"Although many contemporaries were fooled by Washington's aura of cool command, those who knew him best shared Stuart's view of a sensitive, complex figure, full of pent-up passion." (Prelude: The Portrait Artist, p. xix).

"At the same time, Lawrence retained clear affection for Admiral Vernon and, in a burst of Anglophilia, would rename the Little Hunting Creek estate Mount Vernon, hanging the admiral's portrait in an honored place there." (Part 1, The Frontiersman: Chapter 1, p. 9).

"By the end, despite four bullets having torn through his hat and uniform, he managed to emerge unscathed." (Part 1, The Frontiersman: Chapter 5, p. 59).

"Whatever the periodic tensions caused by Jacky's lax behavior, the marriage of George and Martha Washington proceeded happily, and they seemed united by strong desire and mutual need. Almost all observers found them exceedingly well matched." (Part 2, The Planter: Chapter 9, p. 101).

"George Washington was sobered and dismayed by the shocking news...