The Lees of Menokin
A biographical novel about
the life and marriage
of Francis Lightfoot Lee and
his wife Rebecca Tayloe
About the Book
Francis Lightfoot Lee is known in the annals of Virginia history as one of the colony’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. Yet little is known of Lee’s personal life, a void which novelist and long-time Virginian Suzanne Semsch set out to fill with extensive research and a healthy dose of creative personalities. The result is The Lees of Menokin, a biographical novel documenting Lee’s career as well as his courtship and marriage to Rebecca “Becky” Tayloe. Read author Suzanne Semsch's remarks at the book signing for The Lees of Menokin that took place at the Menokin Visitors Center on October 15, 2009 in celebration of Francis Lightfoot Lee's 275th birthday.
An excerpt from the Kirkus Discoveries book review:
Romance, slavery and the American Revolution roil this engrossing historical novel....Semsch has done an enormous amount of research on (Francis Lightfoot) Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and it shows in her fine-grained study of Virginia’s planter aristocracy at a cross roads in history. Theirs is a world of elegance and refinement whose rituals of courtesy don’t quite hide the hierarchy and coercion that underlie them, especially in the fraught relationship between masters and slaves....The clashing currents of freedom and imprisonment that course through the saga make for a compelling read. A gripping, richly textured portrait of colonial life in crisis.
To Order: The Lees of Menokin is available in soft cover, and soon in hard cover and also kindle format. It may be purchased through BookSurge.com, Amazon.com, and most other online booksellers. Copies are also be available at the Menokin Visitor’s Center for $25.00.
Engraving of Francis Lightfoot Lee
There are no known portraits of Rebecca Tayloe Lee. However, this portrait is of Rebecca's mother and younger sister. Rebecca Plater Tayloe is on the right and Mary (known as "Polly") Tayloe on the left. Rebecca's mother and her sister Polly are prominent characters in The Lees of Menokin.