Dear Abigail

Dear Abigail is a biography of Abigail Adams and her two sisters. The author reviewed correspondence between them to paint a picture of their lives.  Given that they lived during the American Revolution their stories are important to our American history. Their letters are a snapshot of what life was like in colonial times.

The sisters were the daughters of a poor Congregational minister and his wealthy wife. Their correspondence began when the oldest, Mary, married and left the family home. Abigail was the next to marry but Betsy was much younger than them and didn't leave the house until her parents had passed. By that time Mary and Abigail had been married approximately 17 years already. Their letters to each other were frequent. The discussed their pregnancies, children, husbands, social lives as well as their political ideas. All supported freedom from England and were advocates for educational equality of the sexes. 

Much has been written over the years about Abigail's suggestion that her husband "remember the ladies" when he was involved with the writing of the Constitution. Current thought is that she was a feminist seeking complete equality of the sexes. Nothing could be further from the truth. During this era, women were so subjected to men that they would not have even been able to think about becoming equal to men. However, they desired to be educated in the same manner as the men were educated. They were successful in this endeavor. Educational equality was granted at the end of the Revolutionary War. The men agreed to this because they believed that their children would be educated well if their mothers were educated well.

The book covers the lives of the sisters from 1766 until 1801. Abigail's letters were, naturally, more prominent as she was the wife of our second president John Adams. All three of the sisters, though, led lives that were progressive for the era. Mary was basically in charge of running her village and Betsey co-founded a school that taught both girls and boys. 

Two interesting facts emerged from Abigail's letters. During Washington's presidency he left Philadelphia where the new nation was based to stay in Haverhill where Elizabeth lived. People came out in one of our coldest winters to hear him speak. They all got sick and their ailment was commonly known as the "Washington Cold." Also, when the new Executive Mansion was built there was an oval room constructed on the second floor. It was built in reverence for George Washington. When Washington lived in Philadelphia during his term in office he had an oval room in his home. It was his favorite room. We now call this oval room the "yellow oval room" in the White House. I am presuming that the Oval Office in the West Wing where modern presidents work was also constructed out of reverence for our first president.

When I picked up this book I knew I would relish the history within its pages. I read slowly to savor the words and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars!