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Suggested Reading List

This page contains a general list of suggested reading material pertaining to Thomas Jefferson and his world, organized by topic. Some of these books may be purchased online through our Museum Shop. Some may be out of print, but can be obtained through your local library or used bookseller. Titles are linked to WorldCat, where you can search for copies in libraries near you.

For reading suggestions for children, please see the bibliography on the Monticello Classroom site. For more specialized references on specific topics, see "Further Sources" listed in individual articles in the Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia.

Architecture
Art and Music
Biography
Books and Libraries

Education
Family

Food and Drink
Gardening and Horticulture
Monticello
Politics and Law
Religion
Science and Exploration
Slavery
Thomas Jefferson's Writings
Travel

 

Architecture

General

Monticello

  • Beiswanger, William L. Monticello in Measured Drawings. Charlottesville, Va.: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, 1998.  Text by Monticello's Robert H. Smith Director of Restoration, accompanied by reproductions of the measured drawings of Monticello done by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
  • McLaughlin, Jack. Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder. New York: Holt, 1988. A useful narrative of the construction of Monticello.

Other Buildings

Art and Music

Biography

Books and Libraries

Education

Family

  • Betts, Edwin M., and James Bear, Jr., eds. The Family Letters of Thomas Jefferson. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1966. Reprinted Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, 1986.  Extensive (but not exhaustive) collection of transcribed letters between Thomas Jefferson, his children, grandchildren, and occasionally other relatives.
  • Kern, Susan.  The Jeffersons at Shadwell.  New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2010.  362 pp. 
  • Langhorne, Elizabeth. Monticello, a Family Story. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1987.  289 pp.
  • Mayo, Bernard, ed. Thomas Jefferson and his Unknown Brother. Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1981.  Brief introductory text and collected letters between Thomas Jefferson and his younger brother Randolph.
  • Merrill, Boynton, Jr. Jefferson's Nephews: A Frontier Tragedy. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1987 (2nd ed.).  A study of the two sons of Thomas Jefferson's sister Lucy Jefferson Lewis, and their involvement in a murder case in Kentucky in 1811-1812.  Rich source of information on the extended Lewis-Jefferson family.
  • Randall, Henry S. The Life of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Derby & Jackson, 1857. This is one of the first major biographies of Thomas Jefferson, for which the author interviewed members of Jefferson's family. Modern reprints are available.
  • Randolph, Sarah N. The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Harper, 1871; reprinted multiple times.  Also available online.  This book by Thomas Jefferson's great-granddaughter relates family stories about Thomas Jefferson and life at Monticello.
  • Shackelford, George Green, ed. Collected Papers to Commemorate Fifty Years of the Monticello Association of the Descendants of Thomas Jefferson. Charlottesville: Monticello Association, 1965. 2 vols.  These volumes contain biographical essays on many of Jefferson's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, along with genealogical information.

Food and Drink

  • Fowler, Damon Lee, ed. Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance. Charlottesville, Va.: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 2005. Includes essays by Monticello scholars on the food culture at Monticello, along with modernized versions of recipes from Jefferson family sources.
  • Gabler, James M. Passions: The Wines & Travels of Thomas Jefferson. Baltimore: Bacchus Press, 1995.
  • Kimball, Marie. Thomas Jefferson's Cook Book. Richmond: Garrett & Massie, 1938; reprinted multiple times.  The recipes in Thomas Jefferson's Cook Book are from a manuscript inherited by descendants of Virginia Jefferson Randolph Trist.  There are a few recipes recorded by Jefferson himself, but most of the recipes included are from non-Monticello sources.  
  • Lawrence, R. de Treville, III. Jefferson and Wine: Model of Moderation. The Plains, Va.: Vinifera Wine Growers Association, 1989.  A collection of essays by various scholars on Jefferson and wine.
  • Randolph, Mary. The Virginia House-wife. Washington, D.C.: Davis and Force, 1824.  Reprinted multiple times; the 1984 edition edited by Karen Hess is the most widely available.  This collection of recipes was written and published by a relative of the Jefferson family by marriage.  Also available online.

Gardening and Horticulture

Garden History

Monticello

See also Gardening and Horticulture

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.

Politics and Law

  • Banning, Lance. Jefferson and Madison: Three Conversations From the Founding. 1995.
  • ---. The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology. 1978.
  • Caldwell, Lynton K. The Administrative Theories of Hamilton and Jefferson. 1987.
  • Christman, Margaret C.S. The Spirit of Party: Hamilton and Jefferson at Odds. 1992.
  • Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Process of Government Under Jefferson. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1978.
  • Dewey, Frank L. Thomas Jefferson, Lawyer. Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1986.  This book has a helpful appendix listing all of the manuscript sources for Jefferson's legal practice.
  • Dumbauld, Edward. Thomas Jefferson and the Law.  Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.
  • Dunn, Susan. Jefferson's Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
  • Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. 2000.
  • Ellis, Joseph J. What Did the Declaration Declare? 1999
  • Kaminski, John P. Thomas Jefferson: Philosopher and Politician. 2005.
  • Levy, Leonard W. Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side. 1989.
  • McDonald, Forrest. The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson. 1976.
  • Matthews, Richard. The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson. 1986.
  • Mayer, David N. The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson. 1994.
  • Morgan, Edmund S. The Meaning of Independence: John Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. 1976. Reprint 2004.
  • Peterson, Merrill D. Adams and Jefferson: A Revolutionary Dialogue.
  • Peterson, Merrill D., and Robert C. Vaughn, eds. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. 1988.
  • Schwartz, Bernard. Thomas Jefferson and Bolling v. Bolling: Law & the Legal Profession in Pre-Revolutionary America. 1997.
  • Sheehan, Bernard W. Seeds of Extinction: Jeffersonian Philanthropy and the American Indian. 1973.
  • Sheldon, Garrett Ward. The Political Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. 1992.
  • Tucker, Robert W., and David C. Hendrickson. Empire of Liberty: The Statecraft of Thomas Jefferson. 1990.
  • Wood, Gordon S. The Creation of the American Republic. 1969.

Thomas Jefferson and the Middle East

Religion

  • Adams, Dickinson W. (ed.). Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels: "The Philosophy of Jesus" and "The Life and Morals of Jesus." Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983. The introduction to this book, by the late Eugene Sheridan, is an excellent overview of Thomas Jefferson's religious development throughout his life. The book also contains facsimiles of Jefferson's two Bible compilations, and the full text of many of his letters in which he discusses religion.
  • Gaustad, Edwin S. Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1996.
  • Holmes, David. Fathers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. A good broad introduction to the religious faith of many of the Founding Fathers, including Franklin, Washington, Adams, Madison, Monroe, and of course Jefferson.
  • Hutson, James. Republic. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1998. A companion catalog for an exhibition held at the Library of Congress. Contains a good many images and illustrations. The online companion to the exhibit can still be seen here.
  • Peterson, Merrill D., and Robert C. Vaughn, eds. Freedom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. A collection of essays about Jefferson's Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom.
  • Sanford, Charles B. Jefferson. Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1984. An in-depth examination of Jefferson's religious beliefs.
  • Sheridan, Eugene R. Religion. Charlottesville, Va.: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 1998. The text of this book, part of the Monticello Monograph series, is almost identical to the introduction to Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels (above).
  • Spangler, Jewel L. Century. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Press, 2008. A good study of the evolution of religion in Virginia, setting the stage for Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom.
  • Vicchio, Stephen J. Religion. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock, 2007.
  • Waldman, Stephen. America. New York: Random House, 2008. Another good overview of the historical context of Jefferson's religious beliefs, as well as those of other contemporaries.

Science and Exploration

  • Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West. 1996.
  • Bedini, Silvio A. Thomas Jefferson and His Copying Machines. 1984.
  • Bedini, Silvio A. Thomas Jefferson: Statesman of Science. 1990.
  • Cerami, Charles A. Jefferson's Great Gamble: The Remarkable Story of Jefferson, Napoleon and the Men Behind the Louisiana Purchase. 2003.
  • Cohen, I. Bernard. Science and the Founding Fathers: Science in the Political Thought of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and James Madison. 1995.
  • Cohen, I. Bernard, ed. Thomas Jefferson and the Sciences. 1980. Reprinted articles.
  • Flores, Dan L. Jefferson and Southwest Exploration: The Freeman and Austin Accounts of the Red River Expedition of 1806. 1984.
  • Greene, John C. American Science in the Age of Jefferson. 1984.
  • Jackson, Donald. Thomas Jefferson & the Stony Mountains: Exploring the West from Monticello. 1981.
  • Miller, Charles A. Jefferson and Nature. 1993.
  • Regis, Pamela. Describing Early America: Bartram, Jefferson, Crêvecoeur, and the Rhetoric of Natural History. 1992.
  • Ronda, James P. Thomas Jefferson and the Changing West. 1997.
  • Thomson, Keith. A Passion for Nature. 2008.

Slavery

Slavery and the Enslaved Community at Monticello

More General Works on Slavery and African-American History

Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson

  • Burton, Cynthia H. Jefferson Vindicated: Fallacies, Omissions, and Contradictions in the Hemings Genealogical Search. 2005.
  • Gordon-Reed, Annette. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. 1997.
  • Lanier, Shannon and Jane Feldman. Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family. 2000, 2002.
  • Lewis, Jan Ellen and Peter Onuf, eds. Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory & Civic Culture. 1999.

Thomas Jefferson's Writings

  • Bear, James A., Jr., and Lucia C. Stanton, eds. Jefferson's Memorandum Books: Accounts, with Legal Records and Miscellany, 1767-1826. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997. Two-volume set.
  • Betts, Edwin M., ed. Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book. 1953; rpt. 1976.
  • Betts, Edwin M., ed. Thomas Jefferson's Garden Book. 1944; rpt. 1985.
  • Betts, Edwin M., and James A. Bear, Jr., eds. Family Letters of Thomas Jefferson. 1966; rpt. 1985.
  • Boyd, Julian P. The Declaration of Independence: The Evolution of the Text. 1999.
  • Boyd, Julian P., and others, eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. 1950 - present. 35 vols.
  • Cappon, Lester J., ed. The Adams-Jefferson Letters. 1959; rpt. 1987.
  • Howell, Wilbur Samuel, ed. Jefferson's Parliamentary Writings. 1988.
  • Jefferson, Thomas. The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1790. 1914; reprint 2005.
  • Koch, Adrienne, and William Peden, eds. The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson. 1944; rpt. 1993.
  • Looney, J. Jefferson et al, eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series. 2004-present.
  • Mayo, Bernard, ed. Jefferson Himself. 1942; rpt. 1970.
  • Peden, William, ed. Notes on the State of Virginia. 1954.
  • Peterson, Merrill D., ed. Thomas Jefferson: Writings. 1984.
  • Peterson, Merrill D., ed. The Political Writings of Thomas Jefferson. 1993.
  • Smith, James Morton. The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison 1776-1826. 1994.
  • Wilson, Douglas, ed. Jefferson's Literary Commonplace Book. 1989.

Travel

  • Adams, William Howard. The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson. 1997.
  • Dumbauld, Edward. Thomas Jefferson, American Tourist : Being an Account of His Journeys in the United States of America, England, France, Italy, the Low Countries, and Germany. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1946 (reprinted 1976).
  • Kimball, Marie. Jefferson: The Scene of Europe, 1784 to 1789. New York : Coward-McCann, c1950.
  • Maguire, Robert J., ed. The Tour to the Northern Lakes of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, May - June 1791. A facsimile edition of their travel journals. 1995.
  • Moore, Roy and Alma. Thomas Jefferson's Journey to the South of France. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999.
  • Rice, Howard C. Thomas Jefferson's Paris. 1976.
  • Shackelford, George Green. Thomas Jefferson's Travels in Europe, 1784-1789. 1995.
  • Wilson, Douglas L., and Lucia Stanton (eds.). Jefferson Abroad. New York: Modern Library, 1999.

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This page is always a work in progress (there are always new books coming along, after all), but it's a great place to start for the curious. All these titles have been suggested by Monticello staff - these are the books we use the most often and find the most useful for our work.