Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

What person from history would you love to learn more about?

I don’t know much about the Grant family and was happy to read Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini for the September Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  I had read an interview with one of Grant’s descendants a few months ago and I was intrigued about his discussion on how Grant’s memory was tarnished as Lee’s memory was lifted up.  If one is a saint, the other must be a villain.   

 I like lists so I’m going to list what I liked and didn’t like about this book.

What I liked:

•  Ulysses S. Grant and Julia had a great love story that spanned through the decades.  I enjoyed it.
•  Life was complicated for them with Julia being from a family that owned slaves and Ulysses was from a family of abolitionists.  I can’t imagine what those family discussions would have been like!
•  The book did discuss the rumors that were spread during the war about Grant to tarnish him by his enemies and how they weren’t true. The main rumor was that Grant was a drunk.
• Ulysses had some moments with Julia that were great learning moments.  Julia didn’t like how he tried to kick all Jews out of the military, and said he couldn’t categorize people by race.  He said, isn’t that what you do with black people and slavery?
• I liked that we got to see life in the Grant presidency.
• My mother has told me that Galena, Illinois where the Grants lived before the Civil War is beautiful and historical.  I loved reading about it in this book.  I need to visit.

What I didn’t like:

• Jule was not as main of a character as Julia.  The focus really was on Julia and Ulysses.  I understood when I got to the end of the book that it was because while Jule is referred to in a few historical references, there just isn’t any more information about her.  I wanted her and Julia to get together in the end.  I kept waiting and it never happened.
• The book was good but was more of a slow read.

Book Source:  Borrowed from the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!