Abigail Adams - 9781138440050

Taylor & Francis

Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams, but she was also an important literary and historical figure in her own right. This reinterpretation of her life and work establishes her independent reputation and enshrines her within the pantheon of early American writers. > 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. > A.