Martha Washington
Here's a list of the biographies I read while researching our season 1 subject, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington.
Martha Washington: An American Life, by Patricia Brady
Martha Washington: First Lady of Liberty, by Helen Bryan
The General and Mrs. Washington, by Bruce Chadwick
The Washingtons: George and Martha, by Flora Fraser
I've listed them in the order that I enjoyed them. While Patricia Brady's book was my favorite, it's also shorter than Helen Bryan's, so I felt like Helen included a lot more context and information. Bruce Chadwick's book was an interesting read, but it was arranged more by theme than strictly chronologically, so it was more challenging to refer back to during the writing process.
Flora Fraser is actually an English writer, and she acknowledged the irony of a Brit writing about America's First Couple. I found her book the least helpful, and I don't think I even quoted from it anywhere in the podcast. But I did read it and refer back to it during the writing process, so I wanted to be sure to include it here.
Below are links to the transcripts for each episode in the season. This page will be updated throughout Season 1 as I release new episodes. There are 11 episodes in total, so once you see all 11, that means the season is over.
In addition to transcripts, the link to each episode may include photos or links of interest, many of which I mentioned during the episode.