A review by sherrimc
Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas

4.0

When you read books about history or famous historical figures, do you ever think about the people who could be called the "supporting cast?" They are generally the regular people who aren't famous or infamous, but who played some important but sidelined role in events or who offered just the right support or influence that helped the famous person in some critical way. I think about those people a lot because most of us have much more in common with those kinds of people than the really famous ones. Also, they are often women.

I like this book because it focuses on what most of us would see as a supporting character. Louisa was married to John Quincy Adams, son of the John Adams. In most history books, she'd be mentioned as his wife and not much more would be said, but the truth is that she lived an interesting--even as the book claims--extraordinary life and it would be a shame if her story had never been told.