The Washingtons: George and Martha, "Join'd by Friendship, Crown'd by Love"

A full-scale portrait of the marriage of the father and mother of our country—and of the struggle for independence that he led

The Washingtons’ long union begins in colonial Virginia in 1759, when George Washington woos and weds Martha Dandridge Parke Custis, a pretty, charming, and very rich young widow. The calm early years of their marriage as plantation owners at Mount Vernon and as parents to Martha’s two children, Jacky and Patsy—both of whom present difficult challenges—yi…