"That Evil Genius": Ellen Wayles Randolph

It's a crossover episode! This time on "In the Course of Human Events" we highlight the work of an another remarkable podcast series, "Your Most Obedient and Humble Servant,” which showcases women’s letters from the 18th and early 19th-century that don’t always make it into the history books. In this installment former Monticello guide Kathryn Gehred is joined by long-time Monticello guide Danna Kelley for an entertaining look at Jefferson’s granddaughter Ellen Wayles Randolph. Their conversation centers on a letter she wrote to her mother, Martha Jefferson Randolph, while visiting Richmond, Virginia in 1819. In the letter, Ellen, then 23, describes herself as a person whose tongue “runs faster than is quite compatible with the comfort of my friends” and then proves the point with language that is often as withering as it is engaging. DnOXB8bwM9cl2wnTLWyd