Kay Ware
English 2130-006
November 3, 2003
Book Review
Essay 1
Review of Abigail Adams: A Writing Life, by Edith B. Gelles.
New York: Routledge (2002); 224 pages; $19.95. ISBN 0-415-93945-3.
What would be an appropriate title for a biography which documents a life
through letters, and details her quests to stay married, maintain family relations and
friendships, express emotions, contest with politics, and make history? Abigail Adams:
A Writing Life, by Edith B. Gelles, is a recently published book that accomplishes just
this. Gelles calls this work a “modern biography” of Abigail Adams, wife of the second
president of the United States, John Adams. Her earlier biography of Abigail, Portia, The
World of Abigail Adams (1992), is similar to this biography in that they both are
“episodic,” rather than strictly “chronological,” and both give a complete “portrait” of
Abigail in her tumultuous, dynamic, and challenging world (Gelles 3-4). Portia is an
extensive undertaking of research and documentation, and defines Abigail as a
“foremother” in her response to and associations with the Revolutionary War
participants, as well as family and friends (Gelles 4). Abigail Adams continues this
illustration by focusing upon Abigail “as mistress of a literary form—a woman, literally,
of letters” (“Woman” 1). Additionally, Gelles writes that Abigail was not motivated by
celebrity status, nor did she seek notoriety as a writer. Abigail remained within the
boundaries of what was proper for women at that time by maintaining the non-public
posture of letter writing. As she utilized this common but “private” communiqué,
Abigail also became a recorder of history (Gelles 4-5).
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Abigail’s letters reflect practicality, intelligence, and her ability to reason and
resolve. Gelles prudently selects material from volumes of Abigail’s letters which gives
the reader insight into her heart and love for her husband, as well as being “a passionate
believer in the new republic” (“Woman” 1). We are able to experience the soul and mind
of this remarkable woman because Gelles takes care to print those letters that testify to
Abigail’s character, her succinctness as a communicator, her wit, and her endless
endeavors to handle life. Gelles also economizes time and space by utilizing background
from her research as preludes to letters. This keeps Abigail’s story moving from event to
event, thus adding novel-style enjoyment to this biography.
The format of Abigail Adams is a working layout consisting of the required
design conducive to research, or simply as a good read. The Contents show that the body
of the book contains four parts, and that each part reflects a specific topic. Each part
contains chapters that, even if read individually, allow one to access sufficient
information regarding the indicated topic. Included in the Contents is a spare but
informative Chronology. Twenty pages of an exceptionally well-done Notes and
References section follows the body of the work. If one prefers footnotes over reference
notes, this is quickly remedied as the reference section is clearly divided into chapters to
correspond with the chapters in the book. The Bibliography section is made up of
selected primary and secondary sources. Both of these sections provide a voluminous
amount of criteria which increases the reader’s awareness of other relative materials for
consideration. The Index is specific and complete with page numbers. Finally, a
paragraph about the author, Edith Gelles, is included, which not only states her
credentials and accomplishments, but also a statement about her present field of study.
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In the first part of Abigail Adams, Gelles discusses the power of the genre of
letters and the benefits and enjoyment that can come from this form of writing. Because
letters allow for expression of “private” feelings and a place to tangibly put down the
yearnings of the soul, letters can reveal cause and effect, meaning, the events of life and
how people deal with them (Gelles 6, 8, 13). The genre of letters has long been
recognized as a literary form. As far back as the 1500s, letters written by women were
seen as “marketable,” but because of the cultural tenets of the era, it was considered
inappropriate to publish the personal expressions of women. Consequently, male authors
would mimic the “female voice” in their fictive works (Goldsmith vii). This type of
writing grew in popularity, and by the 1700s, many male authors feigned female
characters to produce a style of writing that represented “the nearest thing the 18th
century could offer to modern raw data” (Day 193). In other words, these authors were
producing natural, “unrehearsed speech,” which was highly effective in producing a
realistic-type story (Day 193). By the mid 1700s, “epistolary fiction” had come into its
own as a significant literary movement (Cook 2). Authors used letters to transmit a
convincing form of rhetoric covering a variety of topics from “scientific treatises to
novels, from conduct books to political essays” (Cook 16-17). It is significant to note that
in the mid 1800s when Abigail’s grandson published her letters, a woman’s original
works, they were widely received and never out of print (Gelles 3).
Recently, extensive research into the genre of letters is discovering the works of
women whose letters were written with artistry, and with the goal of intelligent
communication. While researching for her dissertation the works of Judith Sargent
Murray, a contemporary of Abigail Adams, Dr. Mary Kasraie found that a closer look at
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letter writing recognizes “their historical and biographical substantiveness” (6). Murray’s
letters depict “the immediacy and connectedness that epistles foster” (Kasraie 11). Gelles
shows that Abigail’s letters absolutely contain these attributes as well. Abigail does not
write for recognition, but in her efforts to communicate things that should be questionable
and deemed morally wrong, she is poignant and uses deliberately considered words.
Within one of many letters to her husband, for example, when foundational guidelines for
the infant nation were being drafted, Adams addresses slavery and women’s rights
(Gelles 14-15). Even though her vigilant words do not directly alter the course of history,
they do incite a response from John, one of several letters which Gelles uses to
“substantiate” the effectiveness of letter-writing (Kasraie 6). Utilizing letters of response
allow a look into the human, political, and marital interactions in the 18th century.
Because of Abigail’s “unpretentiousness” in her oratories, her letters are as vocal as any
historical documentation because they are governed by the element of sensibility within
the experience (Gelles 5). The facts are all there because she is there, but her passion and
intelligence drives the communication. And by constructing this biography in an
“episodic” form, this work appeals not only to historians, but to literary fans as well
(Gelles 3).
Letters, therefore, can offer a fulfilling communication for the historical and
literary senses (Gelles 5,7-8).
Another interesting element of letters, which also exhibits cause and effect, is the
“therapeutic” benefit. In part two, Abigail directly states, “…my Pen is my only
pleasure, and writing to you the composure of my mind” (Gelles 26). As an application
to the psychology of life, this statement, one among several of this type made by Abigail,
almost can be considered a manifesto. For her, letter writing provides a tremendous relief
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from tensions and anxieties. For us, because Abigail writes with honesty, temperance,
and often with great passion and imagery, we are able to see back into a different time for
women. We become enlightened as to what thoughts crossed their minds in trying to
cope with their responsibilities, and their endeavors to respond within the cultural
perimeters. Especially within Abigail’s world as a single parent, yet she was not single,
and as a politician and foreign minister’s wife, do we see through her expressions the
difficulty of “‘Patriotism in the female Sex…’” who is “‘…obliged to submit to those
Laws …imposed upon us…’”(Gelles 28-29).
Abigail’s correspondence between herself and friends, family members, and
historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, not only provide documentation of our
country’s past, but also entertainment and drama. These correspondences allow us a
window into lives that we would otherwise never see. In the third part of Abigail Adams,
Gelles utilizes letters, or travel “memoirs,” as revelations of the impact that England and
Paris had upon Abigail and her family. Before she travels abroad, Abigail pleads through
letters to her husband for him to return home from Europe. It would be almost five years
since John and Abigail have seen one another, and through their discourse during this
time in letters, Abigail expresses heartbreak over their prolonged separation, while John
expresses exasperation towards the United States’ Congress and its continuous lack of
resolve regarding his place of service. Finally, we see how these two “friends” decide that
Abigail and Abigail, Jr. will make the trip to Europe (Gelles 65-67). As within the
context of a moving novel, Gelles relates events and situations Abigail must manage in
her preparation for leaving, including the arrangements made for her two youngest sons
to remain in the States. This decision, to contain her feelings and forge ahead to do what
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is best for her marriage, is monumental, as she writes, “‘My thoughts are fixed, my latest
wish depend on thee guide, guardian, Husband, lover, Friend.’” (Gelles 67-68).
Certainly Gelles is aware of our anticipation being kindled as Abigail gets closer
to being reunited with her husband. Gelles accomplishes this by utilizing Abigail’s
memoirs or letters so that we experience her sea travel and another month of waiting in
Europe for this most passionate reunion (Gelles 69, 71, 77). Then, without any warning,
we are told that there is no record of John and Abigail reunion, except for an entry in
Abigail, Jr.’s “Journal” (Gelles 77-78). Possibly, for the only time in this biography,
does silence speak volumes. One might infer that the friends are now together, so there is
no need to write. This is so private, so deep within each spouse’s bosom, who could put
it into words?
Throughout the heart of Abigail Adams, Abigail proves to be a recorder of
history, simply by recording her life. During the time in London when John represents
the United States as a minister to the Court of England, Abigail would often write of their
less than hospitable treatment from the British. In a letter to her son John Quincy, she
conveyed these sentiments as well as her view that this land would become “‘a great and
powerful nation’” through unrelenting perseverance and integrity, because the new
nation’s endeavors certainly were not supported abroad (Gelles 104).
The historical significance in Abigail’s letters develops most of the fourth part of
Abigail Adams. John is now the new President, and Abigail is the First Lady.
“‘Splendid misery’” is the oxymoron Abigail uses to describe her outlook regarding her
future, and what she says proves to be an incontestable prophecy (Gelles 131). In
addition to the historical recordings of the Adams’ functions within the office of the
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President, Abigail also records family tragedies that dictate their lives as well. She
proclaims in a letter to her sister, “‘What a medley are my Letters,’” disclosing
everything from the state of the government, to her endeavors in pioneering the activities
of a First Lady, and the plights, specifically, of her children (Gelles 159-161).
At the onset of John’s presidency, he finds himself very lonely. Until Abigail can
join him in Philadelphia, he repeatedly writes to her, and he writes with intensity: “‘I
pray you to come on…I can do nothing without you…I want your assistance more than
[ever]’” (Gelles 128). These expressions from John represent only a small sampling of
the correspondence that would be forthcoming between him and Abigail while living at
the White House; and they are letters which exhibit “immediacy and connectedness”
(Kasraie 11). Often, Abigail’s letters portray her as a mediator in defending John’s
administrative decisions. In a letter to her sister Mary explaining the replacement of
certain men within John’s administration, she wrote that the President seeks those who
possess “‘merit, virtue & Talents,’” and that those who work for him will be “‘Friends to
order and Government’” (Gelles 144). Subsequently, a situation arises in which
Abigail’s family, the government, and the press, are all participants. Letters allow us
insight into an issue that causes an upheaval, not just within the Adams’ family, but on a
national level as well. The background written by Gelles explains that this event involves
a change to a previous administrative decision by former President Washington which
concerns John and Abigail’s son, John Quincy. President Adams reassigns John Quincy
as a minister to Berlin, which not only incites the accusations of “nepotism” from the
press, but causes a family riff as well, because John Quincy reacts with complete
disappointment (Gelles 145). Characteristically, Abigail supports her husband, and
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writes her son telling him of her stance and why. Within the position she has taken, she
also explains the need for the United States to have “trusted as well as skillful diplomats.”
Furthermore, Abigail thrusts herself into the situation by arranging for letters, as well as
authoritative quotations from the minister of Europe, John Quincy, to “set the record
straight,” and enlighten the nation about circumstances in Europe. By employing this
strategy, the talented and calculating First Lady also exposes the deception and politics of
the press (Gelles 145-149).
There is much more to be learned and enjoyed by way of letters in this biography
of Abigail Adams. The book concludes with the details regarding the Adams’ retirement,
and continues through to her death in 1818. Gelles includes a synopsis of reflections by
John and Abigail, and records moving sentiments written at the time of her decease by
those who were blessed by her life. As a “perceptive study,” Abigail Adams can be
highly recommended to those interested in documenting events of the past regarding the
United States, and to those who seek to examine the genre of letters (“Women” 2).
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Works Cited
Cook, Elizabeth H. Epistolary Bodies: Gender and Genre in the Eighteenth-Century
Republic of Letters. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1996.
Day, Robert A. “Speech Acts, Orality, and the Epistolary Novel.” The Eighteenth
Century: Theory and Interpretation 21 (1980): 187-197.
Gelles, Edith B. Abigail Adams: A Writing Life. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Goldsmith, Elizabeth C., ed. Introduction. Writing the Female Voice: Essays on
Epistolary Literature. Boston: Northeastern U, 1989: vii-xiii.
Kasraie, Mary R. Left to “affectionate partiality: An Authoritative Edition of Selected
Letters by Judith Sargent Murray. Diss. Georgia State U, 2001. Ann Arbor: UMI,
2001. AAT3008152.
“Woman of Substance.” Rev. of Abigail Adams: A Writing Life, by Edith B. Gelles.
Economist Magazine. 30 Mar. 2002: 76-77. Academic Search Premier.
EBSCOhost. Georgia State U, Pullen Lib. 17 Oct. 2003. <http://ezproxy.gsu.edu>