Publisher Description

Often viewed narrowly as the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams was an important literary and historical figure in her own right. In this luminous reinterpretation of a life and a life's work, Edith B. Gelles recognizes Abigail Adams as a significant author of an era when it was not respectable for women to write publicly. Gelles unveils a little-known life by examining Adams's collected letters - "the best account that exists from the pre- to the post-Revolutionary period in America of a woman's life and world". The correspondence provides unusual access to Adam's private life, describing social conventions, detailing Adam's influence on her husband ("remember the ladies") and recording her reactions to political affairs and historic figures of early America. This, the first and only book to examine Abigail Adams's writings from the dual standpoints of biography and literary analysis, establishes her independent reputation and enshrines her within the pantheon of early American writers.

Back Cover

In this book, Edith B. Gelles asserts that Abigail Adams' vivid, insightful letters are "the best account that exists from the pre to the post-Revolutionary period in America of a woman's life and world." Adams' spontaneous, witty letters serve dual purposes for the modern reader: it provides an intriguing first hand account of pivotal historical events and it shows how these events from the Boston Tea Party to the War of 1812 entered the private sphere. Included in the book is a chronology, notes and reference section and a selected bibliography. This book will be a must for all scholars of American literature, history and politics seeking to understand this literary figure.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Chronology The Eighteenth-Century Letter 1. Introduction: Letters as Literature 2. Remember the Ladies The Confidential Letter 3. Bonds of Friendship: The Correspondence of Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren The Travel Letter 4. The Voyage 5. In the Midst of the World in Solitude 6. At the Court of St. James Interlude The Historic Letter 7. Splendid Misery: Abigail Adams as First Lady 8. End of the Story Notes and References Selected Bibliography Index

Review

"All this Edith Gelles relates with clarity and warmth...this is a perceptive study and a lively incentive to read the correspondence itself." -- Economist
"Edith Gelles's newly published biography and critique...offers an excellent entry point for anyone whi is interested in Abigail Adams as a writer." -- Biography Spring 2003

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