Reviewed by: First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role by Jeanne E. Abrams Jacqueline Beatty First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role. By Jeanne E. Abrams. (New York: New York University Press, 2018. 328 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. $28.95.) In First Ladies of the Republic, Jeanne Abrams details the ways in which her three subjects—Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison—fashioned the position of the first lady in American political life. Though the term "first lady" is anachronistic, Abrams asserts its usefulness due to the formative influence her three subjects had on the position. Drawing from extensive records of correspondence, Abrams demonstrates that each of these figures had a unique approach to their posts, navigating their duties in a way that matched their personalities and the politics of their husbands' presidencies. Notably, the first first ladies "created a role that was uniquely American in both style and substance," a purposeful, marked departure from the standards of contemporary European courts (5). Each woman left her own imprint on the office while learning from the others' experiences. In so doing, their work shaped and defined their husbands' presidencies and the political world of the early American republic. Martha Washington served as a model first lady with no example to follow. At first reluctant in her position, Martha maintained a dogged focus on exemplifying a republican ideology in the construction of these sociopolitical spaces. Her calm temperament and modest personality provided the necessary foundation for the republican court. Abigail Adams, along with her husband, John, receive added attention in Abrams's tome—two chapters, as opposed to the one that both Washington and Madison receive—emphasizing the special relationship the two famously enjoyed. Abrams characterizes the Adams' marriage as a "long apprenticeship to the White House" (101). Abigail's intellect set her tenure as first lady apart from both Martha's and Dolley's, as she followed international politics and advised her husband in such matters. Dolley Madison was the "republican queen," adopting a style quite different from her predecessors (10). Representing a new femininity that was above partisanship, Dolley's sociability, relative youth, and comfort in the spotlight made Dolley, in Abrams's estimation, the "most successful" architect of this uniquely American political style (229). Complementing work by Catherine Allgor and Rosemarie Zagarri, First Ladies of the Republic presents a good synthesis of the field. Its well-written and accessible prose will likely appeal to a popular audience as well. Abrams's argument draws much-needed attention to the ways in which each of these figures was dedicated to preserving the personal and political legacies of her husband. Collectively, they viewed their intertwined domestic and patriotic obligations as essential in the establishment of the new nation. They prioritized their positions as republican wives in support of their powerful husbands but recognized that they played an important political role in setting the tone for each administration and bolstering its effectiveness. Though they existed in a liminal political space, Abrams's three subjects left a remarkable impression on the office of the presidency itself. Abrams's work, though heavily reliant upon canonical scholarship in the field, finds its most important contribution in defining the ways in which these women infused their marital partnerships with political power and in her [End Page 223] argument about these three women's collective, rather than individual, influence on this critical American role. Jacqueline Beatty York College of Pennsylvania Copyright © 2019 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania