Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me

By Peter Boody
$3.99 Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: April 08, 2012
Words: 100,031 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781476109466

Short description

What would you do if the ghost of Thomas Jefferson asked you to take him off his mountain so he could see the country? Jack Arrowsmith and his late son's girlfriend, Rachel Carter — a mixed-race beauty like Sally Hemings — swallow their fears and take him away. What if he returns to corporeal form — a man used to slaves but this time with no money, job or ID?

Extended description

​"Can't sleep! TJ, Rachel & Me has taken over my body & mind like no book before. Will it be a movie? Thanks for this work." — Tweet by Roma Prindle, July 17, 2012.
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Thank you, Roma, whoever you are.
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Some novels are more than the sum of their parts. (Read more) ​"Can't sleep! TJ, Rachel & Me has taken over my body & mind like no book before. Will it be a movie? Thanks for this work." — Tweet by Roma Prindle, July 17, 2012.
​​
Thank you, Roma, whoever you are.
​
Some novels are more than the sum of their parts.
​
“Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me is a fun read that nevertheless hits home for many readers, who love its haunting mood; its likable, realistic characters, especially a quirky, fascinating Thomas Jefferson; its lively dialogue and its page-turning story line.

Part realistic fantasy, part time travel, it also has been called an historical novel and a ghost story. It's not quite any of these things. Rather than a commercial genre novel, it’s a literary work about love, loss and redemption, and the ghosts that haunt us all.
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Even though it's an indie book with an extremely limited marketing budget, it found its way into libraries coast to coast in its first year of existence as a paperback (2012-2013).
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Among them is the Thomas Jefferson Library at Monticello, operated by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which acquired the novel for its collection in the spring of 2012.
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TJRM was chosen by the staff of the Urbana, Illinois Free Library as one of their favorite books of 2012.

TJRM has mostly 5- and 4-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
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KIRKUS REVIEWS selected it to be a “Critics’ Pick” for May 2012 and ran its web review in the April 15, 2012 national print edition:
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“Boody has written a wonderfully strange ‘what-if’ story … [His] writing
is so good … [he] gives Jefferson a wholly authentic voice, with genuine dialogue that bears the stamp of a bygone era. … this Jefferson is delightfully quirky, flawed yet sympathetic and fascinating. Boody’s novel cleverly introduces history to today’s technology, politics and economy. An engrossing, haunting story about making up for lost time.”
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SAN FRANCISCO BOOK REVIEW gave TJRM 5 stars:

“The book is a tale of two men—one from our time and another from the eighteenth century—coping with lose and redemption …
“Jack and Rachel are full-bodied and felt like real people. Jefferson is the star of the book, as he is both pronounced and entertaining. While it is Jack’s exploration of growth that is the center plot, the book really gets its motivation from Jefferson’s reaction to modern life. Imagine this slave owner’s response after discovering that the 44th president is African American?
“The book has a certain quirkiness to it that makes it a fast read. The pacing of the story is also a well done balance of humor and excitement.
“The book feels like a journal of a close friend, which made each discovery more personal and unforgettable.
“Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me is a fun, emotional exploration of human interactions that everyone will find to be captivating. This is a story that will touch your heart and make you think, regardless of what century you call home.”
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Tags

thomas jefferson, monticello, colonial williamsburg, sally hemings, james hemings

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