<b>For readers of the historical works of Robert K. Massie, David McCulough, and Alison Weir comes the first biography on the life of Abigail Adams and her sisters.</b><br> <b> </b><br> <i>“Never sisters loved each other better than we.”—Abigail Adams in a letter to her sister, Mary, June, 1776</i><br> <br> Much has been written about the enduring marriage of President John Adams and his wife, Abigail. But few know of the equally strong bond Abigail shared with her sisters, Mary Cranch and Elizabeth Shaw Peabody, accomplished women in their own right. Now, acclaimed biographer Diane Jacobs reveals their moving story, which unfolds against the stunning backdrop of America in its transformative colonial years.<br> <br> Abigail, Mary, and Elizabeth grew up in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the close-knit daughters of a minister and his wife. When the sisters moved away from one another, they relied on near-constant letters—from what John Adams called their “elegant pen”—to buoy them through pregnancies, illnesses, grief, political upheaval, and life in the White House. Infusing her writing with rich historical perspective and detail, Jacobs offers fascinating insight into these progressive women’s lives: Oldest sister Mary, who became de facto mayor of her small village; youngest sister Betsy, an aspiring writer who, along with her husband, founded the second coeducational school in the United States; and middle child Abigail who, years before becoming First Lady, ran the family farm while John served in the Continental Congress, first in Philadelphia and then in France and England, where she joined him at last.<br> <br> This engaging narrative traces the sisters’ lives from their playful childhood sibling rivalries to their eyewitness roles during the American Revolution and their adulthood as outspoken wives and mothers. They were women ahead of their time who believed in intellectual and educational equality between the sexes. Drawing from newly discovered correspondence, never-before-published diaries, and archival research, <i>Dear Abigail </i>is a fascinating front-row seat to history—and to the lives of three exceptional women, who were influential during a time when our nation’s democracy was just taking hold.