title: Abigail Adams: A Writing Life
author: Edith B. Gelles
description: Gelles, a senior scholar at the Institute for Research on Women &amp; Gender, Stanford Univ., and author of Portia: The World of Abigail Adams, provides a literary-biographical analysis of Adams's letters. She shows that Adams began as a relatively traditional wife, though one in a marriage based on choice and mutual friendship, but was then transformed into a farm and investment manager for her family, hostess for her ambassador husband, and confidante and adviser when he became the second President of the United States. Adams uses her considerable literary talent in voluminous correspondence, reminding her husband of women's legal needs, seeking out Mercy Otis Warren as a mentor until there was no longer any need for mentoring, and coping gracefully with the isolation imposed by sea travel and by living in France and England. Highly recommended for historians, literary critics, feminists, and general readers and for both general and special collections. Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll., Farmville, VA<br />Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: “I have long admired Jane Kirkpatrick’s rich historical fiction, and
  _Something Worth Doing_ is well worth reading! Oregonian Abigail Duniway is a
  vibrant, fiercely passionate, and determined activist who fought for women’s
  suffrage. Women of today have cause to respect and admire her—as well as the
  loving, patient, and supportive husband who encouraged her to continue ‘the
  silent hunt.’”
  
  > > >  **Francine Rivers** , author of _Redeeming Love_
  
  “On the trail to Oregon, young Jenny Scott lost her beloved mother and little
  brother and learned that no matter what, she must persist until she reaches
  her goal. Remembering her mother’s words—‘a woman’s life is so hard’—the young
  woman who became Abigail Scott Duniway came to understand through observation
  and experience that law and custom favored men. The author brings alive
  Abigail’s struggles as frontier wife and mother turned newspaper publisher,
  prolific writer, and activist in her lifelong battle to win the vote and other
  rights for w