John F. Marszalek

THE PETTICOAT AFFAIR, by award-winning historian John F. Marszalek, is the definitive account of the greatest political sex scandal in American history. It tells the fascinating story of Margaret O'Neale Eaton, the brash and unconventional wife of Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War, who was branded a ... (more)"loose woman" and snubbed by Washington society. President Jackson, who had frequently dueled and brawled in defense of his own wife’s reputation, set out to protect Eaton's honor, and he did so with a vengeance. By the time the scandal that ensued was over, the entire cabinet resigned, duels were threatened, assassinations were attempted, John Calhoun's hopes for the White House were dashed, and Jackson's first term as nearly a failure. Washington's society ladies, Margaret Eaton's fiercest enemies, were the only bloody victors. Marszalek systematically tracks the escalation of events in a story that teems with conspiracy, slander, and paranoia. Reaching deep into the social context of the Jacksonian age, he shows how even the most powerful politicians ceded to an honor code that could not be broken. Both a riveting read and a fascinating window into our present-day politics of scandal, THE PETTICOAT AFFAIR is a deft exploration of the mores of another era and the timeless forces of ambition, conspiracy, and political intrigue. —from the publisher's website