Description
Book SynopsisPoplar Forest is one of two personal residences that Thomas Jefferson designed for himself, the other being Monticello. Travis McDonald situates the site in its rightful position as a historically important Virginia house, and he documents its story as central to Jefferson’s life and approach to architecture.
Trade Review“In
Poplar Forest: Thomas Jefferson’s Villa Retreat, Travis C. McDonald demonstrates that, even if he had never entered politics, Jefferson would be regarded as one of the greatest pioneer architects in early America. Here, in this work of a lifetime, McDonald has produced a definitive study of Jefferson’s retirement retreat, Poplar Forest. Like so much else in Jefferson’s life, McDonald reveals that his retirement villa was fraught with contradictions, with much of the skilled workmanship being conducted by his unacknowledged African American sons and extended family. It is at the same time a work of greatness.” - Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, University of Virginia, author of
The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson's Idea of a UniversityTable of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. The Retreat
- 2. Thomas Jefferson’s Education as Architect and Builder
- 3. Designing a Retreat
- 4. The Construction Saga
- 5. Landscapes of Use and Ornament
- 6. Retired Life at Poplar Forest
- 7. A Retirement Hobby
- Epilogue
- Afterword: Jefferson in Our Time
- Appendix A: Chronology
- Appendix B: Jeffersonian Elements and Materials
- Appendix C: Jefferson’s Typology of Octagon Designs
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Illustration Credits
- Index
