Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821 by Margaret Law Callcott
Winner of the Book Prize from the Maryland Historical Association
A richer reflection of life in early 19th-century Maryland and the Washington environs cannot be found . . . These superb letters are enhanced by able editing, both in footnotes and excellent essays at the beginning and end. -Washington Post Book World
Callcott is a suberb editor; she has exhaustively researched every aspect of Calvert's life, and her introductory and concluding essays, including an account of George Calvert's relationship with a slave woman, which produced five children, contain much information of interest. -Elizabeth R. Baer, Belles Lettres
These letters document the timeless elements of domestic life-family relationships, childbirth, illness, househld chores-but they offer far more than the familiar fare of the plantation mistress.-Patricia Brady, The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography