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Jefferson's Broken Heart and Wrist

49m · Plodding Through The Presidents · 11 Feb 10:11

We explore Thomas Jefferson's dangerous liaison in Paris with the talented artist Maria Cosway and her monkey-like husband Richard Cosway - a love story that resulted in two broken hearts, one permanently damaged wrist, and one epic 4000-word love letter written as a dialogue between Jefferson's head and heart.

Sources:Founders Online - Jefferson's Head and the Heart letter to Maria CoswayMr. Jefferson's Women by Jon KuklaThomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon MeachamJefferson and the Rights of Man by Dumas MaloneJefferson: A Revealing Biography by Page SmithJohn Adams by David McCulloughRichard Cosway, “The Macaroni Miniature Painter” from The Art Amateur, Vol. 8, No. 2 (January 1883)Inspired by my post "Thomas Jefferson's Head, Heart, and Wrist"

I won't link directly to the "don't say I didn't warn you" painting of Leda and the Swan, but it's up to you if you want to Google Leda and the Swan by François Boucher 1740. (Don't do it.)

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

 

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The episode Jefferson's Broken Heart and Wrist from the podcast Plodding Through The Presidents has a duration of 49:57. It was first published 11 Feb 10:11. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

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