In this vivid new biography of the most illustrious woman of America\'s founding era‚ prize-winning historian Woody Holton offers a sweeping reinterpretation of Abigail Adams\' life story and of women\'s roles in the creation of the republic. Using previously overlooked documents from a host of archives‚ Holton shows that the wife of the second president of the United States was far more charismatic and influential than historians have realized.