age. It is obvious that she was a strong and passionate woman – she held a lot of things together following Daniel’s death prior to her marriage to George. I was thrilled to see the family side of George Washington. He is typically portrayed as more reserved and stoic. Here we see him actually get mad as well as be very loving with his family.

The novel doesn’t spend much time on the actual Presidential years. The majority of the time spent on the Washington marriage is dedicated to the Revolutionary War years and then the retirement years following the presidency. I would have liked a little more about how Martha handled the years in the capital city. It almost glazed over this period, just barely touching upon certain aspects. As this is the aspect most people already know about, I can understand the desire to skip over it, but when the rest of her life was treated relatively chronologically, it stood out as an omission.

Overall Martha was done justice by Moser novel treatment. I felt that she really came alive within the pages. While there are some areas that I think could have been improved, it was overall an enjoyable novel.

★★★★☆

The audio production was just OK. I didn’t love the narrator’s voice and there wasn’t great definition of characters.

Author Nancy Moser also has written the following biographical novels: Just Jane, An Unlikely Suitor, Mozart’s Sister, and How Do I Love Thee?. You can visit Moser’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Lori’s Book Reviews
• Devourer of Books

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

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