Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington's First Love
A novel about heiress Mary Philipse's relationship with George Washington, based on historical accounts, letters, and personal journals by nine-time New York Emmy Award-winning journalist Mary Calvi.
“Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted.” ―George Washington
Did unrequited love spark a flame that ignited a cause that became the American Revolution? Never before has this story about George Washington been told. Crafted from hundreds of letters, witness accounts, and journal entries, Dear George, Dear Mary explores George’s relationship with his first love, New York heiress Mary Philipse, the richest belle in Colonial America.
From elegant eighteenth-century society to bloody battlefields, the novel creates breathtaking scenes and riveting characters. Dramatic portraits of the two main characters unveil a Washington on the precipice of greatness, using the very words he spoke and wrote, and his ravishing love, whose outward beauty and refinement disguise a complex inner struggle.
Dear George, Dear Mary reveals why George Washington had such bitter resentment toward the Brits, established nearly two decades before the American Revolution, and it unveils details of a deception long hidden from the world that led Mary Philipse to be named a traitor, condemned to death and left with nothing. While that may sound like the end, ultimately both Mary and George achieve what they always wanted.
About Mary Calvi
Award-winning journalist Mary Calvi has provided live breaking news reports on a wide range of stories across the tri-state area. Calvi gained unprecedented access to the FBI’s underwater anti-terrorism team and reported from underwater. She actually found a missing grandmother lost in the Blackout of 2003. She also traveled to Rome to cover the events surrounding Pope John Paul II. Calvi had also provided coverage on the attacks at the World Trade Center, in 2001 and in 1993.
Calvi’s credits include six Emmy awards, including two for her live breaking news coverage, and one for an in-depth series on sexual pedophiles, “Predator Next Door.”
Calvi has been honored for her writing at the New York Festival’s World Media Awards. She also earned a National ACE Award for Excellence in Journalism, a Clarion Award for Excellence in Reporting, and the ACIM Award for Excellence in Community Service.
She joined WCBS-TV in 2002 from News 12 Westchester where she served as anchor and assistant news director. She also worked with News 12 Long Island and served as a national correspondent for USA Networks. She began her career in New York in radio.
Calvi graduated magna cum laude from the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University with a degree in journalism. A native of Westchester County, Calvi lives in her hometown with her husband and their three children.
To the CBS’s Mary Calvi. Otis Livingston and Cindy Hsu was talking about Mary Calvi’s private life they set you up!