Presidentess

“Charismatic and celebrated, strategic and shrewd, inspiring and exasperating—the woman who emerges from the pages of Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner is a historical force to be reckoned with. Using extensive sources, coupled with incisive analysis, Christopher J. Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy provide a fresh and necessary corrective to Julia Tyler’s past treatment at the hands of historians. Her dramatic first lady years are only one chapter in a fascinating American’s life.“—Catherine Allgor, PhD, President Emerita-Massachusetts Historical Society, author of A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation

“Christopher and Sharon Leahy’s extensive research adds new dimensions to the story of Julia Gardiner Tyler. The authors revisit some of the conventional wisdom surrounding her early life and detail how a widowed President John Tyler wooed this 24-year-old New Yorker who became a fierce advocate for her thirty-years-older husband and his lost Southern cause. Readers will discover that Julia Tyler was a complex, controversial—and influential—character in her own age and why her legacy remains so today.“—Susan Swain, series host for C-SPAN’s First Ladies: Influence and Image

“Julia Gardiner Taylor, often written off as bringing nothing more than youth and glamour to the White House, finally has a well-deserved, comprehensive biography. In her short tenure as first lady (eight months) she managed to leave her mark, and in the decades that followed, she continued to play a public role. This deeply researched and vividly written account of how she negotiated her way across borders after the US split into factions will revise readers’ view of her place on the roster of first ladies.“—Betty Boyd Caroli, author of First Ladies: The Ever Changing Role from Martha Washington to Melania Trump

“Deeply researched and well written, Christopher and Sharon Leahy’s biography of Julia Gardiner Tyler sheds new light on a long misunderstood first lady. Many authors have focused more on her youth, looks, and social graces, while others see her solely as an extension of her husband John Tyler—but for anyone interested in learning more about the real Julia Gardiner, this is the book to read.“—Matthew Costello, Chief Education Officer of The White House Historical Association, and author of The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President

“The Leahys have done it again! The first scholarly biography of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler ever undertaken, Presidentess opens an entirely new window into the life of the 10th First Lady of the United States (1844–1845). Readers may enter thinking that they know Julia for her youth, beauty, and ability to party, but they will leave with a newfound appreciation for her epic arc from the ‘Rose of Long Island’ to a thoroughly Southern ‘Lady Presidentess.’ An indispensable read for anyone interested in the all-too-often overlooked First Ladies of the Civil War Era.“—Thomas J. Balcerski, author of Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King

“Perhaps no first lady has been surrounded by more myths than Julia Gardiner Tyler. The authors seek to set the record straight in this well-researched, comprehensive biography. A Yankee woman in the White House, she transforms into a defender of the Old South. This illuminating volume focuses on family, culture, and relationships in a manner that readers interested in 19th century women and beyond will find enlightening and enjoyable.“—John M. Belohlavek, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of South Florida

“Between Dolley Madison and Mary Lincoln, many first ladies’ stories are little noted due to illness, death, short tenures, and attitudes that women had little to contribute to the political scene. Julia Gardiner Tyler, second and much younger wife of John Tyler, was first lady for eight months, but her impact during those months on the position, the Washington social scene, and politics deserves a closer and more balanced look. In Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler Christopher J. Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy set the record straight. In a meticulously researched biography that is placed contextually within the acrimonious politics of the day leading to the Civil War, a growing awareness that women could have a political role, the Tyler’s marriage within a complex family dynamic, and the evolution of a wealthy young Northern woman into a Southern apologist, Julia Tyler’s story is revealed. As with many first ladies, her influence did not end upon moving out of the White House. The Leahys document Julia’s words and actions over several decades to protect her family and to redeem her legacy and her husband’s, revealing a politically astute woman who should not be overlooked in the arc of presidential and US history.“—Diana Carlin, coauthor of U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies

Christopher J. Leahy is professor of history at Keuka College. He is the author of President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler (LSU, 2020).

Sharon Williams Leahy is an independent scholar with a master’s degree in historic preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is the author of several articles on first ladies, including Julia Gardiner Tyler and Mamie Eisenhower.