Patricia Brady is a social and cultural historian, who served as director of publications at the Historic New Orleans Collection for twenty years. She is the author of A Being So Gentle, published by Palgrave, which tells the story of the marriage of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. Her previous book, Martha Washington: An American Life was published by Viking. Among her other works are Nelly Custis Lewisâs Housekeeping Book, George Washingtonâs Beautiful Nelly, and âMartha Washingtonâ in American First Ladies: Their Lives and Legacy. In commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase, she produced the video Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Letter That Bought a Continent.
Patricia Brady was vice president for programming of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival for many years and continues to consult on programming as a board member. She is a member of the Southern Historical Association, the Southern Association of Women Historians, the Association for Documentary Editing, the Louisiana Historical Association, and the New Orleans/Gulf South Booksellers Association; she served as president of the last two organizations. She lives in New Orleans.