By Dave Shiflett (Bloomberg) – Dolley Madison really was a cupcake. She also was crucial in second husband James Madison’s political success, brought style and decorum to the festering mud hole of Washington, D.C. and created the role of First Lady, according to “Dolley Madison,” which airs on PBS March 1 at 9 p.m. New York time. Eve Best plays Madison -- a raven-haired, red-cheeked babe with a soft southern accent and a dramatically heaving bosom. Yet she’s no whining southern belle and could easily deck Scarlett O’Hara while sipping a cup of tea. Her family moved from Virginia to Philadelphia in the 1780s after her father, in accordance with his Quaker religion, freed his slaves. His new life was disastrous, including what appeared to be shady business dealings and struggles with alcohol. Dolley’s first marriage was similarly cursed: Her husband and youngest child died in the city’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic, leaving her with one son, Payne, whose profligacy would plague her throughout her life and even after her death. The immensely enjoyable 90-minute docudrama also stars Jefferson Mays as James Madison, who was shy, sickly, short and allegedly fond of dirty jokes. He was 17 years Dolley’s senior, and when they married she was apparently some time in feeling the earth move, signing a wedding day letter “Now Mrs. Madison, alas.” Yet a panel of authors and historians, including Cokie Roberts, Richard Norton Smith and Catherine Allgor makes clear she and Madison developed a deep and abiding love, though one that was challenged from without and within. When the Madisons arrived in Washington the town was swampy bog. Cokie Roberts, looking eternally 50ish, says a mosquito infested creek that ran along the main street had been grandly named “The Tiber” and Congress often resembled the Roman senate in total upheaval. Canings and dueling were common. Dolley, whose desire to placate may have been the result of living in an alcoholic home, opened up the executive mansion for weekly parties called “squeezes” where opposing politicians sipped port and wagged relatively civil tongues. She sent plenty of tongues wagging with her fondness for bright clothes and large feathered bonnets. Then there was that heaving bosom. Newspapers and political opponents accused her of being “overly” sexed and romantically involved with a phalanx of congressmen. She could care less, saying of one diatribe: “It was as good as a play.” The film credits her as being the “first” First Lady. Besides her high profile parties and behind the scenes politicking she was the first presidential wife to embrace a charitable cause – an orphanage to which she donated money and a cow. She also played a major role in keeping Washington the capital after the British burned it during the War of 1812. While a growing congressional consensus wanted to move the capital to Philadelphia she set out on a lobbying crusade, largely conducted at dinner parties, that helped turn the tide. The film also focuses on her long, losing battle with Payne, a heavy drinker and gambler whose sole expertise was draining the family’s accounts. Though the retired president and first lady owned a vast Virginia estate complete with 100 slaves, all that would slowly disappear, with Payne siphoning off a good portion. After Madison’s death Dolley was forced to sell all the property, including the slaves. In a heart-rending scene, a slave begs Dolley to sell the slaves to neighbors so families would not be ripped apart. “Think my dear mistress what our sorrow must be.” She fell into abject poverty; one former slave, who had bought his freedom felt obliged to bring her food when he visited to keep her from starving. Her final years were better, though bittersweet. Congress bought some of her husband’s papers which gave her some cash, and she moved back to Washington in the 1840s. She died in 1849 at age 81 and was celebrated with a massive public funeral. Yet her wishes to be buried beside her husband could not be met for ten years, thanks to Payne, whose debts continued draining the estate. He died two years after his mother. While not as well known as Abigail Adams or Martha Jefferson, Dolley Madison was a remarkable woman – another historic figure worth a mini-series. (
