Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation

Legendary journalist Cokie Roberts' New York Times bestseller, Founding Mothers, is an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families—and their country—proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.

While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. The late #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts brings us the untold stories of women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps.

Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favored recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women in the American Revolution, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed, and Martha Washington—proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might have never survived.

This essential work of American history reveals the stories of the women who built a nation from the ground up:

• Women’s History: Go beyond the men who signed the Declaration and meet the wives, mothers, and sisters whose contributions were crucial to the forging of a new nation.
• Primary Source History: Drawn from private journals, personal letters, and even family recipes, this narrative brings the everyday trials and triumphs of colonial women to vivid life.
• Revolutionary War Heroines: Discover the patriotism of women like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and Martha Washington, who defended their homes and influenced policy while the men were at war.
• Colonial America: Explore the domestic sphere of the 18th century and see how women managed households, plantations, and businesses, proving essential to the survival of the new country.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts comes New York Times bestseller Founding Mothers, an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families–and their country–proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.

While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts brings us women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favoured recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed and Martha Washington–proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might have never survived.

“Roberts’ style is delightfully intimate and confiding…Roberts also has an ear for juicy quotes…In addition to telling wonderful stories, Roberts also presents a very readable, servicable account of politics—male and female—in early America. If only our standard history textbooks were written with such flair!” - Publishers Weekly

“Roberts offers a much-needed look at the unheralded sacrifices and heroism of colonial women.” - Booklist

[Roberts] creates a strong... case that without the patriotism of women on the home front, the Colonies would have lost the Revolutionary War... Founding Mothers is a series of entertaining mini-biographies and engaging vignettes.” - New York Times

“Roberts has uncovered hundreds of personal anecdotes and woven them together in a single, suspenseful narrative with great skill.” - Washington Post Book World

“An impressively researched work.... Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation offers a lesson in a history that few of us would recognize.... Roberts succeeds in presenting something entirely new on a topic seemingly otherwise exhausted.... Founding Mothers is a welcome addition to American Revolution biography, which is saturated by the lives of the Founding Fathers. It fills in blanks and adds substance, detail and dimension to what until now has seemed a strangely distant and utterly masculine mythology.” - USA Today