Abigail smiled a little. John Adams must be the only one in Massachusetts who wanted a "thinking, reading woman". They were scarce enough. Most of the girls she knew had never gone beyond the Dame's School. It was not fashionable for a girl to be educated. Abigail's father and her Quincy grandparents were the only ones who did not frown when she buried her head in a book.

Abigail Smith's favorite room in the house was her father's study. When she was seven years old she could spell out some of the words she found in its shelves and shelves of books and she had listened so often to Reverend Smith read chapters from the Bible that she could guess at most of the words when she studied its pages. She was quick to learn and Mrs. Smith did not doubt her husband's words when, after he had taught Abigail for just one year, he commented that "She is the smartest child in Weymouth".

Abigail was just thirteen when she met John Adams. He had attended Harvard and was teaching in Worcester while studying law. Abigail like him better than either John Hancock or Joseph Warren, who were also guests at her Grandmother Quincy's tea. With his rich, deep voice and hearty laugh he was, she thought, the merriest of the group. And she could see that Grandfather Quincy liked him, too, because this talkative young man was not afraid to state his opinions. In fact, the two gentlemen were so busy exchanging ideas that they quite forgot the women who were there!

It was four years later that John Adams asked Revered Smith for his young daughter's hand in marriage. But three more years were to pass before the brilliant young lawyer and the lovely Abigail Smith could be married. October 25, 1764, marked the beginning of Abigail Smith Adam's role as the "thinking, reading woman" who would accompany one of our country's greatest statesmen through a life and a career which eventually would lead to the Presidency of the United States.

Here is a clear portrayal of a woman, vital and brilliant in her own right, and of her life as Mrs. John Adams, the President's Lady.

From the dust jacket