First Ladies: The Ever Changing Role, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump

Betty Boyd Caroli's First Ladies is a captivating read and essential resource for understanding the role of America's First Ladies. It explores the shifting and evolving role from ceremonial backdrop to substantive world figure, presenting keen political analysis and observations of recent developments. Caroli covers all forty-five women, including Abigail Adams, Jane Pierce, Helen Taft, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Pat Nixon, and examines their backgrounds, marriages, and accomplishments and failures in office.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 520 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Betty Boyd Caroli's captivating and informative book, "First Ladies," is a must-read for anyone interested in the role of America's First Ladies. Caroli's insightful analysis explores how the role has evolved from a ceremonial backdrop to a substantive world figure. This fifth edition, expanded and updated, presents Caroli's keen political analysis and astute observations of recent developments in First Lady history, including Melania Trump's reluctance to assume the mantle and former First Lady Hillary Clinton's recent presidential run. Caroli also contributes a new preface and updated chapters.

Spanning forty-five women, from Martha Washington to Melania and Ivanka Trump, and including the daughters, daughters-in-law, and sisters of presidents who served as First Ladies, Caroli delves into each woman's background, marriage, and accomplishments and failures in office. This remarkable group includes Abigail Adams, known for her famous quote, "Remember the Ladies"; Jane Pierce, who prayed for her husband's loss in the election; Helen Taft, who insisted on living in the White House despite her husband's preference for a judgeship; Eleanor Roosevelt, who epitomized the politically involved First Lady; and Pat Nixon, who perfected the robot image. These women hailed from different age groups, with some receiving excellent educations for their time and others having limited or no schooling.

"First Ladies" offers an engaging portrait of how each First Lady changed the role and how the role changed in response to American culture. These women left remarkably complete records, providing a rich source of information for scholars and enthusiasts alike. Caroli's book is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the impact of First Ladies on American history and society.

Weight: 548g
Dimension: 141 x 208 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780190669133
Edition number: 5 Revised edition