Those Who Love by Irving Stone

After a pipe burst in the basement, I started sorting through things in storage to see what could be salvaged. I came across boxes of books I’d read and loved, wanted to read, or those that merely accumulated over the years. I started leafing through them to see what I wanted to keep or give away.

It was a dangerous task. When determining if I want to give away a book, I read some of the beginning and sometimes found myself sucked into the story. Those Who Love by Irving Stone was one of those books.

I’ve read other books by Irving Stone: The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo; Lust for Life (a fictionalized biography of Vincent Van Gogh); and Love Is Eternal about Mary and Abraham Lincoln. I always found the books well-researched and told in a way that brought insight about the personal lives and personalities of the characters.

Those Who Love: A Biographical Novel of Abigail and John Adams is written in much the same tone as those other wonderful books. It’s told through Abigail’s experiences. It begins when Abigail and Adams first became involved and ends many years later after Adams finishes his term as the second president of the United States of America.

The novel is a love story about two people who had the same goals during an important time in history. It also tells of the great sacrifices they made for this nation.

I found the book fascinating because John and Abigail were at the heart of all the events that led up to the Revolution and setting up a republic. They had a house in Boston and a farm close by. Boston is where many famous events took place, such as the Boston Tea Party, and where the Revolution began. The Adams also knew many of the important people that were part of history, such as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

Through John and Abigail’s story, Stone explains all the events that led up to the American colonies rebelling against England. Taxation was one big reason. England wanted the American colonies to pay for the French and Indian War and decided to tax them without representation. People in the colonies wanted the same rights as people in England. Step-by-step the colonies came closer

John Adams was a lawyer who studied the history of government and republics. He was instrumental to the Americans gaining freedom through his writings. During the war, he was an ambassador in France working with Benjamin Franklin. Adams helped inspire Congress to form a republic with a balance of power between the Senate, House of Representatives and the President of the United States.

He was vice president during George Washington’s eight years as president and worked closely with him. When Washington’s term was over, Adams was elected as the second President of the United States.

Abigail supported John in all he did. She ran the farm and raised their children alone while Adams was in Congress during the colonial days and when he was abroad as an ambassador during the Revolution.

She joined him at formal functions with the King and Queen of England after the war when John was an ambassador there. She also entertained politically with him in Philadelphia when he was vice president and president.

In the book we learn about the Adams’ puritan values, their siblings, cousins and friends and how they supported each other sometimes and disagreed about important issues at other times.

For an intimate view into one of the most important eras in American history through the eyes of two famous people, I highly recommend this epic novel.

What people throughout history have you enjoyed reading about and why? Who are your favorite authors in this writing genre? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

 

 

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