I often conclude my tours of Mulberry Row with the story of Peter Fossett, the son of Monticello’s blacksmith Joseph Fossett and his wife Edith, Monticello’s head cook.

Jefferson’s various names for this place imply that it was simply a plantation road named for the pairs of mulberry trees planted alongside it. But for the people who lived and worked there, it was much more.

I found something the other day which has turned out to be very interesting indeed.

Jefferson’s granddaughters began venturing “into society” in the 1810s.

Yes, it's Ladies of the White House; or, In the Home of the Presidents: Being a Complete History of the Social and Domestic Lives of the Presidents from Washington to Hayes.

I'm currently engaged in a long-term quest to acquire every single item in Frank Shuffelton's epic Thomas Jefferson: A Comprehensive, Annotated Bibliography of Writings About Him, 1826-1997.

I mean, it's complete twaddle, but it's deliciously twaddlesome.

This blog entry came up in my Google Alert a few days ago - its main focus is actually a cathedral in Saigon, but it incidentally mentions a fascinating little episode in Jefferson's life of which I was heretofore unaware.

That would be a great name for a band, wouldn't it? Or a car. Alas, no, it's my latest book acquisition, and although I do poke gentle fun at my Gilded Pig, it really is a great little find.

A new intriguing book on the shelves: Impossible Engineering: Technology and Territoriality on the Canal du Midi, by Chandra Mukerji. This dovetails nicely with one of our TJ Encyclopedia articles, which features an itinerary of Jefferson's travels through southern France and Italy - during which, yes, he visited the Canal du Midi.