ABSTRACT

This is the first modern biography of Abigail Adams to address the second First Lady of the United States as an author, a historic figure in her own right. The reason for this qualified distinction (as "first modern biography" rather than simply the first) is that in the first half of the nineteenth century, Charles Francis Adams, grandson of Abigail, published an edition of her letters. Together with a memoir written by himself, Charles Francis's edition went through four printings in the 1840s alone. The original publication of these letters, which stayed in print and were popular for a century and a half, accounts for Abigail's independent reputation, distinguishing her as a significant personality apart from her famous husband and son, who were the second and sixth presidents of the United States.