Abigail Smith Adams: What I Know Going In

Not very much. 

I learned in the biography of Martha Washington that Martha and Abigail became friends while Martha was First Lady and Abigail wife of the VP. According to that account, Abigail was more vocal and opinionated than Martha, especially on matters of government.   

I once read a book called Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government. I vaguely remember Abigail Adams playing a pretty decent role in the story, which tells me she certainly used the talents, expectations and openings available to her as a woman to make an influence on the more powerful men in her life.  

I have chosen to learn about Abigail's life according to Abigail Adams by Woody Holton. 

https://www.amazon.com/Abigail-Adams-Life-Woody-Holton/dp/1416546812

After reading just two pages of the Introduction, I love Abigail (and totally want to call her Abby). Not only did she pen her own will while her husband was still alive – a rebellious act in itself, since legally a woman's property and wealth belonged to her husband – she used it especially to ensure that the women in her family were provided for after misdealings by the men in their lives.