Thomas Jefferson was an avid book-collector, a voracious reader, and a gifted writer--a man who prided himself on his knowledge of classical and modern languages and whose marginal annotations include quotations from Euripides, Herodotus, and Milton. And yet there has never been a literary life of our most literary president. In The Road to Monticello, Kevin J. Hayes fills this important gap by offering a lively account of Jefferson's spiritual and intellectual development, focusing on the books and ideas that exerted the most profound influence on him. Moving chronologically through Jefferson's life, Hayes reveals the full range and depth of Jefferson's literary passions, from the popular "small books" sold by traveling chapmen, such as The History of Tom Thumb, which enthralled him as a child; to his lifelong love of Aesop's Fables and Robinson Crusoe ; his engagement with Horace, Ovid, Virgil and other writers of classical antiquity; and his deep affinity with the melancholy verse of Ossian, the legendary third-century Gaelic warrior-poet. Drawing on Jefferson's letters, journals, and commonplace books, Hayes offers a wealth of new scholarship on the print culture of colonial America, reveals an intimate portrait of Jefferson's activities beyond the political chamber, and reconstructs the president's investigations in such different fields of knowledge as law, history, philosophy and natural science. Most importantly, Hayes uncovers the ideas and exchanges which informed the thinking of America's first great intellectual and shows how his lifelong pursuit of knowledge culminated in the formation of a public offering, the "academic village" which became UVA, and his more private retreat at Monticello. Gracefully written and painstakingly researched, The Road to Monticello provides an invaluable look at Jefferson's intellectual and literary life, uncovering the roots of some of the most important--and influential--ideas that have informed American history. Surveying existing Jefferson biographies, Hayes detected an omission he makes good on here: the literary life of the multitalented Founder. Encompassing Jefferson’s marginalia in books, his references to books in correspondence, his writings akin to literary criticism, and conversations about books, anything related to Jefferson’s bibliophilism qualifies for Hayes’ mention or paraphrase. Although a contemplative mood infuses Hayes’ work, it is animated by its connection of Jefferson’s current tastes or recollections of past reading, extending back to childhood, with the events of his life. Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy was his and wife Martha’s favorite. Parallel to tracking Jefferson’s emotional and intellectual engagement with literature, Hayes also incorporates Jefferson’s book-buying habits, from particular visits to booksellers down to the physical details of the individual editions that attracted him. Except for the sale of his library to the Library of Congress, books as such tend not to appear in biographies of Jefferson. Hayes’ able and comprehensive remedy restores Jefferson as a prodigious purchaser and reader of books. --Gilbert Taylor "A tribute to Jefferson and is a praiseworthy accomplishment of its author.... Hayes is to be congratulated for this biography of Jefferson's intellect."--Dennie Hall, Daily Oklahoman "By writing a 'literary life' of Jefferson, Mr. Hayes is able to approach his extremely well-known subject from unexpected angles."--Adam Kirsch, The New York Sun "The book's freshness and immediacy lie in the author's emphasis on the libraries Jefferson accumulated and the marginal notes he left in the books he read. Hayes takes us through Jefferson's hugely wide and eclectic reading with an ease and lightness often missing.... The Road to Monticello will enlighten and delight all those drawn to Jefferson and the early years of so many classic American ideas."-- Publishers Weekly "Kevin J. Hayes adroitly accomplishes the formidable task of providing an intellectual biography of Jefferson without ever sounding dry or bookish and without losing sight of his day-to-day life. Grounded in extensive original research, The Road to Monticello is a lively, engaging life of the mind of America's most important founding father."--David S. Reynolds, author of Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson "In what will surely be the definitive work on the subject, Hayes presents a scrupulously researched examination of the reading habits and thinking of our third President, effectively a biography of Thomas Jefferson's intellect over the course of his life. Although Jefferson's public career has always been granted close examination, Hayes demonstrates that Jefferson's life of the mind also merits the close study provided here."--Thomas J. Schaeper, Library Journal "Kevin Hayes's Road to Monticello is a stunning contribution to Jefferson studies. Focusing on Jefferson's reading and writing, Hayes illuminates