{"product_id":"the-personal-correspondence-of-sam-madge-thornall-roberts-9781574410006","title":"The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston. Volume I: 1839-1845","description":"In the April, 1971, issue of \u003ci\u003eSouthwestern Historical Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e, historian Llerena Friend wrote that there was a \"need for a new editing of Houston correspondence\" to complement the eight-volume collection compiled in the 1930s by Eugene C. Barker and Amelia Williams. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen author Madge Roberts began research for her previous book, \u003ci\u003eStar of Destiny: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Private Life of Sam and Margaret Houston\u003c\/i\u003e, she began to collect just such a file of previously unpublished Houston correspondence, which soon consisted of nearly a thousand letters. Because most of these letters were until recently in the hands of Houston descendants, most of them are \"personal\" rather than \"political.\" Although a few have been excerpted in various books and historical articles, none have been published in their entirety. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn comparing these letters to those published in the Barker and Williams volumes, Roberts found that \"the personal letters often take the historian one step further,\" as Houston felt more free to discuss his analyses of people and events than he did in his official correspondence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHouston was an extraordinary writer, in terms of both quantity and quality. His letters to friends and family overflow with lively details about manners, dress, medical practices, farming, transportation, family dynamics, and many other topics of interest to social historians. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn her footnotes, Roberts reveals the full names of the people mentioned and the historical events taking place at the time, thus placing the letters into the broader context of Houston's life and times. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVolume I, 1839-1845, covers the years of the Texas Republic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Madge Thornall Roberts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1574410008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781574410006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of North Texas Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/01\/1996\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 448\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.32h x 6.35w x 1.27d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/22\/1996 pg. 56","brand":"Madge Thornall Roberts","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48088579899647,"sku":"9781574410006","price":35.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_83b8fbaf-4f8c-4816-a567-afec1c6b3a23.jpg?v=1769105557","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-personal-correspondence-of-sam-madge-thornall-roberts-9781574410006","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}