Abigail Adams: A Life

Abigail Adams: A Life

Winner of the Bancroft Prize
The New York Times Book Review, Editorâ€™s Choice
American Heritage, Best of 2009

In this vivid new biography of Abigail Adams, the most illustrious woman of the founding era, Bancroft Awardâ€“winning historian Woody Holton offers a sweeping reinterpretation of Adamsâ€™s life story and of womenâ€™s roles in the creation of the republic.

Using previously overlooked documents from numerous archives, Abigail Adams shows that the wife of the second president of the United States was far more charismatic and influential than historians have realized. One of the finest writers of her age, Adams passionately campaigned for womenâ€™s education, denounced sex discrimination, and matched wits not only with her brilliant husband, John, but with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. When male Patriots ignored her famous appeal to "Remember the Ladies," she accomplished her own personal declaration of independence: Defying centuries of legislation that assigned married womenâ€™s property to their husbands, she amassed a fortune in her own name.

Adamsâ€™s life story encapsulates the history of the founding era, for she defined herself in relation to the people she loved or hated (she was never neutral), a cast of characters that included her mother and sisters; Benjamin Franklin and James Lovell, her husbandâ€™s bawdy congressional colleagues; Phoebe Abdee, her fatherâ€™s former slave; her financially naÃ¯ve husband; and her son John Quincy.

At once epic and intimate, Abigail Adams, sheds light on a complicated, fascinating woman, one of the most beloved figures of American history.
Country USA
Manufacturer Atria Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2010-06-01
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Atria Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2010-06-01
Format	Kindle eBook

Abigail Adams: A Life

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