American Phoenix: John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812, and the Exile that Saved American Independence

by Jane Hampton Cook

John Quincy and Louisa Adams’sunexpected journey that changed everything. American Phoenix is the sweeping, riveting tale of a grand historic adventure acrossforbidding oceans and frozen tundra―from the bustling ports and toweringbirches of Boston to the remote reaches of pre-Soviet Russia, from an exile in arcticSt. Petersburg to resurrection and reunion among the gardens of Paris. Uponthese varied landscapes this Adams and his Eve must find a way to transformtheir banishment into America’s salvation. Author,historian, and national media commentator Jane Hampton Cook breathes life intoonce-obscure history, weaving a meticulously researched biographical tapestrythat reads like a gripping novel. With the arc and intrigue of Shakespeareandrama in a Jane Austen era, AmericanPhoenix is a timely yet timeless addition to the recent renaissance ofworks on the founding Adams family, from patriarchs John and Abigail to the second-generationof John Quincy and Louisa and beyond. Cookhas crafted not only a riveting narrative but also an easy-to-understandhistory filled with fly-on-the-wall vignettes from 1812 and its hardscrabble,freedom-hungry people. While unveiling vivid portrayals of each character―acolorful assortment of heroes and villains, patriots and pirates, rogues andrabble-rousers―she paints equally fresh, intimate portraits of both John Quincyand Louisa Adams. Cook artfully reveals John Quincy’s devastation after losingthe job of his dreams, battle for America’s need to thrive economically, andsojourn to secure his homeland’s survival as a sovereign nation. She reservesher most detailed brushstrokes for the inner struggles of Louisa, using thisquietly inspirational woman’s own words to amplify her fears, faith, andfortitude along a deeply personal, often heart-rending journey. Cook’s close-upperspective shows how this American couple’s Russian destination changed USdestiny.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Presidents, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

512 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2013

About the author

Jane Hampton Cook makes history relevant to news, politics, current events, and modern life. She is the award-winning author of nine books, including her newest The Burning of the White House: James and Dolley Madison and the War of 1812 (2016), America’s Star-Spangled Story (Aug. 2014) and Pulitzer-nominated American Phoenix (Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins, 2013), which brings to life the international side of the War of 1812 through the diplomacy of John Quincy and Louisa Adams. A contributor to The Hill, national media commentator and former White House webmaster, Jane is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel and other television and radio outlets. She also will be featured on the History Channel’s sister network, H2, on United Stuff of America in early summer 2014. Launching her passion for history and writing through a research fellowship from the Organization of American Historians and White House Historical Association in 2003, Jane and her husband, Dr. John Kim Cook, live with their children in the Washington DC area in Fairfax, Virginia.

Reviews

[Cheryl Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's obvious that a great deal of research went into this book. The writing, however, would have benefited from the services of a good editor. The author has the ability to pound a literary allusion into the ground. If I had seen one more reference to Adam, Eve and their fig leaves, I would have screamed. I also felt that referring to the Czar of Russia as "his royal flirtiness" did not serve the material well. It's a pity that the execution wasn't more polished as it is a fascinating story. I would recommend "Mrs. Adams in Winter" by Michael O'Brien as a better written book on roughly the same subject.

[Diann · Rating 1 out of 5]

What audience needs to be told that the Adams did not have cell phones?

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was interesting. While I liked the history, how it was told was odd. The author kept saying things like "of only they had a telephone" or "modern medicine would say..."
I didn't think the narrator did a great job either.
It about drove me batty how she kept inserting the word exile, mostly where it didn't belong. It's like she found that word and some bible stories and was showing off how she could work them in.
Not a bad book, but I wouldn't reread it.

Content notes: Louise has several miscarriages and the author interjects many modern miscarriage facts. There are some other (historical facts) talks of mistress, affairs, and such (not detailed)

[Carolyn Breckinridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good friend recommended this book as she was fascinated by the personal strength of our First Lady Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams. Indeed, the book is well worth reading from the standpoint of learning about the lives of this president and first lady, as both faced incredible challenges during this early period in our country's history. The actual struggles of our nation during this time were also immense, as most countries did not truly recognize the independence of our nation nearly forty years after our government's founding. I appreciated the author's research and effort in writing such a comprehensive biography/history. However, the book hopped back and forth in time, which was initially confusing, and also seemed redundant in places. This being said, the very fact that Louisa Adams traveled alone by carriage with her young son and a female companion from St. Petersburg, Russia to Paris, France (which was in the throes of a Napoleonic rebellion,) in the middle of the winter, is enough of a reason to want to learn more about all this family sacrificed to help our nation become what it is today.

[Emily]

I started this and was annoyed the entire time--there were chapter breaks that were attempts to build tension but just annoyed me. Also, telling the reader that Louisa Adams doesn't have access to a telephone?? Like no duh.

I feel bad giving this away, but I just have too much to read to care about this poorly-written book.

[Eliz · Rating 1 out of 5]

While this is supposed to be a non-fiction book it reads way too much like a novel. History doesn't need authors to plant misleading cliff hangers in it. Way too much speculation is also present. If you can't research things you don't make up speculation about motives and actions.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

his superb history chronicles the “honorable exile” John Quincy Adams and his wife endured in pre-Soviet Russia. Using diary entries from both husband and wife, Jane Hampton Cook gives fascinating details into the intrigue of the diplomatic corps in Europe during the days of kingly courts, while also giving treatment to the challenges of representing the nascent republic of the United States. The Adams’ financial stresses and traumatic personal losses were endured while declining an opportunity to come home early; for reasons that will touch every reader’s heart.
Before reading this book, all I knew about John Quincy Adams is that he was the son of the second President, and opposed slavery (this bit gleaned from watching the movie Amistad a few years ago). Cook does an excellent job illuminating the life of man worthy of his father’s legacy as a founding father of our nation.
As a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Adams made a very unpopular decision with his constituency to support policies of then President Thomas Jefferson. As a result of his acting more as statesman than politician, he was defeated when his term of office ended. His political career was virtually destroyed.

A surprise offer of appointment as foreign minister to the isolated arctic imperial capital of Saint Petersburg was the best he could make do with in his career as public servant. Accepting the appointment thinking it would not be of long duration helped save American Independence. Adams could not have imagined that the clouds of war would forever alter his destiny, and how crucial his service was in establishing America as a respected member of the international community.

Like the title suggests, Adams rose as a Phoenix from the ashes of his political career to achieve more for his country than most modern Americans know.

Cook does a great job of explaining antiquated phraseology, court customs, and more in a context referencing modern day equivalents. Her research and discussion of medicine and pregnancy is an added bonus when discussing Louisa’s multiple difficulties with bringing babies to term.
This book rates 5 stars out of 5. It will not disappoint!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Dan Nieman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sure that it was in commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, that inspired Jane Hampton Cook to pen American Phoenix.

The history/ biography of John and Louisa Adams is a well researched, well crafted story of the fall of John Quincy Adams from his Senate seat, from which he expected to carry on the heritage begun by his father, John Adams. This hope was dashed when the political winds of fortune blew against him and caused him to resign the seat he so desired.

He left the Senate, believing that the rest of his life would be spent as a private citizen, lawyer, setting up shot in Quincy Massachusetts. His future was redirected, when he received an diplomatic appointment to represent the United States to the court of the Czar of Russia. While a diplomatic appointment was an opportunity for Adams to once again serve his nation, it was also something of an exile. The Russian Court was not a desirable post for one who sought the political influence that his father held. It also proved to be a less than ideal appointment for a diplomat's wife.

Much of the book details the day to day events of life in the Russian court: the debt they incurred to dress and present themselves appropriately in a royal court, the poor housing conditions, with which they had to suffer, and the temptation throw over their Yankee scruples for the vice of the royal court. Adams rose from his exile as a negotiator at the peace talks at Ghent to end the War of 1812.

Cook based the narrative on the diaries and letters of John Quincy and Louisa Adams. She structured the story on the basic career arc of John Quincy Adams. She added a romantic literary quality by relating the story of Louisa Adams to the characters of a Jane Austen novel. She liberally sprinkles in biblical and mythological allusions through the narrative.

The book sheds light on a little considered period of history and little considered characters in history. The book is highly readable. It has many references to Quincy Adams reading his bible. The weakness of the book is that Cook was almost too thorough in her coverage of the diaries and writings of John Quincy and Louisa Adams. Sometimes the day to day details of life in the Russian court made the book bog down in some portions.

I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical romance and people who are interested in the life and history of the early national period.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Quincy Adams was the eldest son of John Adams, who followed the elder’s irascible devotion to principle and found himself an exile for it — after his support for a general embargo against European powers for continuing to harass American shipping and forcibly conscript American sailors, he lost his senate seat and was dispatched to the outer rim of western civilization: St. Petersburg. After a rough transit over — whereupon he learned that the Danish were just as bellicose as the Brits and French, seizing American shipping under the willfully-wrong belief that they were English. (The Brits added to the confusion by frequently running up the Stars and Stripes.) Over the next few years, the Adams would settle into their role as America’s voice in St. Petersburg, growing in the esteem of the Russian court even as trade traction was rough going in the constantly changing sea of Napoleonic politics. One moment Tsar Alexander and Napoleon are chummy, the next Napoleon is marching troops toward the border and Alexander is giving Portugal meaningful looks from across the room. The first half of this book is a little slow going — not for the quality of the writing, but for the fact that very little happens. St. Petersburg is iced in most of the year, and the action largely consists of John and Louisa trying to woo European officials — and to keep Alexander from more intimately wooing Louisa’s young sister Kitty Johnson. Evidently she set every red-blooded male’s heart a-flutter. I was surprised to learn that John Quincy was appointed to the Supreme Court, but turned it down despite his hopes of escaping cold, expensive St. Petersburg: the timing of it would force Louisa to possibly give birth at sea, not a chance he was willing to take given that she was frequently in poor health and prone to miscarriages. I was gladdened to see a man who has his priorities in line — family over pelf and place — but not surprised given the esteem I hold the Adams family in, generally. The anguished distance from family and the privations of their position — with infrequent and low pay — nevertheless allowed John and Louisa to build relationships with Europe’s diplomatic ranks, which bore fruit in giving Adams the gravitas and trust to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812 and ultimately secured American independence from George III. Although this volume isn’t without its deficiencies (particularly the constant reminders that they had no telephone or internet), it’s an interesting look into part of the early Republic I was otherwise oblivious to, and a heartening look back at a time when public service was literally service, often sacrificial, and not merely a way to build up one’s coffers or luxuriate in acclaim.

Highlights:

Writing was the key to being remembered in their generation. Photography didn’t exist in their heyday, much less the concept of video. They understood the sentiment behind Benjamin Franklin’s quip: “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” John Quincy and Louisa Adams did both.

“But upon the stage of life, while conscience claps, let the world hiss! On the contrary if conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value.” – John Adams

But we know how much the Moniteur is to be believed and certain deductions are to be made from whatever that contains.” “To be sure, people were very apt to publish as fact what they had an interest and a wish to believe,” John [Quincy] said to him.

“Again at the house with Mr. Adams to arrange books and papers—Slow work for he reads a page in every book that passes through his hands.”

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this story. It's important that I say story, and not book, because, if I'm being accurate, this book drove me f--ing insane at moments.

The story is great! John Quincy Adams, son of the second president, feuds with his political party, gets named as US Ambassador to Russia (in what the book refers to as an "Honorable Exile"), and actually succeeds in fostering good relations between the two countries, starting a redemption story that would eventually see him elected President. Also, the story of his wife Louisa, who is separated from her two oldest sons to join JQ, suffers two miscarriages and the death of the young girl she gave birth to in Russia, all while helping JQ traverse the pitfalls of diplomacy with royalty, and battling her own depression from her trials. Seriously, this is a good story!

And yet.....

The book really needed an editor. Badly. There are only so many times you can make references to technology that didn't exist yet, specifically "if only John had access to telephones......", before I'm going to start to assume that you think I'm an idiot, and am constantly asking why they don't just phone James Madison, instead of waiting weeks for letters because IT'S 1812!!!!! Mentioned once; got it, you've made your point. Mentioned 20 more times, and it gets old. quickly. Or the constant "cliffhanger" flourish to end chapters that, more often than not, turned out to be a slight curb rather than a cliff. A good editor could have solved some of this, and it's a shame, because the bones of a well-told historical tale are in there. But the fat needed to be trimmed.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

his was a very challenging book to finish reading. On the one hand, there is a great story here with seemingly unlimited primary source material to pull from. The author does a nice job telling that story and I enjoyed my time with John Quincy and Louisa Adams. On the other hand, as many reviewers have noted, the author's penchant for using bizarre metaphors and similes to dramatize a point became painful to read. She used the line about the people of the time not having access to the telephone at least a dozen times. Maybe making that point once for effect could be useful, but she repeated it far too often. Another example is discussing childbirth. She spent a few sentences explaining how Louisa would not have the comforts of modern medical equipment such as a baby heart monitor. These lines were so awkward and out of place that it really took away from the reading. One other thing - the author was also in love with asking rhetorical questions. The well placed rhetorical question can add to historical writing, but they were seemingly used every chapter. If she had cleaned up that part of the writing, I would have rated this book higher.

[Cathy Gohlke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Hampton Cook’s storyteller’s narrative and penchant for detail vividly portrays John Quincy and Louisa Adams’ watershed quest to establish America’s sovereignty among nations. The couple’s perseverance to diplomacy in the establishment of early America’s free trade and to crossing European cultural divides to promote peace during wartime helped turn the tide of American and world history. Cook’s glimpse, through diary entries, into the Adams’ sacrificial and loving devotion to one another amid scenes of political unrest and intrigue transcends time, inspiring reader and historian. A mesmerizing tale of two patriotic and focused faith-filled lives as needed and relevant today as it was 200 years ago.

[Robin Drummond · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a great story! And how thoroughly mangled is this great story by the author!

I don't care for 'cutesy' accounts of history. I do not need to be told, repeatedly, that the only non-personal communication available was letter-writing, NOT telephones or cell phones. I mean, really! Also, it's ridiculous to refer constantly to 'Adams and his Eve.' Her name is Louisa and his is John.

The chronology of this account wanders, which does no favors to the telling. There is little backstory given about many of the secondary characters, and that would have been useful and added cohesion to the story.

I was very disappointed and will avoid this author in the future. It's a great story, but I will have to read about it elsewhere.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a historical perspective, this book is amazing as it documents the "political exile" of JQA & Louisa in Russia and how in their exile they ended up shaping international politics for the time and even is reflected today. It gives a perspective of their lives in that context from their own personal observations from their journals. The book is lengthy but well-written and insightful. Many focus on JQA as president, but his contributions to the US as a diplomat, as well as Representative and Senator are immense to US history as well as the many sacrifices Louisa made in support of her husband and country.

[Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read! We forget how primitive basic communications were in 1811. The Adams family, living in St. Petersburg, Russia, had to wait months for a letter and could not travel internationally in the winter due to the harbor being frozen and therefore unusable for ships. John Quincy Adams did a lot to facilitate America's "coming of age" as a respected international force. Louisa Adams is also to be applauded for her courage in traveling over uncertain, hazardous roads with her young son on her way to meet her husband in Paris in 1814.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives an excellent picture of the early struggles of Louisa and John Quincy Adams and their personal sacrifices for the future of the United States. Living in Russia during the reign of Napoleon and our own war of 1812, the political pressure, longing for the sons she had to leave in America, ill health, miscarriages and the death of her only baby daughter caused Louisa to plunge into deep depression. To say that she was a strong woman is an understatement. A must read if you like American history and enjoy knowing about the people who lived it.

[Meredith Colby · Rating 2 out of 5]

So wanted to like this book. The story synopsis sounded wonderful. But I could not get past the writing. At first I thought perhaps it was written for a the 11-13 age range (the author pointed out that there were no cell phones in 1765) but saw that couldn't be right - it would be too hard for a kid that age. So instead, I concluded that it was written for adults and simply written very badly. I seldom give up on books, and I forced myself to read through page 100, but couldn't go on.

[Diane Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hard to rate because it was well written but in sometimes in an intricate old world language. The author had authentic letters and research to work with and the work appeared very factual and honest. However, I found it very long and too tedious at times. That said, I'm glad I read it to appreciate the difficult and important lives of key Americans, John Quincy and Louisa in most dangerous and uncertain times.

[Darren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book covers a very interesting piece of history, but unfortunately it does it in a rather clumsy, cliche-filled manner. The chapter endings felt like they were designed for a mediocre thriller, and the book tried to skip forward and backward in time, which might work in a novel but just obscured and confused the entire timeline.

The research was obviously very thorough but it really needed better editing and structure.

[John Mark Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love John Quincy Adams and I think his place in American history is very underrated. I feel like this book did a good job of encapsulating his relationship with Louisa and their effect on the War of 1812. If that was the goal of the book then well done, but I wish it had gone into more detail of his entire life (never talked about his presidency or Amistad). I guess if you’re a buff for the War of 1812 this is for you but otherwise skip this one.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I "liked it" due to the massive amount of meticulous research through what must have been volumes of hand written letters and journals. I had some issues with repetition of already stated facts that seemed more like page fillers. Anyway, overall, an excellent historical work. I definitely appreciated the Epilogue!

[Michael Decamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent narrative drives this documentation of the reemergence of John Q. Adams (and his wife, Louisa) from the depths of political defeat to a life of incredible importance in the early success of the United States. A huge bonus is the wealth of European history also on display within this book.

[Michael Dahlhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on John Quincy and Louisa Adams before the presidency, and after he had served as a Senator.

Luckily, these individuals were avid letter writers, who kept their letters for us to understand the world they lived in. Jane Cook does an excellent job in in referencing these letters in an easy to read style.

[Sidemeat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful read historically and well written. The only issue I had was repeated commentary about the lack of obstetrics at the time. Once said, it didn't need to be repeated. The same goes for the telephone not being invented. Hence, there was a delay in communication, which was already explained by the time it took for letters to be sent and received.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

While an interesting read, I would have enjoyed it more if it did not focus over 80 percent of the book on their time in St. Petersburg. Furthermore, there were not many details on how John Quincy Adams performed during the War of 1812. From a historical perspective it was well worth the read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable

The author uses the writings of John Q and Louisa Adams seamlessly woven together with a outstanding narrative. It makes history come alive.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great historical story of Abigail and John Adams and their family and the struggles they went through. I loved the part where they are in Russia.

[Ceste Stanly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quincy is my fav president & this just increased my love for him & his wife. Helped me better understand political climate in Europe with events leading up to War of 1812

[The History Mom]

Narrative nonfiction about the Adams' time in Russia. Contains lots of political details as well.

[Victor Gentile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Hampton Cook in her new book “American Phoenix” published by Thomas Nelson gives us the story of John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812, and the Exile that Saved American Independence

From the back cover: John Quincy and Louisa Adams’s unexpected journey that changed everything.

“American Phoenix” is the sweeping, riveting tale of a grand historic adventure across forbidding oceans and frozen tundra–from the bustling ports and towering birches of Boston to the remote reaches of pre-Soviet Russia, from an exile in arctic St. Petersburg to resurrection and reunion among the gardens of Paris. Upon these varied landscapes this Adams and his Eve must find a way to transform their banishment into America’s salvation.

Author, historian, and national media commentator Jane Hampton Cook breathes life into once-obscure history, weaving a meticulously researched biographical tapestry that reads like a gripping novel. With the arc and intrigue of Shakespearean drama in a Jane Austen era, “American Phoenix” is a timely yet timeless addition to the recent renaissance of works on the founding Adams family, from patriarchs John and Abigail to the second-generation of John Quincy and Louisa and beyond.

Cook has crafted not only a riveting narrative but also an easy-to-understand history filled with fly-on-the-wall vignettes from 1812 and its hardscrabble, freedom-hungry people. While unveiling vivid portrayals of each character–a colorful assortment of heroes and villains, patriots and pirates, rogues and rabble-rousers–she paints equally fresh, intimate portraits of both John Quincy and Louisa Adams. Cook artfully reveals John Quincy’s devastation after losing the job of his dreams, battle for America’s need to thrive economically, and sojourn to secure his homeland’s survival as a sovereign nation. She reserves her most detailed brushstrokes for the inner struggles of Louisa, using this quietly inspirational woman’s own words to amplify her fears, faith, and fortitude along a deeply personal, often heart-rending journey. Cook’s close-up perspective shows how this American couple’s Russian destination changed US destiny.

I like history so when you give me a great book with historical characters and incidents I relish my time in its pages. Jane Hampton Cook has given us a wonderful historical account of what was happening in America and the world through the story of John Quincy Adams and his wife, Louisa. John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States taking office in 1824 however “American Phoenix” takes place in the period of 1815. By looking at the lives of John Quincy Adams and his wife, Louisa, Ms. Cook was able to also look at the state of the United States and its relationship with the rest of the world. America was just beginning to transform from a nation-in-name-only to an emerging world power. Adams was able to help in that transformation and also brought about the first U.S. diplomatic post in pre-Soviet Russia. All this while the couple was separated for long periods of time. ”American Phoenix” is the remarkable, true story of this couple and their mark on this country and the world. This is the book to read.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”