As the title suggests, Mr. and Mrs. Madison's War recounts the War of 1812 as President James Madison and his wife experienced it. Hugh Howard (The Painter's Chair) toggles between battles and presidential politics; his depictions of skirmishes are presented as fairly standard military history, but whenever his detailed descriptions of troop movements threaten to devolve into tedium, he switches over to dispatches from the president and first lady.
This approach offers a thorough account of how the British forces managed to advance to Washington, D.C., but it also provides detailed character sketches--and Madison isn't even the most interesting player. Dolley Madison gets plenty of screen time, too, as Howard explains the vital role her Washington soirees played in supporting her husband's political goals. (Completists, take note: he also covers her famous rescue of Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington.) Then there are the feuding personalities in Madison's cabinet, like Secretary of War John Armstrong--covetous of Madison's position, he resisted preparing for the invasion of Washington, D.C., and displayed a generally insubordinate attitude. On the other hand, Secretary of State (and future president) James Monroe comes off very well in Howard's account, riding out to scout British troop movements firsthand. In terms of sheer scene-stealing charm, however, the standout is Joshua Barney, whose ragtag flotilla couldn't fully prevent the British advance, but nevertheless created major headaches for the fearsome Royal Navy. --Kelly Faircloth, freelance writer