The Ladies of the White House

Laura Holloway’s writing on the wives of the American presidents marks the first of its kind—the first book of First Ladies. Holloway acknowledges that up to 1871, First Ladies had little written about them, primarily about their appearance, and so the author esteems to “give correct impressions of their worth.” The book includes detailed biographies and portraits of the wives and daughters associated with the presidents, and engravings of the significant houses and manors they were associated with, from Martha Washington to Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. Holloway’s sales of The Ladies of the White House made her independently wealthy, and she continued to author several books.