Louisa Catherine Adams was born in London in 1775, though she did a lot of growing up in France. In 1797, she married John Quincy Adams. (She would go on to become First Lady of the United States of America from 1825 to 1829.) This book chronicles her trip from St. Petersburg to Paris with her son. At the time, Napoleon had returned to France from Elba, throwing the region into chaos. She was able to see and speak with people who were experiencing life under these circumstances during this time period.

Personal accounts and experiences are so vital to the historical record. I often say I miss the days of Journal keeping, but I suppose in this modern era that would be in the form of social media posts and videos. I especially liked this book since I coincidentally picked it to read while I was visiting somewhere this weekend that had items that belonged to Napoleon. (His dressing set and camp plate were included in that, as well as a cane.) It was interesting to put an outsider's personal account to someone's physical objects that I was seeing. This was a really good book for that reason, and it was also great to learn a little bit about Mrs. Adams. I think we learn more about the male Presidents than we do their wives, and I am glad to be expanding my education on those figures of history.