A fascinating novel of Historical Fiction--most apropos for America's 250th Anniversary--that traces the life and influence of Abigail Adams.
A Founding Mother by writing duo Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie is a precisely researched and beautifully presented novel of historical fiction that details the astounding life and wide-ranging influence of Abigail Adams.
Abigail is largely known as the wife of John
Adams, a man who rose from being a country lawyer to signing the Declaration of
Independence and going on to become the second President of the United States.
Abigail was also mother to six children—son John Quincy Adams would become the
sixth U.S. President.
But Abigail’s domestic life--her 'holding the
fort' while her husband worked tirelessly to advance independence and forge equality
in the country--is only one part of her story. And Dray
and Kamoie
present a fair and honest, well-rounded fictional portrait of a strong,
determined woman--a woman of great charm, intellect and resourcefulness--and
how she helped to shape the United States of America and its politics.
Rendered in intimate prose as narrated by
Abigail herself, readers are treated to Abigail’s thought processes in her own
voice: In 1814, on the precipice of
entering her 70s, she looks back on her life: “Fathers might wield the ploughs
that till the fields of our future, but mothers provide the water, pull the
weeds, and nurture the buds. Because men oversee the harvest, they take the
credit for the crop. But without mothers, not one sprout would grow—whether the
fruit be a child or a nation.”
A journal-like, episodic chronology traverses Abigail’s life from 1776 to 1817, where Abigail shares the many joys
and struggles of domesticity she faces in the background of revolution. There
are stories of raising her family; confronting illnesses and loss; she and John’s
many separations and their sparring-intellectual repartee. Abigail is also
forced to defend her home, her life and the lives of children, while protecting
and building her family’s nest egg. As the years unfurl and the country becomes
liberated, Abigail’s astute intellect and hard-fought and hard-won wisdom eventually
impact world leaders and politics.
There have been countless books dedicated to Abigail
Adams—her life and her influence. However, what sets A Founding Mother
apart is how Dray
and Kamoie
(America’s
First Daughter, My
Dear Hamilton) intently aim their focus on Abigail’s role as an early feminist
(before the term “feminist” ever existed) and the influence of her fervent advocacy
for women’s rights and equality.
A
Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laurie
Kaomie
William
Morrow (HarperCollins), Paperback $19.99, 9780063234765, 464 pages
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
To order this novel on Bookshop.org,
link HERE