A Traveled First Lady; Writings of Louisa Catherine Adams

Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xxiii, [3], 388, [2] pages. Foreword by Laura Bush. Illustrations (most in color) Note to the Reader. Chronology. Index. Louisa Catherine Adams (née Johnson; February 12, 1775 ? May 15, 1852), wife of John Quincy Adams, was the First Lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829. Born in London, she was the first First Lady to be born outside the United States, or the preceding Thirteen Colonies. When John Quincy Adams was appointed James Monroe's Secretary of State in 1817, the family moved to Washington, D.C. where Louisa's drawing room became a center for the diplomatic corps and other notables. Music enhanced her Tuesday evenings at home, and theater parties contributed to her reputation as an outstanding hostess. The pleasures of moving into the White House in 1825 were dimmed by the bitter politics of the election, paired with her deep depression. She continued her weekly "drawing rooms". Except from Publisher's Weekly. These selected writings from the wife of sixth U.S. president, John Quincy Adams, provide insight into an oft-overlooked period of early American history as the then first lady chronicles her life alongside her husband. Much of the collection is excerpted from diary entries, memoirs, or various autobiographies begun by Louisa, and though there are no records of her writings during her husband?s presidency, she wrote extensively on the time she spent as the wife of a U.S. foreign minister in Berlin and St. Petersburg during the early 1800s. This collection does not entertain as much as shed light on the issues and concerns of a female public figure in the 1800s. There are noteworthy moments, her depictions of President Thomas Jefferson as ?the ruling Demagogue of the [day]? and his Vice President James Madison, ?a very small man in his person, with a very large head,? for instance, add a refreshing and personal shading to their history. The humanity found within these pages sparks empathy.