Escape from Monticello
Jefferson’s granddaughters. A missing treasure. A two-hundred-year-old secret.
A journal hidden at Monticello holds letters between two sisters — and those sisters turn out to be Thomas Jefferson’s own granddaughters. Their words describe a lost collection and a treasure that vanished long ago. Now Sam, Derek, and Caitlin have one question: can they find what Jefferson’s family couldn’t?
Inside Escape from Monticello.
A journal hidden at Monticello holds letters between two sisters — and those sisters turn out to be Thomas Jefferson’s own granddaughters. Their words describe a lost collection and a treasure that vanished long ago. Now Sam, Derek, and Caitlin have one question: can they find what Jefferson’s family couldn’t?
They’re close to an answer when the journal is stolen — and suddenly the mystery has teeth.
From the mountaintop at Monticello to the historic grounds of UVA in Charlottesville to Jefferson’s lesser-known second home at Poplar Forest, the chase covers some of the most iconic real estate in early American history. The clues are old. The stakes feel brand new.
Escape from Monticello takes readers deep into the world of Thomas Jefferson — and the world he built. Pairs naturally with Virginia Studies units on Jefferson and the Founders.
Inside these pages
Climb the mountain to Monticello.
Monticello sits on a mountaintop just outside Charlottesville. Jefferson designed the house himself, lived there for decades, and is buried on the grounds. The estate is open daily and offers tours that cover both Jefferson’s accomplishments and the lives of the enslaved people who built and ran the plantation.
Pair it with a stop at the University of Virginia, the only university designed by a U.S. president — and worth a walk even for families just passing through.
Monticello & UVA
The real history behind the book
Author of the Declaration of Independence, third U.S. president, founder of the University of Virginia, and a slaveholder whose contradictions remain central to the American story.
Open daily. House tours, garden tours, the slavery exhibit at Mulberry Row, and the family cemetery where Jefferson is buried. A thoughtful, full-story historic site.
The University of Virginia (designed by Jefferson himself) and Poplar Forest (Jefferson’s retreat home near Lynchburg) round out a Jefferson-themed Virginia road trip.
A scene that didn’t make the final book — Caitlin’s runaway dog leads the kids to Tuckahoe, Thomas Jefferson’s boyhood home.
Free downloadable comprehension quiz, chapter-by-chapter discussion guide, and Virginia Studies tie-in materials for Escape from Monticello.
What readers are saying
“My boys LOVE this series! It’s engaging, well-written and historically accurate… The author also personally responded to my son when he wrote to him! Support this author!”
— Parent
“As someone who lives near Monticello… the description of Monticello is spot on… a read that will make you want to finish the book in one sitting.”
— Teacher
“My boys (ages 10 & 11) could not put it down. The 10 year old… read it twice within two weeks of getting it!”
— Parent
“A MUST HAVE for elementary libraries. Steven K. Smith has done it again! He has a knack for combining history and mystery seamlessly.”
— School librarian
All 12 Virginia Mysteries
Using Escape from Monticello in your classroom?
Free comprehension quiz, discussion guide, and One Book, One School program materials available. Plus bulk pricing for classroom sets and signed copies.
Start the adventure.
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