Long characterized as the wife of the second president and the mother of the sixth, Natalie Bober, in Abigail Adams witness to a Revolution, describes Abigail Adams as an accomplished woman in her own right. In this well researched biography she presents an intimate portrait of a unique individual while also reflecting the course and times of the 18th century. Bober uses information derived from Abigail's more than two thousand personal letters as a vehicle to transport her readers to the uneasy era of our nation's beginning.
Bober demonstrates how Abigail mingled the important historical events of the 18th century with the normal, everyday activities of daily life. The way Abigail interspersed historically significant characters with family gossip gives an air of vibrancy and a sense of immediacy to dates, names, and events. The letters reveal Abigail's deep love for her the pulsating loneliness she experienced due to long periods of separation from her husband, John Adams, and her commitment to achieve more than the goals set for women of the era in which she lived. Bober begins with a lengthy chronology that contrasts political and personal event, and includes a family tree and local maps. The reference notes and a bibliography indicating manuscript and secondary sources conclude the book. Excellent quality archival reproductions, all clearly labeled, appear throughout the book. The reader comes to know an intelligent, strong, and vitality individual from the stroke of the subject's own pen. .
Throughout the book the reader encounters a remarkable person becoming increasingly independent and informed through her own efforts. She learns to manage both her family and the family farm on her own while supporting her husband in his political endeavors, particularly his work for American Independence fro England.
Abigail's letters also reveal that she was an advocate for independence and women's rights.