who was peggy eaton and how did this unfold? >> peggy eaton was the daughter of a washington, d.c., hotel keeper, tavern owner. many politicians stayed in his hotel and the family got to know them well. she was beautiful. she was well educated. she liked to sing and perform. she actually sometimes appeared in public, which, god forbid, any lady should do. so she was seen as not quite quite. >> she was beautiful. she was vivacious, and she didn't really know her place. she really interfered and went into situations that were part of the men's women and this was a period in the american history which domesticity is specific and there's the women's sphere and the men's sphere and the women's sphere is to guard the household and the morals of society while the men go out and fight in this new capitalist world. margaret eaton and i call her margaret because that's what she liked to be called. i think peggy is a bit of an insult because she didn't like to be called that. she really was somebody who was going up against a different cla

washington, dc, she was a very compassionate person, and a number of the flowers she sent were to peggy eatonwho we have heard about on previous occasions. when she died, lucy sent flowers off to her funeral. >> bob is watching us in baltimore, maryland. >> hello. i am enjoying the program, as always. my question involves a key intellectual. she and her husband, the collection of books. she not only enjoyed reading books, but collecting them. did she have any particular type of book or genre that she preferred? >> the hayes collected over 12,000 books, all of which are at the rutherford hayes library in ohio. she preferred fiction. she liked harriet beecher stowe. she liked to read to the children. rutherford's taste went more toward the heavier drama. they would sit around and read to each other from the latest book or dickens. >> we are talking about life in the white house. an interesting juxtaposition, they preserved that and found some of the predecessor's furniture. they were also interested in technology. they brought the typewriter, the plumbing in the white house, and what else did t