Best Companions

"This collection of several hundred letters beautifully edited and contextualized by Eliza Cope Harrison, it is much more than a window on the antebellum elite as they shuttle through Philadelphia, Newport, and Charleston. These letters show a loving relationship between mother and daughter, sustained over vast distances, as the latter seeks to make sense of marriage, of her own (and inevitable) pregnancies, and of the cultural divide between North and South. The letters, too, illuminate the thoughts of people who examine the world closely because they are accustomed to having their views taken seriously. Thus the letters provide marvelous insights on modes of transportation and the appearance of the land, dating customs and practices, fashions in clothing and decoration, trends in reading and amusements, and attitudes toward slavery, religion, and abolitionism—and, of course, politics."—Mark C. Carnes, general editor of American National Biography

"Admirably researched and exquisitely edited, this correspondence moves gently above editorial notes so teeming with details that they are a counterpoint text. As for the letters themselves, they demonstrate the special talents of educated women for creating domestic cohesiveness with informative and entertaining language."—Joanne Trautmann Banks, Co-editor, The Letters of Virginia Woolf

"Out of her mother's desk drawer, Eliza Cope Harrison has uncovered a lively and engrossing set of letters. Readers will find rich commentary on travel, sectional differences, slavery, politics, music, childbirth, mothers and daughters, friendship, and marriage. Harrison shows the Middleton women to be deeply involved not only in their homes and families but also in 'spheres' deemed male terrain. These letters reward multiple readings—by scholars, students, and those curious about everyday life in nineteenth-century America."—Kirsten Swinth, Professor of History, Fordham University

"No single volume better captures the intricacies of North-South and mother-daughter relations or the dynamics of family life among elite Americans a generation before the Civil War. Lovers of Philadelphia, Charleston, and Newport will find Best Companions superbly rewarding. The editing is deft and helpful, careful and sensible, not obtrusive. On page after page, incidental observations and the play of feelings and minds will delight the reader."—David Moltke-Hansen, President, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania