Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams

by Louisa Thomas

From the author of Mind and Matter, an intimate portrait of Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams, who witnessed firsthand the greatest transformations of her time     Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of the future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her, almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century.  They lived in Prussia, Massachusetts, Washington, Russia, and England, at royal courts, on farms, in cities, and in the White House. Louisa saw more of Europe and America than nearly any other woman of her time. But wherever she lived, she was always pressing her nose against the glass, not quite sure whether she was looking in or out. The other members of the Adams family could take their identity for granted—they were Adamses; they were Americans—but she had to invent her own. The story of Louisa Catherine Adams is one of a woman who forged a sense of self. As the country her husband led found its place in the world, she found a voice. That voice resonates still.  In this deeply felt biography, the talented journalist and historian Louisa Thomas finally gives Louisa Catherine Adams's full extraordinary life its due. An intimate portrait of a remarkable woman, a complicated marriage, and a pivotal historical moment, Louisa Thomas's biography is a masterful work from an elegant storyteller.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, American History, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Presidents

504 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2016

About the author

Louisa Thomas is the author of Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists, One Family—a Test of Will and Faith in World War I. She is a former writer for Grantland and a former fellow at the New America Foundation. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and other places.

Reviews

[Micah Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An elegantly written, thoroughly researched and beautifully presented book on the life of one of the most complex and interesting members of the ever fascinating Adams clan. I enjoyed this book greatly, and give it my highest recommendation to those who wish to understand more about this remarkable woman, and the times she lived in. Five stars.

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tonight my daughter called to interview me for a family history project. One question, what were your interests and hobbies during elementary school? My response, reading, most notably biographies, and watching sports. Not much has changed since my second grade teacher encouraged our class to read biographies all year and recording the subject’s life on a timeline. I aced the assignment, reading at least two age appropriate biographies a week, and I got to take the timeline home; it must be in my parents’ apartment somewhere. What has changed in the nearly forty years is the books available on notable American women. As the baby boom generation and generation x women chose outside work over home life or mixed the two, women began writing about women. Library biography shelves were no longer dominated by books on famous men; the men are still there but have to share shelf space with lives of historical women. Louisa Adams was the daughter-in-law, wife, and mother of either a president or presidential candidate, placing her in rarified air, as close to American royalty as possible. I had never heard of her growing up ; the only First Ladies I knew of were Martha Washington, Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Jackie Kennedy. Today, books abound on First Ladies and other historical women of note. They have generations of women authors to thank for that. Another Louisa, Thomas, who is the daughter of a famous biographer, decided to rescue Louisa Adams from historical purgatory. In The Extraordinary Life of Mrs Adams, readers discover a woman whose remarkable story mirrored the first third of United States history, and what a life it was.

Louisa Catherine Johnson was the second child born to Joshua and Catherine Johnson of London. He was a Maryland merchant living in England, and she was an English woman. A knock on Louisa for her entire life would be that she was not really an American. She was brought up at quality schools for girls and finishing schools for young ladies in both England and France, and saw firsthand how an educated woman should conduct herself. In the late 1790s, both Louisa and her sister Nancy were smitten with a young diplomat named John Quincy Adams, who had been visiting London on state business. John Quincy had served his country since the age of fourteen when he was a secretary to the ambassador Dana in Russia. The son of a president and dominating First Lady, John Quincy was a Puritan and Federalist. He was also an Adams and his first love was to his country and he was expected to marry a northern American. His first love had been one Mary Frazier, who Abigail told him not to pursue because he would be traveling abroad. Thus, John Quincy found himself at the Johnson home, and wavered whether he should marry Louisa, a young woman who he found charming but who he feared was not Puritan enough for his family’s tastes. In 1797, Joshua Johnson found himself in financial straights and urged Louisa to marry John Quincy, if only there would be one less mouth to feed in a family of eight children. The marriage might have been for more convenience than love and the couple might not have been compatible, but John Quincy and Louisa were married for over fifty years, becoming a formidable couple in politics, steering policy, and enduring more than most couples would have to in a lifetime and persevered.

John Quincy served as an ambassador in Germany, England, and Russia, Louisa serving by his side. She was the social of the two, networking and creating contacts at home and abroad that would set up her husband for future political endeavors. John Quincy was happier with his books and writing; the couple would endure months apart due to his putting country before family, which put a strain on her mental health and also lead to countless miscarriages. Louisa birthed four living children, but must have miscarried a good dozen or more. Part of this is because of the medicine available when she lived but also due to her countenance, which was often misconstrued as weak. As a mother who sends her teenaged daughters away for high school, I can understand Louisa at a basic level. She left her two older sons in Massachusetts with Adams relatives when John Quincy left to serve in Russia. She would not she her two boys for over six years, and she would outlive them both, not to mention the daughter she buried in Russia. Losing one child would rip a mother; over time, Louisa lost three. The one son who did outlive her Charles would form an bond that was closer than any relationship she would have in her life, including John Quincy. Perhaps because he was closer to his parents, he did not suffer from mental health issues, leading Charles to live a complete life; he would be his mother’s salve.

Louisa Adams was hardly a weak woman. She traveled from St Petersburg to Paris when Napoleon escaped from Elba, causing havoc throughout the continent. Determined to reunite with her husband, Louisa organized the journey and marched on. An appointment as Secretary of State hung in the balance, and with it, the path to the presidency in 1825. Louisa kept up a lifelong correspondence with both John and Abigail Adams. Both the former president and First Lady would offer advice throughout the campaign and through their correspondence lead to Louisa becoming a polished writer and reader. When John Quincy was too busy to write, she would write his letters as well. He encouraged her to read the classics in Greek and Latin, and Louisa would become as learned as any woman of the day. Meanwhile, John Quincy was against “electioneering”. In 1825 the popular vote did not elect the president; congress did. His record spoke for itself, but he was anti-slavery and his main opponent Andrew Jackson hailed from Tennessee. Louisa held a ball, of which she was legendary, in Jackson’s honor, making her husband the main attraction due to her hosting skills. It would be John Quincy rather than Jackson who won the election of 1825, yet he would be a one term president. Campaigning was not something he was fond of, and Louisa was not enamored with the President’s House. By 1830 the couple would split their time in Washington and Quincy for the rest of their lives, Louisa actually feeling more comfortable away from the limelight than John Quincy did.

Toward the end of his life, John Quincy would serve in congress for another seventeen years. He would become staunchly anti-slavery and try the famous Amistad case before the Supreme Court. Although it was not a word yet, Louisa never considered herself a feminist. She read and admired the work of Mary Wollstonecraft and had her mother in law Abigail as a role model, but Louisa believed that a woman’s place was with her husband. A woman was not necessarily the weaker sex. What she endured throughout her life as a mother is testament to this. Women could be as well read as men if not more so, but when it came to matters of who a woman belonged to, Louisa maintained a religious bent and thought that a woman’s place was with her husband. For awhile, she corresponded with Sarah Grimké, who wanted to know John Quincy’s stance on women’s rights. A Puritan until the end, John Quincy espoused the traditional views of men and women in society as well. Louisa’s exchanges with the Grimkés ended, and it would not be until Seneca Falls, after Louisa’s death, that the woman’s movement took off. Louisa would author three memoirs that served as the backbone of this book; however, as strong as a woman as she was, her view on a place of women in 18th century society was more traditional as one would have first expected.

John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams might have married for convenience, but their marriage endured and grew for over fifty years, mirroring the growth of a young nation. They saw the nation expand west to the Pacific and could travel from Washington to Quincy in under thirty six hours toward the end of their lives. Louisa Thomas did a tremendous amount of research to bring this powerful 18th/19th century woman to life. She had as a role model a father who wrote among other things a biography of an equally important woman, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. I wonder what Louisa Adams would have thought of that- a woman serving in the nation’s highest court. I believe that if she had lived a half century later she would have been a formidable First Lady ala Nellie Taft, who called a lot of the shots during her husband’s presidency. In the 20th century this was permissible; in Louisa’s time it was not. Mrs Adams clearly lead an extraordinary life. This biography is the impetus I need to make First Lady biographies a new life time bucket list project. There are over forty remarkable ladies that I have to read about and I do hope that most of them measure up to the life of Louisa Catherine Adams.

4.5 stars

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a portrait of a marriage more than it is a biography. Perhaps for Louisa Johnson Adams, that is how it was. Without John Quincy Adams she would never be known to history; without her, he would probably not have been president. It was a 19th century marriage in which he held all the cards.

The courtship was awkward (as were most of the time) she was under pressure to marry and he was healing a broken heart. He was unaware of her family’s baggage (none of Louisa Johnson’s own doing) and all her life she felt the burden, guilt and/or general weight of the abrupt disappearance of her family when her dowry was to be paid.

She had no say in John Quincy’s acceptance of a diplomatic mission to Russia, nor the decision that two of her young sons would be left with his family. She pulled together when JQ left her for his career (although he would not call it that) the most dramatic "leaving" being left alone in Russia for 9 months.

She more than earned her keep as a wife and helpmate. Thomas shows how JQ owed his presidency to her entertaining and networking on his behalf. Still he remained distant and seemed to begrudge any time spent with her.

Author Louisa Thomas shows that as Louisa got older she became less prone to accept her husband’s command. She corresponded with the Grimki sisters and read the feminist material of the time. As John Quincy got older he took bold stands against slavery. While Louisa’s instincts were with him, she was from a slave holding family and had embedded racial stereotypes in her thinking.

Years ago I read Mrs. Adams in Winter: A Journey in the Last Days of Napoleon which tells of her trip from Moscow to Paris. This book provides the background I needed then to fully appreciate how Michael O’Brien wove Louisa's story into the travelog.

I have three critical comments. 1) There are no pictures or maps. 2) The chapters on the final years are wordy. 3) Like many books of this period, the money is hard to understand. A big example of this is that in Russia they are pressed for money but in the end Louisa spends a small fortune on her trip from Moscow to Paris.

The 3 critiques are not enough to diminish my 5 star rating. I highly recommend this for readers of biography of this period. This is a gripping story and Thomas is an engaging writer.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come. I have to figure out why I cannot give this more than three stars. I know I liked it, but how could it have been improved? What was missing? Please remember that three stars is nevertheless a book I can recommend to others.

**********************

I didn't know much about Louisa, the wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the US. He was the son of the more famed John Adams, the second US President. What I knew I had learned from John Adams by the fantastic author David McCullough. It is very hard to succeed as well as McCullough; having read one book on a related topic you tend to make comparisons between the two. John Quincy, the son, was also a diplomat, a Senator and a member of the House of Representatives. As a diplomat he played an important role in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812. He was stationed in Europe at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. As President he couldn't do very much, having a Senate that opposed him. As the Massachusetts member of the House of Representatives, for the last seventeen years of his life, he is known for his opposition to slavery on moral grounds. Equality was to be afforded all Americans. He feared that the issue could lead to dissolution of the Union and bloodshed. There is the husband in a nutshell.

This book focuses on Louisa, and while it touches upon historical events, they are the backdrop rather than the central focus of the book. I would have appreciated more about the War of 1812, more about Adams' rival Andrew Jackson. He became the seventh President. In relation to Jackson, the Battle of New Orleans is mentioned and then dropped. I am not an historian; I wish more facts had been filled in. Interesting side issues are touched upon, such as the electoral process for the Presidency, but that is dropped soon too. Only as Louisa becomes more interested in politics does the book focus on historical events. Even if this is a book about Louisa, it is possible to also deliver on both husband and wife and on both the personal and historical events. Often different interpretations of the known facts were presented. This I liked, but at the same time I wanted the author to more often conclude with a summary of that presented, to help me interpret these facts.

So the central focus is Louisa. She is a difficult person to study. One minute she is strong and then she is weak. One minute I felt sorry for her and the next I felt like wringing her neck. You can take just about any of her statements and find contradictions. How do you draw an accurate picture of her? She did an awful lot of griping in the beginning, on her travels and when she was first married. This was one point where I wanted to wring her neck. I thought, "Appreciate what is given to you. How many women were able to travel like this?!" I know the travels were difficult. We are told she is sick often. We are also told that she says she is sick sometimes when she is not, to get out of something she doesn't want to do. Having been told that I was often left wondering if she was really sick or not! Much is drawn from Louisa's correspondence. You can say whatever you want in a letter; it does not have to be true! Do you understand why I sometimes was left wondering how to interpret the facts?

By the book's end I feel I came to know Louisa, not by what she said, but more by watching her actions over her entire life. She was a social creature. She certainly seems manic depressive. One minute up, next minute down. She had a hard life, the loss of three of her four children and the numerous miscarriages, but she also was also given many fabulous opportunities for enriching her life! She was contradictory in most every aspect of her being. She loved her husband and hated him. She was self-reliant and then collapsed in a heap. She had feminist views....but certainly not always. Many statements in the book can be debated and discussed. This makes for an interesting book.

The audiobook narration by Kirsten Potter was good. I grew into liking it. In the beginning I disliked how her intonation reflected her view of what was stated. You could hear what she thought of the events. Her views are those of a modern woman. I prefer a more neutral reading, and I don't want to view historical events through a contemporary lens. Yet, it wasn't hard to follow and the words were clear. It was easy to differentiate between quotes and the author's own lines. A bit too fast sometimes. The last hour of the audiobook could be notes. I recognized that sentences throughout the entire book were repeated. Nothing new was added.

[Rama Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intimate portrait of the First Lady Louisa Adams

This is an excellent biography of the First Lady Louisa Adams, the wife of the sixth President, John Quincy Adams (1825-1829). Born and raised in England, she was the only First Lady to have been born outside of the United States, and came to this country four years after her marriage to John Quincy Adams.

This book chronicles her role as the daughter-in-law of President John Adams and later plays a significant role in the career of her husband John Quincy Adams. His career as a diplomat, a Senator, member of the House of Representatives and the President was strongly supported by Louisa Adams not only as his wife but also as a friend and a loyal supporter. His mission to formulate the American foreign-policy of self-determination, independence, non-colonization, and noninvolvement in European politics got Louisa Adams travel around Europe and United States quite extensively. Peace negotiations called John Adams to Ghent, Belgium in 1814. Louisa Adams went on a 40-day journey across war-ravaged Europe in winter. She faced roving bands of wanderers that filled her thought, and her young son was traumatized by the war and desperation. Author Louisa Thomas provides in-depth details into the private life of Louisa Adams and her personal sacrifice to keep the Adams family sane.

Her pleasure of moving to the White House in 1825 was short-lived by the bitter politics and by her ill- health. She suffered from depression. She spent quiet evenings, reading, composing music and playing her harp. For years she struggled with her divided loyalties about the question of slavery. Her abstract sense of the injustice of slavery, and her husband’s opposition to slavery on one side; her sister’s, relatives and friends support for slavery on the other caused confusion and anxiety. She also had to deal with own her prejudices against blacks, but opposed slavery in principle. She read and re-read Bible to find explanations to oppose slavery, but also vulnerable about fears of black uprising, possible violence and making political enemies in the U.S. Her husband John Quincy Adams spoke publicly against slavery and emerged as a key abolitionist. He withstood the attacks by the pro-slavery factions and southerners but remained steadfast and resilient in his beliefs.

Louisa left behind a trove of journals, essays, letters, and other writings. She was a shrewd eyewitness to pivotal moments in the nation's formative years and shed light on the career of John Quincy Adams and his contemporaries. Author Louisa Thomas’s narratives of the historical moments are captivating. I found the book very engrossing and immensely educational. I recommend this book to readers interested in American history.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had seen this book in a bookstore I might have picked it up to learn who Louisa was. Upon discovering that she was the wife of John Quincy Adams I would probably have put the book back down. I had never heard of Louisa Adams though I did know who her husband was. As I never had any interest in the life of John Quincy why would a biography of his wife be worth reading about? Thanks to a GR friend that had read and reviewed this book I was saved from making this mistake. I learned from reading that review that Louisa Adams was somebody worth knowing more about so I ordered a copy of the book. Thus one of the benefits of being a GR member is the opportunity to join other members with similar reading tastes and share your discoveries. It's like being part of a group of book scouts constantly on the prowl for new reading discoveries and this book was just such a find.

As I stated it is a biography of Louisa Johnson Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams and daughter-in-law to John Adams and the incomparable Abigail Adams. I doubt that I am alone in saying that before reading this book I knew nothing of this woman. While this book does correct that deficiency it is also a fair biographical sketch of her husband as well. When I finished this book I had come to the conclusion that if you want to know what a man is like find out how he treats his wife. When viewed through that lens JQ doesn't come off too well. When you then think about who his parents were and their storied romance and relationship it is very difficult to understand how JQ could have been such an imperious jerk. But this was the son of John and Abigail Adams and he is the product of their rearing so the result is curious. So the book is really about the both of them, in fact, one reviewer correctly states that it is more a biography of a marriage. And it is a biography of a marriage and a marriage of a very uncommon couple that experience first hand some of the greatest events of the early 19th century.

It is one thing to read a history written by an accomplished historian but it is quite another to read about historic events as experienced by a person that has lived through those events. The words of personal experience make for a much greater impact on the reader and that is what you have in this book for the most part. The author relies a great deal on what must have been a vast collection of diaries and letters from all the various members of the Adams family as well as their correspondents. These sources contribute a great deal of color to the story and adds something I find most interesting. Aside from the biography I enjoyed reading about the how life in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was lived. This kind of information fascinates me. It is interesting to learn about how life was lived in centuries past, learning what the customs were, what the mores were, what kinds of behavior were acceptable and unacceptable. This book amply satisfied my interest in this regard as the Adams' traveled through Europe during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era before returning to the United States. It was also interesting and disturbing to read how poorly regarded Louisa's interests were by her new husband as she was dragged across the continent. Louisa's evolution from innocent and inexperienced young girl into the woman she became is a story worth reading. However, I do have one concern though it is probably minor.

This is a biography of a woman written by another woman of some considerable talent. In reading this story of Louisa's life I couldn't help but suspect that maybe the author used her skill to enhance, at times, to rather heroic proportions a life that may not have been all that heroic. I began to feel that the book's purpose may have been to inspire other young women and to give them a heroine and a role model. If that was the purpose then it is a great success and should be applauded. This is certainly a book that I believe women will enjoy reading and it will give men something to think about. The book certainly had me thinking and if I had daughters then it would be a book I would want them to read. But the author's interpretations of Louisa's words and actions did have me questioning the accuracy of her conclusions. Her interpretations are arguably correct but as a history are such interpretations appropriate without substantial supporting evidence? So I guess the real question is is this a work of history or an inspirational biography? For me it was simply a good book that I discovered thanks to a GR friend.

[Bfisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louisa

When Louisa Johnson married John Quincy Adams in 1797 at the age of 22, she exercised the only significant decision allowed to her in her life.

Accompanying her husband as the American envoy to Berlin, she endured a miscarriage in Berlin under the advantage of cutting-edge late 18th century medicine; it took her a week to discharge the foetus. According to the author, the best estimate is that she endured four miscarriages between 1797 and 1800. While trying to supply the deficit of her husband in the social graces that did not come easily to him, she had to tread a fine line. Louisa Thomas explains that “she had to fit in but could never belong”, something that applied to most of her married life.

Accompanying her husband while still ill from the birth of her first child, she finds no place of her own in Washington or Massachusetts. Frequently separated from her husband, she is shuttled about from place to place at the convenience of others. When her husband accepts the offer of envoy to Russia, she is forced against her wishes to leave her two oldest children in America. Having borne them at a terrible cost, and losing them as young adults, she will resent and regret the forced separation bitterly for the remainder of her life.

In Russia, John Quincy Adams turns down the offer of a Supreme Court justiceship, saying that he would not risk the health of his pregnant life for the sake of office. Yet, left by her husband in St. Petersburg, Louisa has to organize and lead an overland journey for her household from Russia to Paris through the wreckage of northern Europe, arriving in the tumult of Napoleon’s return from Elba. Later, when her husband is offered the office of Secretary of State, at that time the stepping-stone to the Presidency, he will return with alacrity to the United States, on a rough Atlantic passage despite Louisa being pregnant again at forty-two; she will miscarry on the voyage. The author notes that Louisa herself acknowledged ambition on her part as well. Here as elsewhere, she presents a balanced picture of Louisa.

To read widely, she has to use the excuse of supervising her sons’ education. She translates Plato’s Apology from the French, and makes a translation of Alcibiades for her father-in-law John Adams.

Always striving to find a place for herself, even when corresponding with Sarah Grimke, she must suffer the humiliation of Grimke sending a letter to her via her husband, a transparent attempt by Grimke to use her as a channel to John Quincy Adams..

Thomas paints a remarkable picture of what life was like for a woman of talent and ambition in a world committed to unlimited freedom for men (or at least white men) and a marginal role for women.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOOOONG book! What a life!

Louisa Thomas does the kind of job on this biography that I could only wish would be so superbly done for several other women in our USA 250 year history. The research! Locations she lived- her entire life in rotation, decades lived out of trunks. Five countries that she lived in for at least 4 or 5 year periods at a time, that I counted. Great Britain, France, Germany, USA, Russia. And the numbers of cities in those countries- too many to count.

The marriage relationship, the health issues. That alone, beyond the politico and the societal would make a book. And the extended families and the good-byes. The financial, the occupational! I kept thinking of a French noble woman standing before the guillotine of a past history read, who waved her little finger in a circle. Circle of fate, karma- up and then down. Up and then down, like a revolving wheel.

And through it all, she is following. And chasing. He is reserved, cold, centered on power and accomplishment to purposes "above"- and forever leaving her behind. And yet SHE is the pivot for his intersects to succeed. This is an absolutely fascinating biography.

Beyond the sadness and the losses. Beyond the dichotomy of her very unusual emotive and intellectual character. Beyond the outcomes of both success and failures. Beyond all that. This book gave to me several succinct and superlative characters studies of other Founding Fathers and also first USA century movers and shakers than I have ever come across. And I've read many.

Thomas Jefferson, his hubris and arrogance, his disingenuous declarations. Exactly the kind of "benevolent" genius that would leave you to freeze in a room with 4 burning coals in the fire place, so that he won't have to deal with your group tonight. Knowing how cold you will get. Enough to give up and go home so he can read and theorize some more. Abigail Adams, the exact kind of mother-in-law that I absolutely knew she had to be. The Boss who takes over your children and sends them to live with her sisters in order to get the "right" worldview.

And on top of it, Louisa Thomas gives exact details that have been recorded in letters and in record for doctors etc. Only just the paper and recorded trails. She doesn't even begin to surmise her own personal opinions upon the infections, fevers, attacks, collapses. I'm in awe that she could have avoided the guesses that came to mind the entire time I was reading this. Even from before her marriage, something is physically "off". 500 plus pages of journeys and facts for all those journeys, as well. Which days was Louisa bedded in illness and which was she not. Was Louisa an epileptic? All that fainting away and fevers throughout her life? And how many pregnancies and miscarriages might she have had in total? I think I stopped counting just before I got to 20.

One day she is in jewels and satin straining a 15 foot silk cape train in an environment in which 300 servants was not considered excessive and in which only 60 servants was considered miserly. And 14 months later she is having to milk her own cows and cook her own food for the first time in her life!

Outstanding book about an outstanding woman. In a time when marriage meant something quite different than it does presently, IMHO. Louisa lived up to her ideals. Her strength in adversity and against physical and emotional pain- phenomenal.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://wp.me/p4dW55-1iA

Fans of the U.S. presidency are likely to recognize Louisa Catherine Adams (1775-1852) as one of our more interesting and spirited first ladies. She was incredibly insecure but curiously indomitable, and often fragile (physically and emotionally) but with a remarkably steely resolve. Born in London under interesting circumstances, her sheltered upbringing afforded her little education and limited opportunity. But then she met and married John Quincy Adams.

In this engaging biography of Louisa Adams, biographer Louisa Thomas has painted a wonderfully vibrant portrait of a woman who was marvelously human– and happened to marry a man whose career would take them across the globe. Written in an easy, accessible, unpretentious style, this biography is richly-sourced and surprisingly captivating.

If the essential role of a biography is to allow the reader to deeply understand a biographical subject – including her strengths, weaknesses, personality quirks, most important relationships and how she views, reacts to and evolves within the world around her…then Thomas’s 455-page narrative is extremely successful.

One of the best aspects of the book: its revelations regarding Louisa’s relationships with her husband (the prickly John Quincy Adams), her mother-in-law (the infamous Abigail Adams) and her father-in-law (John Adams). The evolution of these three relationships is fascinating to witness and each is described in way that beautifully teases out the nuances of the individuals involved.

Many readers will also appreciate the book’s deeper insight into the persona of John Quincy Adams. Without quite being a biography of the sixth president, this book reveals a great deal about him: his peculiar personality, his obsessive dedication to public service, his shortcomings as a spouse and how he and Louisa grew to understand each other’s limitations. Readers without previous exposure to JQA will receive a good introduction to his public life…and an excellent introduction to his personality.

The most revealing part of the book, however, may be the two chapters dedicated to Louisa’s daring 2,000-mile journey from St. Petersburg to Paris in 1815. Her husband left her and her youngest son in Russia when a diplomatic mission necessitated his sudden move. The details of her harrowing 40-day journey to rejoin him, across a ravaged landscape and through waves of soldiers retreating from Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, will capture every reader’s attention.

At times, however, this biography lacks sufficient biographical “gravitas.” As compelling as it is, this book rarely exudes the scholarly sophistication of more ponderous biographies and occasionally feels…almost frivolous. And, regrettably, the biography is entirely devoid of portraits, illustrations or maps which could have added important insight and context.

Overall, however, Louisa Thomas’s biography of Louisa Adams is an extremely readable and extraordinarily engrossing journey through the life of one of our most interesting first ladies. As an introduction to John Quincy Adams this book is surprisingly solid. But as a story of Louisa Adams’s flaws and insecurities, her compromises and conduct, and her evolution during fifty years of marriage, it is often exceptional.

Overall rating: 4½ stars

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had long been curious about this foreign-born first lady (the life of the second, more recent one doesn't interest me at all). I was surprised to learn that she had been brought up in England, rather than just having two expatriate American parents overseas at the time. Her father was indeed one, though her mother was British.

Louisa did not arrive in America until she was an adult. Her parents would have salons at their home with many visiting American guests, including Adams who was working in London for a while. During the course of their marriage, they were to spend a great deal of time apart. However, even beforehand, no sooner had JQA proposed, then he went off to the continent for an extended work assignment without her, instead of marrying first, and both of them away together. In that case, I fully understood Louisa's frustration of his insisting on handling things that way.

She was raised in great style, which unfortunately came to a head later when her father, who had poor business acumen, was finally forced to flee to America to escape British creditors (after Louisa was married). I confess that the section focusing on her youth was the least interesting to me.

Things got better when she joined JQA on the continent in Berlin. These chapters were good illustrations of how sheltered a life she had led in London. Fortunately, she had a couple of guardian angels looking out for her, so was able to adapt well and enjoy herself. Great value here in learning about how much was expected of diplomatic wives on their husband's behalf.

Saint Petersburg proved the most interesting part of her story to me, especially the trip overland to Paris, which she had to arrange herself with children and servants; her husband having gone on ahead alone. Not exactly the same as calling in a moving company and booking long distance train tickets, or going by airplane, instead. Far from it!

Although her father was from the USA, and she had met many Americans in her London youth, Louisa still suffered strongly from culture shock upon arrival. Also, she was a city gal who wasn't used to living in what was then a rural area like Quincy, Massachusetts. Interestingly, the only bond she formed at the time was with her father-in-law, the former President; things would improve with Abigail later, but in the early years, it was rather a rocky start.

After her husband goes to work in Washington, she then becomes a politician's wife, showing that while women could not vote at the time, they most definitely had an influence in politics behind the scenes. Louisa's time as first lady is actually not given much attention here, or at least not as much as I'd expected. She was largely unhappy during that period - after working hard to make friends who would support JQA's bid, their White House years seemed a case of "Be careful what you wish for" to me.

As a voracious reader of history, philosophy, etc. (which has been encouraged by her father-in-law), she had the potential to be someone in her own right. However, that time was also marred by personal tragedies which caused her to greatly withdraw from public life. The author makes the point that while she was a fervent abolitionist, on a personal level she was very uncomfortable around black people; so that stance could be seen as more in theory than practice.

In the end, I found it an interesting book overall, if not a bit long. Didn't make me interested in reading about her husband though. To be blunt about it, their marriage seemed largely based on physical attraction than any sort of compatibility.

Audio narration was very well done, to the extent that it helped me get through a story I would probably not have liked as much in print.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up. Even though this is a biography it reads as a historical novel in the descriptions. For example, when James Monroe goes to his 2nd inauguration in 1820 he is wearing knee breeches, white stockings and silver buckles and everyone snickers because of his Revolutionary War attire. It would be the same as if Obama wore a leisure suit or bell bottoms and love beads to his inauguration. That's the type of research that makes history fascinating. Why didn't Elizabeth Monroe dress her husband right?

I learned so much about John Quincy and I know I'll never see another book again with so many capital Q's. I remembered bits of the HBO series on his father John, and his and Abigail's training really hit the mark. Such a Puritan! Every waking minute had to be accounted and remember, no tv, no internet, no zoning out on a sunny afternoon in a hammock for him. When he was 10 he wrote to his father that he needed to be more disciplined! An English lord called him repulsive and a "bulldog among spaniels."

But here's the thing--it worked. There was alcoholism in that family that struck down most of the males. Adams was in a government capacity starting at age 14 (secretary to the minister to Russia) and when he met Louisa he told her his country would always come first. He was ambassador to several countries, Secretary of State, Senator, taught at Harvard, negotiated treaties, President and then he went back to serving in the House for 17 more terms after that. He handled the Amistad case in his 70s before the Supreme Court and won. While at the House he submitted 693 petitions against slavery in one year, the most of anyone.

When the election was held that year (1824) no one got the majority of electoral college votes and the House had to decide between the top 5 candidates. Right until the House decided, Adams had the theory that he deserved the presidency based on his work, didn't need to campaign and didn't campaign and if he had to ask for it, he didn't want it. Electioneering was a dirty word until this election. Jackson (first runner up) started campaigning immediately after he lost. Adams never had a chance of a second term.

But this book is about Louisa and here's the thing--she wasn't a pleasant woman at all. I'm sure if I were married to a man who placed me way down on his list of obligations I wouldn't be a happy woman either. She won Adams the presidency by hosting parties and being social, bending the ears of the right people and I don't think he ever appreciated it. Once she was in the White House (she hated that term and called it the President's Mansion) she had no official duties and was bored stiff.

Well, she had one. The Marquis de Lafayette was visiting for a 50th reunion tour and she had to entertain him in high style. She really whined and moaned about it even though she had a staff to do 99% of the work. BTW the house he stayed at is up for sale in DC. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...

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Anyway, Louisa had problems, some of her own making, some from her family, many from JQA's decisions and the usual women's issues of illness, childbirth, miscarriages, and not having a voice in any way. Thomas writes that ironically when voting laws were changed so you didn't need to be a property owner, women and freedmen who owned property lost the right to vote.

Thomas certainly had tons of material to research. One of Louisa's last books was "The Adventures of a Nobody". Wouldn't Freud have a field day with that? I wish maps, graphics and reproductions of paintings would have been included.

While we think this is the time of information, Louisa lived in a time when people started writing to their Congressmen and travel time was cut 90% by improved transportation. I wondered where all the hundreds of people at her parties went to the bathroom.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago I read a book about Louisa Adams and was impressed with her courage in traveling alone with child and servant from St. Petersburg to Paris. She crossed Russia in winter through war zones on a troika. When I heard an interview with Louisa Thomas about her new book about Louisa Adams I bought it right away.

Louisa was born in England and educated in Catholic schools in both England and France. After marrying John Q. Adams they lived in Europe and she perfected the role of a diplomat’s wife. Louisa was unusual for a woman of that era as she was educated and spoke a number of languages. John Q. Adams spoke nine languages and she was not far behind him. She was fluent in French and English and passable in Latin, Greek, Dutch, Portuguese, German and Russian. She wrote music and played the harp and she became a writer. When she was First Lady her European manners made her exotic. She had four children but had many miscarriages. Louisa was a strong willed, intelligent and independent woman who chafed under the role of women in that era. She wrote “I cannot believe that there is any inferiority in the sexes as far as the mind and intellect are concerned.” I was impressed to learn from the book that Louisa met Napoleon Bonaparte.

The book is well written and researched. The author had access to all her correspondence as well as diaries, poetry, plays, fiction and non- fiction stories and two autobiographies. With access to all this information it is no wonder the author was able to write such an interesting book about Louisa. I wish the author would have included more information about Louisa’s thoughts and role in the antislavery movement and also in women’s rights. It must have been difficult having Abigail as a mother in law but Louisa was so intelligent she held her own in this intellectual family. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Kirstein Potter did a good job narrating the book.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

We know a lot about our modern First Ladies, many of whom were and are accomplished in their own right, apart from their status as having been married to a President. The further back in history you go, however, the less we know about some of these prominent women, especially the ones who avoided the spotlight - either due to the era in which they lived, or illness, or resentment of their husband's prominence or a general unhappy disposition.

Or, in the case of Louisa Adams - all of the above.

This book about one of our lesser-known First Ladies is wonderfully well-written, fascinating, engaging - and, ultimately, it must be said, a tragedy. Louisa, along with many women of her time and many of our early First Ladies, were "shadows in the histories of men," Thomas writes, "constrained by conventions" and "discouraged from exerting their existence." While recent books have been written about the political savvy of early First Ladies like Dolley Madison and Sarah Polk, who were quietly instrumental in their husbands' success, Thomas is honest and blunt about her subject: "I do not pretend that she held some secret political power," she writes of Louisa.

In short, Louisa seemed miserable. She was married to a difficult man she found hard to love, who put career and country first and often seemed not to love her in return. He made unilateral decisions about their living arrangements, their family and their lives, which Louisa had no choice but to go along with. And despite their troubled and complicated relationship, he managed to impregnate her more than a dozen times, even though she became life-threateningly ill each time and most of the pregnancies ended in physically and emotionally devastating miscarriages. Only one of her three children who survived into adulthood outlived her.

And yet she led a remarkable life. When she met and married John Quincy Adams, she was considered an "ornament," a pretty little thing to have on one's arm, who was neither educated nor outspoken. Thomas traces Louisa's evolution into an enlightened, intelligent, strong-willed, keenly observant, politically-aware protofeminist who became an exceptional writer of revealing diaries and autobiographical manuscripts upon which much of this book is based.

The centerpieces of this book are the lavish ball Louisa held in honor of Andrew Jackson, showing that she could entertain and help advance her husband's political career just as well as the likes of Dolley Madison - and the dramatic, harrowing, life-threatening, 40-day journey she made across war-ravaged Europe to meet up with her husband in Paris, using her own street smarts to survive (only to find that he was out enjoying himself attending a play, instead of being there to greet his exhausted wife upon her arrival.)

Over time, Louisa grew to become more sure of herself, more independent and more knowledgeable, yet she knew what her place was in the culture of the early 1800's. Thomas doesn't deify her - Louisa doesn't always come across as a sympathetic figure, as Thomas calls her out for being overwrought at times. But ultimately, there is a pall of sadness over this book - for a woman who suffered such personal tragedies, and who was never really recognized for, nor able to achieve, her true potential.

I can't say what someone without some knowledge or interest in John Quincy Adams would get out of this book - as Louisa herself suggested in the title of her self-effacing autobiographical work "Adventures of a Nobody," few would likely seek out her story if she didn't happen to be married to a President. For anyone unfamiliar with JQA, Thomas does a good job telling the necessary parts of his political story without straying too far from Louisa's story.

The only thing making this a four-star rather than a five-star review in my estimation, is the lingering feeling I struggled with while reading it - is a woman who was so often unhappy and unfulfilled, who could often be petty and pessimistic, who seemed perpetually unable to look on the bright side, really deserving of the full biographical treatment? Were there not more times the Adams' relationship was actually warmer than Louisa's vented frustrations would suggest? In lamenting her lot in life, are we doing so from our 21st century perspective or from the perspective of the time in which she lived? Ultimately, is there someone else whose story Thomas could have spent her considerable talents telling? Was Louisa Adams' life truly "extraordinary"?

I sought out this book because I've read a lot about John Quincy Adams, and Louisa exists largely in the background of most books about him - occasionally she'll pop up in the narrative when she has a miscarriage, or when John Quincy says or does some terrible thing to her, and you can't help but wonder what must this poor woman's life have been like? It's not necessarily a happy story with a uplifting ending, but considered in the context of her husband's well-examined life, her side of the story deserved to be told. And Thomas tells it wonderfully.

[Marian Beaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writer/journalist Louisa Thomas turns tedious history into an elegant narrative of the life of Louisa Catherine Adams, First Lady during John Quincy Adams’ presidency.

Daughter of Joshua Johnson, a Southerner, and Catherine Newth of England, Louisa’s parents did not marry until she was ten years old and could not provide a dowry for her marriage to Adams because of her father’s financial straits. Yet she persisted: knew French, craved books, and expressed her “suppressed intelligence” through her extensive journals. She gave one of her journals a shy title, “The Adventures of a Nobody,” but her brave “Narrative of a Journey: From St. Petersburg to Paris, 1815” recounts the story of her traversing the continent by carriage, traveling 2000 miles in 40 days, a journey almost unheard of for a woman alone.

The marriage of Louisa and John Quincy, a match of opposites, was “tempestuous but close.” John Adams was often absent or preoccupied with politics, serving variously as diplomat, senator, sixth president of the United States, and finally congressman. Sharing a love of reading, John Quincy read aloud to Louisa from Spenser’s The Faerie Queen and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. During the campaign for Adams’ presidency, “one night she became so engrossed with Ivanhoe that she forgot to go to dinner at the French Minister’s.” (279)

A slight woman, Louisa’s health was always precarious. Depressed, she frequently took to her bed. The author observed that “Illness gave her body an outline in the world,” a way of resistance. (340) Yet she was at heart a fighter, sustaining multiple miscarriages, the deaths of all of her children except her youngest son, and the rigors of marriage to a public figure.

Mrs. Adams hated the scrutiny of politics, as she implies in a chapter entitled “A Bird in a Cage.” Yet she could throw a fabulous party. In one legendary event, she took down doors, removed the pantry, hid JQ’s books behind a mass of plants and evicted him from his study. (313) Guests partied until the wee hours of the morning.

Louisa lives on because of her mania for writing, “Cacoethes Scribendi.” The Metropolitan Kaleidoscope identified her as energetic Lady Sharply while the Diaries of a Nobody revealed her self-doubt and feelings of inferiority. However, as author Thomas aptly states, her “pen nicked a knife at injustice” (394) first while being defeated in a second presidential term in 1930 and later at the inequality of women and the slave population.

Author Thomas’ well-documented biography with a lengthy index and twenty-five pages of notes captures the essence of a “turned woman of business,” thriving through both joy and pain.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this (audio)book without having much knowledge about Louisa Adams. I've been cured.

It's full of stories about both her private life--including the number of great tragedies she suffered losing family members--and the public life she led. From Berlin, to Russia, to London, and America, Louisa rubbed elbows with all the great politicians and leaders of the time. And maybe because of the fact that she was so often surrounded by "greatness" (not only foreign leaders, but her president father-in-law and husband, and presidential nominee son), she felt her own inadequacies acutely. Some of them were only imagined and others were personal failings or weaknesses, but many of them were due to her sex and the restrictions that had been placed on her. For example, Louisa was embarrassed by her lacking education (although it was not uncommon for women of the age) and she was often sick or morose (especially at times when she was expected to be little more than ornamental). But when she was given a challenge, such as when she was forced to travel from Russia to London alone with her child during the Napoleonic War, she rose to it.

For me, the biggest takeaway was that while Louisa Adams most certainly lived a spectacular life, and while she certainly helped shape history, her beginnings were inauspicious. She was just like so many other women of her time who were expected to play a limited role in political and public life. The fact that we remember Louisa Adams is amazing, but it makes me mourn all of the other women of the era who also could have made some lasting contributions if they had been allowed.

Overall, this biography did an excellent job of exploring the nuances of Louisa's character, beliefs, and her relationship with John Quincy. Louisa really came alive for me.

[Edward Canade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written biography, of Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams. She lived during the late 1700's died 1852. She was our first lady during John Quincy Adams' single term as president. Her relationship with John Quincy was often tumultuous and not a bed of roses for either. I was surprised by the number of times her husband made decisions with total disregard of Louisa's feelings or opinions on child rearing, moving, settling of estates, not to even mention affairs of state.

There was one segment that especially impressed me. Louisa had been left in 1814 in St. Petersburg Russia, while John Quincy went off to Ghent, Belgium as part of the negotiating team drawing up the treaty that ended the war 0f 1812, between the United States and Great Britain. When it was finally signed John Quincy simply sent her a letter telling her to settle up their affairs in St. Petersburg and to meet him in Paris. So in the winter, in Russia, Louisa makes all the arrangements, sells some possessions, packs and ships other and arranges for staff and a carriage to get herself and her 5 year old son from Russia, across Europe to France. She spent 40 days crossing the continent, setting out in February traveling across a war torn country. Napoleon's invasion of Russia had left burnt out homes and destruction and displaced men, women and children. A most dangerous situation. While she is dealing with all this John Quincy is entertaining himself, going to plays and having a grand old time. Even after word is heard that Napoleon has escaped his banishment from the island of Elba and a gathering army of his followers from across France are making their way to meet up with him in Paris, John Quincy does nothing to locate her or try to assure her and his son Charles' safety. In fact the night she arrives, John Quincy is off at the theater. But incredible to me, she holds no animosity for what to me seems as his abandonment of her and disregard of her and her son's safety, they settle into one of their most loving periods of their lives.

In that trial and stress filled journey, Louisa showed amazing fortitude, considering she was a woman who described as being frail, with fainting spells and many illnesses, and often was confined her to bed. She is often bled, as was a common medical practice of the era. She also had 12 pregnancy, four live births, a daughter who died at 13 months, so approximately 8 miscarriages.

I did like the book. Of course it was a biography of her marriage and her relationship with John Quincy, but I found it to be so much more than that. I found it a wonderful window into the times and attitudes and an intimate portrayal of this woman and her personal journey through her life, the good times and also her many struggles. She was often conflicted about issues such as slavery which she knew was wrong but she was brought up in the culture, her own family enslaved people and when John Quincy Adams agreed to represent the slaves on trial for the Amistad revolt, late in his life, Louisa tried to dissuade him and argued it would subject the family to attacks from the vocal and angry pro slavers. (http://www.history.com/news/the-amist...)

I think if you like biography this is a good one for you.

[Carol Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't give this book less than three stars, since it's powerfully written and exhaustively researched. But this tale of the two Louisas is really a tragedy. Louisa Thomas is obviously a brilliant young feminist scholar on a mission -- to create a heroic story about the life of First Lady Louisa Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams.

The problem is, Louisa Adams is just not a heroic character. Not no way, not no how. I get the idea that a woman (even a wealthy, privileged white woman who married into the American elite) who wanted to be free, or to have opinions, or change the world for the better, had many obstacles to overcome. But see, heroes are people who overcome obstacles. Louisa Adams never does this. She just sort of sulks and writes long, long letters about how unfair life is. And the modern Louisa never gets the point, because she doesn't understand the difference between oppression and heroism.

When people are oppressed, the have to make a choice to resist. Louisa Adams never resists, she just complains and sulks and acts out. And I never thought I'd say this, but even Mary Todd Lincoln comes across as more strong willed and vital than Louisa Adams. At least Mary Todd wasn't afraid to shout and scream to make her opinions known, even if a lot of them were the worthless, greedy opinions of a spoiled Kentucky slave owner's daughter.

Time and again in this book, Louisa the New York feminist describes some wimpy behavior like it's terribly exciting and important. "There was more talk that fall of 1807 about a war with England. American sailors were being kidnapped off American ships and forced to serve in the Royal Navy. Some were even hung as deserters. Louisa probably didn't care very deeply, but she was openly resentful when John Quincy Adams worked night and day to try to stop American sailors from being hung by the Royal Navy."

This is a great biographer trying to wring greatness out of a petty subject. It's feminism and political correctness carried to an absurd degree. Next thing will be a 500 page critical study of whining Mrs. Compson in William Faulkner's THE SOUND AND THE FURY. Because she's not really a spoiled whiner -- she's a feminist martyr who's secretly trying to overturn Jim Crow!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating biography of Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams. It follows her life from her earliest years in London, where she was born to an American father and British mother to her marriage to John Quincy Adams and their travels and adventures together across Europe and back to the U.S. where John Q. Adams would become President. From London, in 1797 they headed to Prussia where John Quincy was to represent the new nation at the court in Berlin. In 1801 Louisa made her first visit to the United States but, by 1809 they were on their way to Russia where John Quincy was to be the new minister plenipotentiary for the next several years. They eventually returned to the United States in 1817 where they continued their life in the forefront of political events, during John Quincy's term as Secretary of State and as President of the nation.

This book, which makes use of her diaries and writing throughout the years, gives an intimate glance into the life of a unique women, her family, and the interesting times in which she lived. Extensive and well written, it's a must for anyone interested in both the history of the United States and the often forgotten role of women within it.

Thanks to Penguin Press for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

More reviews at: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOUISA is a historical read on John Quincy Adams' wife Louisa Johnson Quincy. This book details her life from early childhood through her marriage and family life and widowhood and death. Most people are more knowledgeable about John and Abigail Adams than their son John Quincy and his wife. This read was informative about a little known figure in American history, but I found most of the book dry and dull as if I myself were doing the research for the writer instead of reading the final product. Yes, it gives one many details about early American diplomacy and the hardships of forming a viable republic in an age of absolute monarchical rule, but mostly what we see of Louisa is her complaining and being told to act better by John Quincy, father-in-law John and mother-in-law Abigail. We learn almost equal amounts about the other main characters as we do about Louisa and although that may be appropriate based on the time period, I found the finished product lacking and lackluster.
Reviewed as part of Penguin's First-to-Read program.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you read books about history or famous historical figures, do you ever think about the people who could be called the "supporting cast?" They are generally the regular people who aren't famous or infamous, but who played some important but sidelined role in events or who offered just the right support or influence that helped the famous person in some critical way. I think about those people a lot because most of us have much more in common with those kinds of people than the really famous ones. Also, they are often women.

I like this book because it focuses on what most of us would see as a supporting character. Louisa was married to John Quincy Adams, son of the John Adams. In most history books, she'd be mentioned as his wife and not much more would be said, but the truth is that she lived an interesting--even as the book claims--extraordinary life and it would be a shame if her story had never been told.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my memory of learning US history in school John Quincy Adams was one of the pass-over presidents who was mostly famous for being the son of a former president, and of course I knew nothing of his wife, so this book was a real eye-opener. Louisa as portrayed by this book is very human, by times brave, resourceful and pioneering, but also annoying, needy, and depressed. She lived a remarkable life for any time period and particularly for her time period. A mostly engaging read, but occasionally repetitive and slow moving. The author at times draws conclusions about Louisa's thoughts that don't seem to be adequately supported. On the whole I feel as if I have a much greater appreciation for this time period in history and Louisa is a real person not a shadow of a name.
Popsugar challenge 2017: a book about an interesting woman

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a biography of a woman that I identified with so much, especially one who lived over 200 years ago. It's not that Louisa and I are the same person, or even have many personality traits in common (she loved the courts of Europe; I would have loved the libraries). But she wrestled with the role of a woman, and that is a struggle I identify with. Louisa found it very complicated to be a woman: drawn to strong women who knew their minds, she always claimed to be a traditional, powerless housewife even though she did best when she had a clear purpose and faced difficulties. The role of a woman at home and in society is still a open question, and Louisa's story was fascinating to read.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an approachable biography. There were times I wished Louisa's life was described with more detail, but I think the author was limited in the details available. But here is my biggest beef. Why no pictures? There are portraits of Louisa. There are illustrations of Quincy and other places she lived. I love pictures in biographies and not having them was disappointing.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I didn't know a lot about John Quincy Adams and nothing about his wife but this book made them real and very human. She was an amazing woman.

[Athena Lathos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already harbor a fondness for lesser-known members of the Adams political dynasty as a result of once working with a college professor who studies the letters of Henry Adams, so while I can understand that some readers may not find Louisa as interesting as other women in this era of American history (see: Abigail), I was really excited to learn more about her.

Overall, I found this biography well-written, organized, and researched. I really admire biographers whose subjects wrote their own autobiographies, and though Louisa's _Adventures of a Nobody_ is far from comprehensive, it still strikes me as a significant challenge to determine how to incorporate her sometimes-unreliable accounts of her own life into a biographical text.
Thomas did a particularly excellent job demonstrating the ways in which traumas in Adams' earlier life (particularly the Johnson family's bankruptcy/finding out that her father was kind of shady) impacted the development of her thoughts and sense of self. I was also just gobsmacked by just how much experience Louisa had navigating this world-- living in Berlin, St. Petersburg, and London, communing with royalty and presidents, and even dipping her toes (tentatively) into political activism.

I would have liked to read a bit more about both the era of JQA's presidency and Louisa Adams' historical legacy. With respect to the first topic, I felt like Thomas was (maybe) trying to decenter the presidential years because Louisa is typically only remembered in her role as JQA's wife, and because it appears that she was pretty stationary and depressed during his term. But it still feels like that portion of her life is not described with as much care and detail as the others. Secondly, I would have liked to have read more about how other historians view Louisa: the sections that introduce some of these perspectives were really interesting, and demonstrate a good deal about how gender informs the practice of studying and writing about history.

Some commenters note here that Louisa was the first foreign-born First Lady, and was in fact the only one until Melania Trump. It would be interesting to compare some of the criticism levied against Melania with the criticism levied against Louisa; at least initially, some of the standard comments seem similar in both tone and content.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author spent five years researching and writing this book on Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of the sixth U.S. President, John Quincy Adams.

In “The Wall Street Journal” Book Section on April 15, 2016, Jane Kamensky reviews a new book on Abigail Adams, observing: “If you can name one woman from the era of the American Revolution, it’s likely Abigail Adams.”

Louisa Adams, as limned by Louisa Thomas, sounds every bit as remarkable as Abigail - maybe more so - and yet there has not been much written about her. From this story, it is clear we have missed out knowing this inspirational woman and First Lady.

Louisa first met John Quincy Adams (JQA) when she was 20 and he 28. They met in London, where Louisa was born in 1775. She lived in momentous times, not only because of the events that ensued in the United States, but because of the growing number of debates over rights for women and blacks. (Louisa died in 1852, on the brink of another American cataclysm.)

JQA sounds like a curmudgeonly husband at best, but it had to be "difficult" for a man of his time to have a wife so intelligent and outspoken as Louisa. His mother, Abigail, was certainly intelligent, but was not only much more genteel in manner, but more accepting of women’s “secondary” role. Louisa was neither one.

Louisa was exceedingly well-read, both for her own time and any time: she read Plutarch, Milton, Pope, Dryden, Shakespeare, Dickens; Voltaire and Molière in French; radical feminists of the time (urging her son Charles to read Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman); newspapers, literary journals, novels, travelogues, histories; and the Bible, to which she increasingly turned as she aged. In addition to all this, she kept diaries, wrote two autobiographies, and sent frequent letters to her children, and to her in-laws, John and Abigail Adams, informing them of developments on the political scene. (John Adams later wrote to her, “Your journal is a kind of necessary of life to me. I long for it the whole week.”)

When JQA ran for president, this was at a time when it was still frowned upon for a candidate to campaign himself [would that those times still obtained!]. Moreover, JQA was of the mind that people should just know that he was the superior intellect and therefore vote for him. Louisa had a much more realistic view of how the political process operated. Exasperated that JQA couldn’t even bothered to be civil to would-be supporters, she took up the mantle herself: entertaining, cajoling, making the case for her husband’s worthiness, and passing on information to him from political actors.

Louisa’s position on women’s rights were complicated. In that era, the pressures to be “ladylike” were intense, and Louisa felt them keenly. Yet she also was frequently angry over the subjugation of women, writing to her husband (they were frequently separated):

“That sense of inferiority which by nature and by law we are compelled to feel, and to which we must submit, is worn by us with as much satisfaction as the badge of slavery generally….”

As for slavery, she was even more conflicted. Her family, to whom she was extremely loyal, owned slaves. And while Louisa felt that the principles of Christianity militated against the system of slavery, she harbored a deep racism toward blacks. She also resented the dangers to her husband when he took up the cause of slavery (he received a number of death threats), wishing that he would leave well enough alone, or let God take care of it, or indeed, anyone else but her husband. At that time, however, unfortunately there was hardly anyone else with the courage to take on the subject.

Although she and JQA remained married over fifty years, their marriage was certainly not of the quality that John and Abigail Adams had. Often Louisa resented JQA, and he frequently felt annoyed with her. Yet there had also been, the author finds, “moments of real tenderness, companionship, support, and joy.”

Discussion: The author took great pains to make this book about Louisa rather than about John Quincy, and I think she does a very good job in that respect. Nevertheless, Louisa’s story cannot really be told outside of the story of her husband. Thus, while I think I understand why the author chose not to include pictures of John Quincy, it still would have been nice to have a few included, as well as more than one of Louisa.

While I don’t usually opt to read biographies, preferring a broader glimpse at the sociopolitical context of any historical era, the roles played by the extended Adams family in American history in many senses does provide just that.

Louisa Thomas has done a great service by researching the life of a woman whose role in American history has too long gone unrecognized. As the wife of a man who was a Minister to the Great Britain, the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. President, and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, her story is as interesting and amazing as John Quincy’s own - in some ways even more, because she was a woman who often had to act on her own and in her husband’s stead.

Evaluation: This is an excellent and illuminating look at a woman’s life well worth contemplating, in the process shedding a great deal of light on American political life in antebellum times via the astute observations of Louisa Adams. Students of early American history and of the history of women’s role in America will find this book most gratifying.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few thoughts:

1) I am so glad I didn’t live back then.
2) I was struck by the Adams’ marriage. I don’t know if I would have been happy in that marriage.
3) I am thankful for the transportation we have available to us today.
4) As a woman, I am thankful to everyone who went before me enabling me to have the rights that I now have and have taken for granted.
5) Modern medicine. ‘Nuff said.
6) Nothing in Washington DC has changed. 🤪

[Fergie · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3 1/2 stars ** Having read a number of books on John & Abigail Adams, what little I knew of their daughter-in-law, Louisa Catherine Adams, could be deemed, at best, as being only a cursory knowledge. Prior to reading this biography, I had known, for instance, that Louisa was born and raised in England to an American father and British mother. I knew that she had married John Quincy Adams, left her family and all she had known, in pursuit of her wifely duties to a man who was just as devoted to public service as his father before him. I also knew that for a large part of the initial years of her marriage to John Quincy, she was thrust into the public light herself as her husband's role in foreign courts deemed necessary. All of this was merely traces of details about a woman who had more depth than my own understanding of how history had acknowledged her.

History books paint Louisa Catherine Adams as the wife of the 6th President of the United States, but Louisa Thomas' biographical portrait lends her subject her own voice. At the start of the book, Ms. Thomas quotes her subject from a letter to John Quincy..."When my husband married me, he made a great mistake if he thought I only intended to play an echo." With these words, I was hooked.

What makes Louisa Thomas' biography so appealing is she writes of her subject in such a way that lends an authentic desire to understand her deeply, with thought and care. For most of her life, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams had little say as to the major decisions and incidents that occurred to her and her family, but with the devotion of worthy biographer, Thomas delved into the depths of feelings that surrounded Louisa's thoughts about what was happening to her and around her. Through Louisa Adams' diaries and letters, the reader gets into the heart and mind of a woman who, for a vast majority of her life, was overpowered by a husband who could be deemed aloof, unfeeling, and cold.

Louisa Adams was not a straight forward biographical subject. She was oftentimes a contradiction. She could be self-pitying, ambitious, weak, but could in the next turn be self-reliant, tender, loving, strong, and brave. She was a woman of her day, but wrote and spoke often in tones and of the voice of a woman who lives today. In many ways, she was ahead of her time, if only because she was forced to live through many things that most of us -- even in a modern world accustomed to world travel -- could only dream. She was born at the start of the American Revolution, left her family and all she knew to inhabit the courtly worlds of Prussia, England, and Russia, hobnobbing with heads of states, kings, and queens. When her husband demanded, she made the dangerous and arduous journey alone with her son from St. Petersburg, Russia to meet her husband in Paris during the tumultuous Napoleonic War years -- all of this before settling in the United States...and even there, she would need to adjust to life between the political maneuverings of Washington and the quiet farm life of Quincy, Massachusetts.

She proved to be a political asset to her notoriously prickly husband. Her social graces helped navigate a political playing field that was too often out of John Quincy's line of comfort. Her own ambitions helped elevate her husband's, and in this, she was, much like Dolley Madison before her, part of an early band of female political trailblazers. When she died at the age of 77, it was perhaps telling that the President, and heads of Congress all lined the streets of Washington to pay their final respects.

Louisa Adams endured a life of great strife and tragedy. She struggled with ill health and suffered through countless personal losses, but always retained her voice. Before she died, Louisa Adams wrote down the many details of her life for her loved ones in the form of a memoir entitled, "The Adventures of a Nobody." The title reflects nothing of the woman contained in those pages, for Louisa Adams was a somebody who lived a remarkable life; one filled with more ups and downs than any imagination could conjure. Thomas' biography does justice to one of our First Ladies -- a role for which she is most remembered today. The irony is that that role is just a sliver of what she was. To understand Louisa Catherine Adams, one must delve into the world she left behind through her words. In this, Louisa Thomas does an admirable job.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and a really interesting read. I had previously read a rather dry book about Louisa's 2,000 mile trip from St. Petersburg to Paris in 1815, but in this book it was fascinating. Louisa couldn't write letters when she first married, but her knowledge and her ability to convey her feelings in words grew as time went by, and so we are left with a body of letters and autobiographical writings filled with emotions and her interactions of the periods she lived in. Louisa was flawed, as was her husband John Quincy Adams, but the book leaves you with a sense of who she was and her growth as a person.