The Unwanted Memoir

People tend to believe that notoriety sells books, that if you have a name and a title in Hollywood, in politics, in business, that you’ll probably get a bestseller. Others think that just getting a book in print makes you famous. Sometimes, sure. But not necessarily. This month, I’ve been reading William Seale’s 1300-page history of the White House and toward the end of Volume 1 (a densely worded and comprehensive tribute to the first hundred years of American history), I came across this little note about Mrs. Julia Grant, former First Lady to President (and General) Ulysses S. Grant.

“Mrs. Grant had completed a memoir in 1891, the first ever written by a First Lady, hoping that it would make money as a companion to the bestselling Civil War memories of the late general. To her disappointment, she could find neither a publisher nor even a buyer for the manuscript, which she offered to select collectors for $125,000. The book, a volume of great merit, would not be published for more than three quarters of a century.” (pp.690-691, William’s Seale’s The President’s House)