and now i'm very proud to introduce beth taylor. [applause] >> well, i thank john and julie for having me today. i thank, um, all of you or for turning out. "a slave in the white house: paul jennings and the madisons," was a great labor of love. i spent three years researching the book and a year writing it. i have a fondness for good narrative nonfiction, and a lot of times if i read journalistic pieces, i enjoy when they begin with an extended anecdotal lead. so i adapted that approach in my book, and each chapter starts with what we might call a vignette. i really labored over the details. if i give the weather, it's documented. if i say james madison's overcoat was olive, i have an eyewitness and so on. so i thought what i might do today is intersperse my comments with reading excerpts from some of these vignettes. they all place jennings at or near a doorway or some kind of opening. in one case it's the hatch of a ship, and in this first one it's an open gravement -- grave. on or about 28, february, 1801, montpelier, the madiso

taylor is from a san mateo. >> he played a great game. he played a great game. that is it for us. have a great night. good night ♪ beth! hi! looking good.lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter.