Boom! Boom! What was that? Patsy Dandridge sat straight up in bed.

Boom! The windows rattled. The ground shook. It must be a cannon! Hurrah! There was only one cannon she had ever heard near her home. It was on the English ship that brought supplies to the Virginia plantations on the Pamunkey River.

Patsy sprang out of bed and ran to the window. It was barely daylight. She could just make out a shape on the river. "The ship's in, the ship's in!" she cried.

From all over the house the same cry arose. Out on the lawn flares were started. The slaves came running from fields, cheering and shouting. The ship's coming meant a holiday for them.

They began to gather wood for a huge bonfire. There would be a big barbecue. The Indians would bring wild turkeys. There would be pigs roasting over the coals. Oh, there would be good food, and people would come from plantations for miles around! A ship's coming was the greatest fun in the year. And in this ship there might be this very minute a beautiful pony for Patsy Dandridge.

As it turned out, there was a pony, and in a few months Patsy was riding like a little whirlwind over the Dandridge fields. She hunted with the grownups, too, and looked like a big live doll as she jumped fences and raced across country on her pony.

On a big Virginia plantation like the one where Patsy lived before 1750, exciting things were always happening. There were four children and lots of cousins just across the river to make things lively. And there were so many things little girls had to learn about housekeeping, besides having lessons and learning to dance the minuet, that Patsy was always busy. Mrs. Dandridge knew that some day Patsy would have to manage a big plantation of her own. She never guessed, though, that patsy would be the mistress of Mount Vernon, the most famous estate in the country.

For pretty little Patsy became beautiful Martha Dandridge, one of the belles of Virginia. She married nice young Mr. Custis, and then, after his death, a famous soldier of the French and Indian Wars—Colonial George Washington. Many people never suspected that Mrs. Dandridge had been afraid her daughter would be a tomboy. Martha Washington looked so gracious and dignified, so very much a great lady. There could not have been a better "first Lady."

Jean Wagoner has written charming stories of three other delightful girls—Louisa Alcott, Jane Addams and Julia Ward Howe—for the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. She knows that little girls long ago were just as mischievous and lively as they are today, even if they did wear long skirts and look dignified when they had their pictures painted. And she knows, too, exactly what sort of things little girls today want to read about famous American women. She adds plenty of fun and interest to the tale of how gay little Patsy grew up to be Martha Washington. 

From the dust jacket