The Adams Women: Abigail and Louisa Adams, Their Sisters and Daughters

by Paul C. Nagel

Paul Nagel's Descent from Glory was an extraordinary critical and popular success, a Book-of-the-Month Club main selection hailed by reviewers as "magnificent" (The New York Times Book Review) and "splendid" (The Christian Science Monitor). That book focused on the men in the Adams family, but many readers -- and Nagel himself -- felt that the most interesting and stirring part of the Adams family saga was the story of the women. Here at last is the book many readers urged Nagel to write: the full story of some of the most interesting and important and articulate women in American history. This is no mere sequel to the first book; it is an attempt to do justice in their own right to some extraordinary individuals in their own right who happened to be women and whose personal lives and outlooks have been eclipsed by the famous men who surrounded them.
Nagel portrays his subjects as they saw themselves and each other. This is possible because of the abundant comment and confession they shared with each other, much of it surviving in the Adams Papers. They spoke to one another about their existence with a frankness and detail which is unmatched in American historical sources. We find them in the joy, sorrow, dreariness, and peril which came to females of that era, no matter who they were. Thus this intimate and candid portrait may be our nearest approach to how American females actually lived and thought between 1750 and 1850.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, American History, Book Club, Presidents, Biography Memoir

310 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 1987

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the Adams women but I wish that Nagel wasn’t so negative when it comes to Abigail. The book begins with the courtships of the three sisters -- Mary, Abigail and Elizabeth -- and how they relied on each other (revealed in their letters). I am amazed at how much physically these women (especially Mary) did during their long days. I was surprised that things back then were just as dysfunctional (alcoholism, mental abuse, abandonment) as things are today. I found it strange that the norm was to ship out your children for years to be raised by other family members, instead of taking them with you. Heartbreak stories of Abigail’s daughter Nabby forced into marriage with an alcoholic. She bravely undergoes surgery for breast cancer (no anesthesia) and later dies in her dad’s arms. Louisa, JQA’s wife, was an educated woman who suffered from JQA’s severe depression and isolation.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sort of non-fiction book that can be hard to follow, but I cared about the subjects, as many as they were. The author was terrifically compassionate towards them. Nicely done.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the excellent labor that went into researching this book; Nagel worked almost exclusively from collections of letters and journals written by members of the Adams family, mostly the women. His assessment of the rather harsh realities of their lives (even though 2 of them were First Ladies) is relentless and becomes downright depressing at times. I had hoped to hear more of the positive, uplifting sagas of these strong, deep-thinking women as introduced by McCullough's book on John Adams, for instance. Nagel tells it like it was, though, warts and all, showing how several generations of these women suffered physically as well as emotionally -- whether because of endless miscarriages or the challenges of being smart women in an era where they were simply told to keep their thoughts to themselves. The Adams men need more scrutiny, so I'll be reading about John Quincy soon.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this were an English setting it would be called Regency or Georgian. Since we are talking about early America, this would be post-Revolutionary War. This (true) story from first hand accounts and letters
gives little known details about the families of Abigail and Louisa Adams, as the title tells us. These are the impressions and heartaches of the Adams women. What struck me as much as the hardship of the time period, even for the wealthy, was the feverish search for husbands and the unaccountable recurring problem of alcoholism which spoiled many a once-happy marriage.
As for the hardships, they seemed endless: no electricity, few had running water or inside toilets. Sickness that would be easily cured today by penicillin or simple hydration was rife and so often fatal.
Travel was unreliable and time consuming. It was another world in another time.

[Susan Runyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories of the Adams Women, their challenges and relationships with husbands, fathers and sons. Also a look at a life in politics affect on family. Too much detail about all the family associations and often different generations with exact same names made it confusing.

[Elaine Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worthwhile and informative.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of domestic stories. Lacks a good bibliography.

[Jill Towery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would read again.

[Anne McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very readable and entertaining book about the women in the Adams family. I learned a lot about lesser known women like Louisa Adams. All extraordinary women who endured so much.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed learning about the Adams women. Louisa is my favorite. I did get a little confused, going back and forth in time, but that was unavoidable since the author wrote about so many lives.

page 269 (about Abby): "She both loved and feared her husband, who, though attentive, helpful, and affectionate, could not rid himself of that dour impatience which characterized the male Adamses when they had to deal with lesser mortals. Unlike Louisa, who had the courage to fight John Quincy over issues of household and child care, Abby meekly did as she was told and dreaded Charles' displeasure."

page 271: (about Louisa) "She warned Charles against the effect of continued gloominess: 'It has caused me so much suffering to indulge in this error that I would if possible guard you against it.'"

page 290: "Louisa also wished a proper conclusion to less worldly affairs. In May 1851, a year before her death, Louisa invited Charles to sit beside her for a long talk. Her son never forgot the conversation, one in which she chatted of life's end 'in a way so unaffected and natural that I was deeply interested in it.' Charles recorded that Louisa had spoken 'calmly, clearly, and fluently, yet not out of the level of ordinary conversation.' He was much moved by her simple Christian faith, her acknowledgment that she had 'no merit for good works,' and that she had committed many sins. She stressed how she could now only trust in divine mercy. It was an outlook, Charles said, "which I knew the philosophy of my father did not attain."

[BJ Whitson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adams women, Abigail and her sisters, and Louisa and her sisters-in-law and daughters-in-law, were amazing women and certainly wise beyond their time in the 19th century. Louisa's remarks seemed to be a foreshadowing of the conflict that would ensnare many of us in the latter half of the 20th century, even till today. "In Louisa's judgment, nature had given women a capacity for more discernment concerning human motives than men possessed. They also had more power to resist worldly temptation, and more strength in the face of life's trials. Despite these superiorities, Louisa pictured females being forced to sit at home and watch as greed, ambition and lust prodded free-ranging males into misbehaviour....[she] suspected that if females entered the business and political arenas, they would eventually fall prey to the baser motives that so easily victimized men....Louisa came to fear that America must choose between two evils: women imprisoned at home or woman unleashed among men." She seemed to feel that both scenarios were bad - imprisoned or unleashed. All that being said, what she seemed to most desire was a husband who treated her as a true equal who laboured at home and who valued her thoughts, intellect and opinion as he did his own.

Truly an excellent read!

[C Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting about the women and their families. Knowing them only through their husbands, history books do them a dis-service. They were strong and of strong opinions that influenced everyone around them. The chronicle of alcoholism within the family was unknown to me. It has plagued so many families, especially in the early days of our founding and little has been said of the consequence. Good accounting here. It was interesting to compare Abigail and Louisa and their marriages. The author does a good job of non-judgement, letting the reader think about their positions. I liked and would recommend this book - worth a study group discussion.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book at the Adams house in Quincy. It was a remarkably "human" bio that brings you right into their parlors and horse carriages. Fantastic use of letters. Yes, Louisa is favored over Abigail, but there is substance there. Abigail is a controlling meddler, but seems to have everyone's best interests at heart. Louisa is just extraordinary, can't imagine how she put up with the poop she married. On to her bio... This is a great historical read--loved it.

[Beth Neu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insight into life in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These are amazing women who endured many struggles and hardships even though their lives were probably remarkably gifted compared to frontier women. Nagel did extensive research to bring out facts and the perspective of other relatives whose stories you seldom hear.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has its pluses, especially in the discussion of some of the lesser-known Adams women. That said, Nagel's portraits of Abigail and Louisa are very unbalanced. I'd suggest reading other books about these women for a fuller picture.

[Laura Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adamses were a bunch of tough cookies. I truly admire Abigail for how she took care of not only her own but her extended family. While I don't agree with how she treated her daughter-in-law at the beginning of their relationship, at least they grew to love and respect eah other.

[Serene Seebol · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a good book, and what it showed was going back a far as the late 1700's families were not perfect and had some of the same issues we face today!!! Loved this book

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

IT could have been so much better. It seemed like the author just threw the info together! What would have been fabulous was if he had just published the actual letters!

[kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought and read this while on a trip in Boston- I seem to remember some excerpts of letters between John & Abigail that made me wish letter writing was not a lost art-

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I loved every word of it. Truly felt like I knew the women at the end. Fantastic for anyone interested in American Women's history or this wonderful family.

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Definitely not what modern women would call feminism, but a starter considering the times and beliefs.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met the author of this book at the U of M Campus Club and he signed my book. A really nice gentleman. He knows all there is to know about the Adams women.

[Susan O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look into the lives of the Adams women via there correspondence to each other.

[Jenny Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fun to read after reading John Adams by Mcullough.