History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

  Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Author: Christopher J. Leahy & Sharon Williams Leahy Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: University Press of Kansas Publication Date: September 29, 2026 Pages: 573 Source: This book was given to me by the publicist in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first full biography of the controversial and complex First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler—an unjustly scandalized New Yorker, the second wife to President John Tyler, and a savvy and consequential political figure in the age of the Civil War.         Myths, rumors, and gossip have long circulated around First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler. Commonly believed to be politically insignificant, most of our fascination with Tyler surrounds her reputation as a highly desired superficial flirt. This salacious mythos was based on her status in a politically influential New York family and the popular rumor that she posed for ...

Martha Washington: An American Life Author: Patricia Brady Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Penguin Books Publication Date: 2006 Pages: 280 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: With this revelatory and painstakingly researched book, Martha Washington, the invisible woman of American history, at last gets the biography she deserves.          In place of the domestic frump of popular imagination, Patricia Brady resurrects the wealthy, attractive, and vivacious young widow who captivated the youthful George Washington. Here are the able landowner, the indomitable patriot (who faithfully joined her husband each winter at Valley Forge), and the shrewd diplomat and emotional mainstay. And even as it brings Martha Washington into sharper and more accurate focus, this sterling life sheds light on her marriage, her society, and the precedents she established for future First Ladies.        My Revie...

The Mysterious Life of Mrs. Nixson: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady Author: Heath Hardage Lee Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 403 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A new, revolutionary look into the brilliant life of Pat Nixon.        In America’s collective consciousness, Pat Nixon has long been perceived as enigmatic. She was voted “Most Admired Woman in the World” in 1972 and made Gallup Poll’s top ten list of most admired women fourteen times. She survived the turmoil of the Watergate scandal with her popularity and dignity intact. The real Pat Nixon, however, bore little resemblance to the woman so often described as elusive, mysterious and “plastic” in the press. Pat married Richard Nixon in June of 1940. As the couple rose to prominence, Pat became Second Lady from 1953-1961 and then First Lady from 1969-1974...

A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams Author: Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks  Book Release Date: May 5, 2026 Pages: 463 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In time for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the United States comes a sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams—wife of one president and mother to another—whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. A stunning historical novel with modern-day implications from the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton .      In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independence—managing their farm, making lucrative investments...

Jackie Author: Dawn Tripp Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Random House Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 497 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In this mesmerizing novel about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, acclaimed author Dawn Tripp has crafted an intimate story of love and power, family and tragedy, loss and reinvention.       The world has divided my life into three:       Life with Jack       Life with Onassis      Life as a woman who goes to work because she wants to.        My life is all of these things, and it is none of these things. They continue to miss what’s right in front of them. I love books. I love the sea. I love horses. Children. Art. Ideas. History. Beauty. Because beauty blows us open to wonder. Even the beauty that breaks your heart.        Jacki...

The President’s Wife Author: Tracey Enerson Wood Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 346 Synopsis: From the USA Today bestselling author of The Engineer's Wife comes an incredible historical novel about the First Lady who clandestinely assumed the presidency.       Socialite Edith Bolling has been in no hurry to find a new husband since she was widowed, preferring to fill her days with good friends and travel. But the enchanting courting of President Woodrow Wilson wins Edith over and she becomes the First Lady of the United States. The position is uncomfortable for the fiercely independent Edith, but she's determined to rise to the challenges of her new marriage—from the bloodthirsty press to the shadows of the first World War.      Warming to her new role, Edith is soon indispensable to her husband's presidency. She replaces the staff that Woodrow finds distracting, and discuss...

Finding Jackie: A Life Reinvented  Author: Oline Eaton Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Diversion Books  Release Date: January 31, 2023 Pages: 320 Source: This book was given to me by the publicist in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A brilliant biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, casting an era’s biggest “star of life” in a new light for a new generation      In Finding Jackie , Oline Eaton resurrects the Jackie Kennedy Onassis who has been culturally erased, who we need now more than ever—not the First Lady who was a paragon of femininity, fashion, American wifeliness and motherhood, but rather the kaleidoscopic Jackie who emerged after the murder of her husband changed her world and ours. Here is the story of Jackie’s reinvention into an adventurer, a wanderer, a woman and an idea in whom many Americans and people around the globe have deeply, fiercely wanted to believe.      Traumatized an...

Becoming Lady Washington Author: Bette Bolte Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Mystic Owl Publishing Release Date: 2020 Pages: 416 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review        My Review: It is often said that behind every famous man lies a great woman. In this biographical novel of Martha Washington, Mrs. Bolte proves that this is the case. Martha Custis is a young widow who is in search of a father figure for her children. She meets George Washington, a Southern plantation owner with a lavish estate. They marry and live peacefully until the American Revolution pulls her husband from her. When George Washington becomes the leader of America’s army, Martha rises overnight from obscurity to fame. Eventually, Martha Washington learns that destiny is taking her to the highest position in America as the President’s Wife. The novel begins with Martha’s courtship to her first husband, Daniel Custis. Because of Daniel’s miserly fathe...

And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Author: Stephanie Marie Thornton Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Berkley Release Date: 2020 Pages: 480 Source: Publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: An intimate portrait of the life of Jackie O…         Few of us can claim to be the authors of our fate. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy knows no other choice. With the eyes of the world watching, Jackie uses her effortless charm and keen intelligence to carve a place for herself among the men of history and weave a fairy tale for the American people, embodying a senator’s wife, a devoted mother, a First Lady—a queen in her own right.         But all reigns must come to an end. Once JFK travels to Dallas and the clock ticks down those thousand days of magic in Camelot, Jackie is forced to pick up the ruined fragments of her life and forge herself into a new identity that is...