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List of memoirs by first ladies of the United States

Twelve first ladies of the United States have written memoirs, and several have had their correspondence published. Every memoir by a first lady published in the 20th and 21st centuries has been a best seller, at times outselling those of their presidential husbands.^[1][2]

The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the hostess of the White House. The position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, with some historic exceptions. Few first ladies prior to the 19th century saw their writing published, with the exception of Abigail Adams. Julia Grant sought to publish The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant in the 1890s, but a deal was not reached in her lifetime. It was not until Helen Taft's 1914 Recollections of Full Years that a FLOTUS had memoirs published in their lifetime. After Taft, several First Ladies wrote their own memoirs, including Edith Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson. Every first lady after Betty Ford has published at least one memoir.

History

Abigail Adams had her correspondence published as Letters of Mrs. Adams, the Wife of John Adams in the early 1800s, and Louisa Adams "made several attempts at an autobiography", though she never sought to publish them.^[1] The Memoirs and Letters of Dolley Madison, Wife of James Madison, President of the United States were published in 1886 but were actually written by Lucia Cutts.^[3] Julia Grant was the first to write and attempt to publish her memoirs, writing The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant in the 1890s after the death of her husband, Ulysses S. Grant. However, she never found a suitable publisher for them before her death in 1902, in part because she had unrealistic expectations of their value. The memoirs were eventually published in 1975.^[4] Helen Taft was the first FLOTUS to have memoirs published during her lifetime.^[1] After Taft, several First Ladies wrote their own memoirs, including Edith Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson.^[2] In the 1930s Grace Coolidge published her memoirs as several articles in The American Magazine.^[3] Memoirs by presidential spouses were uncommon until the publication of Betty Ford's in the 1970s. Since then, every first lady has written and published at least one memoir about their life.^[2]

Early published memoirs focused on relatively trivial matters and were aimed at women. For instance, Helen Taft's memoirs were described by The New York Sun as "bright, witty, delightfully entertaining reminiscences" upon publication. Edith Wilson's My Memoir was criticized for excessively focusing on clothing and social events. Eleanor Roosevelt, who wrote four autobiographies, marked a shift in the content of the memoirs, writing more about political issues and less on her personal life. Lady Bird Johnson condensed a dictated two-million-word transcript into 300,000 for A White House Diary, which outsold her husband Lyndon B. Johnson's memoir.^[5] In the 1960s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was involved in editing two books by Molly Thayer, Jacqueline Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years.^[3]

Memoirs written by Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter and Barbara Bush also outsold the memoirs of their husbands.^[1] My TurnbyNancy Reagan, published in 1989, was nicknamed My Burn for its "vengeful" coverage of Reagan's life, particularly in the White House. The book sold very well, remaining on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than three months.^[5][6] Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming was published in 2018.^[7] She received over $60 million in advance of publication, and the book has sold over 11.5 million copies.^[8][9] There has been speculation that Melania Trump is writing a memoir or in talks to do so.^[10][11]

List

See also

• List of American political memoirs
• List of autobiographies by presidents of the United States

Citations

Notes

References

Further reading

• Wertheimer, Molly Meijer, ed. (2004), Inventing a Voice: The Rhetoric of American First Ladies of the Twentieth Century, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 9780742529717.