Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage
John and Abigail Adams were married for 54 years. There are, of course, numerous biographies of each of them, but this is the first full-length joint biography. Gelles&#x2019; focus here is on the relationship, even partnership, between two highly intelligent, strong-willed individuals. Although Gelles places them within the context of the great events swirling around them, this is a rather intimate, small-scale account. Gelles does not break any new ground. Based substantially on correspondence, the portraits of John and Abigail are familiar: John brilliant, principled, and often inflexible; Abigail his intellectual match and a complement to him, with a calmer demeanor and better social skills. To her credit, Gelles does not try to inflate Abigail&#x2019;s influence on public policies. Despite her independent spirit and occasional suggestions to &#x201C;remember the ladies,&#x201D; this was essentially an eighteenth-century marriage, with Abigail concerned with domestic affairs as she endured long periods of separation from her husband. Still, this is a fine, well-documented examination of a long, successful partnership. --Jay Freeman