12 h 9 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In Andrew Jackson’s Washington, a closed parlor door can turn a woman’s reputation into a political fight.
Peggy O’Neal grows up at Franklin House, her father William O’Neale’s Washington boarding house and tavern, where members of Congress take rooms. She marries John Timberlake, a Navy purser whose long absences leave her in her father’s house. Gossip gathers around her, and the powerful women of the capital refuse to welcome her.
In Peggy O’Neal, Alfred Henry Lewis turns the real affair of Margaret O’Neale, later known as Peggy Eaton, into a historical novel of manners, malice, and loyalty. President Andrew Jackson defends Peggy in public and private. When he calls his cabinet together to examine the charges, a quarrel over social acceptance reaches the heart of his presidency.
What you’ll discover
- A tavern near power Enter Franklin House, where Peggy’s family life shares a roof with Washington’s men of rank.
- A reputation under siege Follow Peggy as whispers about her life become grounds for exclusion from Washington society.
- The power of refusal See how the capital’s leading ladies turn social acceptance into a weapon against Peggy.
- A president takes sides Watch Jackson defend Peggy and bring the charges against her before his own cabinet.
- History shaped into drama Explore a real political affair through a novel concerned with honor, loyalty, and malice.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy a vivid portrait of Andrew Jackson, Washington gossip and political intrigue will find plenty here, along with duels, banquets and a tender, unfinished romance told in a warm frontier voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A President Arrives Carrying Grief
- Jackson Names Eaton Despite the Gossip
- Meeting Peg and Her Champions
- Slander Takes New Shapes
- Calhoun, Van Buren and the Wider Plot
- The Major and Peg at Crosses
- Peg Wins Washington Society
- Nullification and the Seven-Word Toast
Who’s who
- The MajorA big Tennessee planter and Jackson's closest adviser, who tells the story as an old man and quietly falls in love with Peg.
- Andrew JacksonThe General and new president, widowed, ill and stubborn, who will risk his administration to protect a friend's wife.
- Peg O'Neal EatonA tavern keeper's daughter, beautiful and quick, shunned by Washington's ladies and set on winning her place.
- John EatonPeg's husband and Jackson's friend, named Secretary of War, good-humored but dull to her inner life.
- Mordecai NoahA New York editor and duelist, cool and loyal, who fights and schemes to clear Peg's name.
- RiveraNoah's powerful, gentle companion, part Spanish and part Irish, a boxer who adores a fight and obeys his patron.
- John C. CalhounThe Vice President, ambitious and cold, whose faction leads the attack on the Eatons and pushes Nullification.
- JimThe Major's elderly servant, who guards his master's morals, loves a drink and talks without end.
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Peggy O’Neal
by Alfred Henry Lewis · 1903
Peg O'Neal, a tavern keeper's daughter, stands at the center of a social war over loyalty, slander and politics.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Peggy O'Neal is Alfred Henry Lewis's historical novel, told by an old Tennessee planter called the Major, who stood beside Jackson. It turns the Eaton affair, a social war over a tavern keeper's daughter, into a story of loyalty, slander, politics and a quiet private ache.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A President Arrives Carrying Grief
The Major remembers the journey with General Jackson from Nashville to Washington. Jackson is weak, and his wife Rachel is only twelve weeks in her grave. The Major fears he will die on the way.
At the Indian Queen, the inn that Peg's father once kept, Jackson keeps a small portrait of Rachel around his neck. Each night he reads her hymns beside it, as if he were reporting the day to her.
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What is Peggy O'Neal about?
Jackson names her husband to the cabinet, Washington's ladies shun her, and Jackson's friends fight to defend her.
Who is Peg O'Neal in history?
Peggy O'Neal, later Peggy Eaton, was the daughter of a Washington tavern keeper who married John Eaton, Jackson's Secretary of War. The novel builds a lively story around that real controversy, with invented scenes and dialogue.
Who tells the story in Peggy O'Neal?
A Tennessee planter called the Major tells it as an old man. He is Jackson's close friend and adviser, and he writes with humor, warmth and frank opinions about the people around him.
The author
Alfred Henry Lewis
1855–1914 · American journalist and novelist
American investigative journalist, lawyer, author, and editor.
More by Alfred Henry Lewis
All 2 booksMore like this
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