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Mrs. Adams in Winter: A Journey in the Last Days of Napoleon Audiobook
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(3.06) - 170 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Early in 1815, Louisa Catherine Adams and her young son left St. Petersburg in a heavy Russian carriage and set out on a difficult journey to meet her husband, John Quincy Adams, in Paris. She traveled through the snows of eastern Europe, down the Baltic coast to Prussia, across the battlefields of Germany, and into a France that was then experiencing the tumultuous events of Napoleon's return from Elba. Along the way, she learned what the long years of Napoleon's wars had done to Europe, what her old friends in the royal court in Berlin had experienced during the French occupation, how it felt to have her life threatened by reckless soldiers, and how to manage fear. The journey was a metaphor for a life spent crossing borders: born in London in 1775, she had grown up partly in France, and in 1797 she had married into the most famous of American political dynasties and become the daughter-in-law of John and Abigail Adams. The prizewinning historian Michael O'Brien reconstructs for the first time Louisa Adams's extraordinary passage. An evocative history of the experience of travel in the days of carriages and kings, Mrs. Adams in Winter offers a moving portrait of a lady, her difficult marriage, and her conflicted sense of what it meant to be a woman caught between worlds.
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"I've always been fascinated by the Adams family, and Louisa and John Quincy are no exception. The story of Louisa traveling on her own from Russia to meet her husband in Paris offers not only the opportunity to learn more about this complex woman and her marriage, but also about male-female relations in the early 19th century, and world politics in the Napoleonic era. It was very well written, and I really enjoyed it."
— Carolyn (4 out of 5 stars)
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[A] subtle and sinuously original book.
— Boston Globe
Awards
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Finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
Mrs. Adams in Winter Listener Reviews
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" Listening on CD. Not so much a story of Mrs. Louisa (John Quincy) Adams as a portrait of the times, the early 19th Century in Russia and Europe. Wanders all over the place, going down rabbit holes (15 minutes on the types of carriage conveyances available to Mrs. Adams) but just the thing for my long commute. Toward the end you get an intimate portrait of the lady, her husband and her marriage. Manages to reflect on women's rights at various times and places in history as well. A veritable smorgasbord. "
— Judy, 1/16/2014 -
" Picked this up on March 21, 2010 - so glad to see books being written about the lives of First Ladies, and this promises to be a gem. "
— MJ, 1/1/2014 -
" The first half is fascinating. The second half reads more like a text book. And the author just stops writing at the end, not a real ending. All that being said, I enjoyed reading the book. "
— Lisa, 12/21/2013 -
" It seems that just not enough is known about her fascinating journey to fill a book. Three stars because I learned about Louisa Adams, but the book jumped around a lot in time and I got confused. "
— Lynne, 12/17/2013 -
" Author's style is dry. He presents a lot of historical detail but not in a very gripping way. It was not a page turner, more of tedious read, at least in the first 50 pages. I didn't finish it. "
— Vicki, 12/14/2013 -
" Absolutely engrossing reading, for the historical and geographical details as well as for the insight into the married relationship of Louisa and John Quincy Adams. "
— Ruthmarie, 9/14/2013 -
" So enjoying this book! It is beautifully written and wonderfully researched. I feel as if I am sitting in the corner of Mrs Adam's carriage as she rolls across the landscape of Northern Europe, picking up rumours of Napoleon's return and massing army. "
— Rebecca, 3/20/2013 -
" Very interesting way to make learning about a former presidents wife engaging. Loved it. "
— Holly, 1/12/2013 -
" I finished about 2/3 of the book, with a lot of skimming. Too many details "
— Jody, 11/25/2012 -
" Very interesting book though sometimes there was so much information packed in it was a little hard to wade through it all. "
— Susan, 7/29/2012 -
" Two words say it all ... Stunning. Brilliant. "
— Janet, 4/23/2012 -
" Good read to learn alot of Louisa Adams and be impressed with her journey. includes 'back flashes' to her life so you get a good idea about her life. "
— Kathrine, 8/4/2011 -
" Exceptional account of Mrs. John Quincy Adams making a hazardous journey from Russia to France and all the dangers incurred in such an undertaking. Insights into the age that forged the present. "
— Mary, 4/30/2011 -
" I finished about 2/3 of the book, with a lot of skimming. Too many details "
— Jody, 1/25/2011 -
" It seems that just not enough is known about her fascinating journey to fill a book. Three stars because I learned about Louisa Adams, but the book jumped around a lot in time and I got confused. "
— Lynne, 8/7/2010 -
" Author's style is dry. He presents a lot of historical detail but not in a very gripping way. It was not a page turner, more of tedious read, at least in the first 50 pages. I didn't finish it. "
— Vicki, 5/29/2010 -
" Very interesting book though sometimes there was so much information packed in it was a little hard to wade through it all. "
— Susan, 5/8/2010 -
" Absolutely engrossing reading, for the historical and geographical details as well as for the insight into the married relationship of Louisa and John Quincy Adams. "
— Ruthmarie, 4/1/2010 -
" Picked this up on March 21, 2010 - so glad to see books being written about the lives of First Ladies, and this promises to be a gem. "
— MJ, 3/21/2010
About Michael O'Brien
Michael O’Brien is a professor of American intellectual history at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Conjectures of Order: Intellectual Life and the American South, 1810–1860, which won the Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.