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Although the topic sounded dusty, in truth it was politically edgy and even intellectual. She explained that she had been working with a curator to pull together the exhibit, called Remember the Ladies: Women in America, 1750 to 1815 , after a line from a letter that Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John, when he was president. It made sense to do such a book now, not only to celebrate the nation’s two hundredth birthday but also because there was a growing interest in women’s stories that were at risk of being forgotten. Ms . magazine even had a regular column at the time called Lost Women.
    Jackie’s eyes sparkled as Brandon told her about the project and she sat forward in her chair. For two hours, she asked “penetrating” questions.
    Finally, Guinzburg turned to Jackie.
    â€œWhat do you think?”
    â€œOh, let’s do it!” she said.
    Before Brandon left, Jackie gave her a tour of the office—and they agreed to meet again to start sifting through materials.
    The Remember the Ladies team consisted of curator Conover Hunt, writer and academic Linda Grant De Pauw, and researcher Miriam Schneir. They were on a tight deadline, hoping to debut the exhibit and the book the following spring in Plymouth, Massachusetts, at the home site of Mercy Otis Warren, a Revolutionary-era writer. And so with time short, the group had scheduled a meeting at Viking with Burn, who did much of the work and who had negotiated the contract, to begin laying out the many pictures and captions for the book. It was a book with a clear agenda, explained in the introduction:
    The years between 1750 and 1815 witnessed the passing of a remarkable generation of women who were strong, self-reliant, employed in all occupations entered by men, although not in equal numbers, and active in political and military affairs. Ironically, the conditions that enabled the United States to establish itself as an independent nation that had permitted middle-class white men to achieve greater wealth and political power forced women into a more restricted role .
    Singleton led Brandon, Hunt, and Schneir to a windowless room where they met Burn—their day-to-day contact—and Lewis P. Lewis, who was managing editor of Studio Books, the picture book division of Viking. They splayed photos on the carpeted floor and were crawling among the images when Jackie walked in wearing black slacks, a white silk blouse, black shoes, and long gold chains.
    Jackie joined them on the floor and looked closely at the images: a drawing of a colonial woman in a tricorn hat with a rifle by her hip, a 1777 engraving of an old maid with a cat, and a portrait of a mother grieving over a dead child. Jackie’s ambition, fear, and life experience all seemed to be reflected in these antique illustrations.
    Jackie heard that everyone had already agreed with the content structure of the chapters; that decision had been settled early because a photographer had to take color pictures of the items. The chapters would allow readers to explore the progress or lack thereof that women had made since the American Revolution. One chapter in particular, “Women at Work,” seemed particularly relevant at that moment on the floor at Viking, with the Equal Rights Amendment again up for Congressional ratification.
    But two other issues needed to be resolved: how to handle the captions and what would be the size and look of the book?
    â€œI think you ought to do it flush left/ragged right,” Hunt said of the caption layout.
    â€œLet’s talk about that,” said Jackie, unfamiliar with the publishing term that meant the text would align on the left and be uneven on the right.
    Perhaps with the exception of Brandon, who had been in regular contact with Jackie about the book, the sight and sound of “Mrs. Onassis” shocked Hunt even though she expected her to be there. Hunt was surprised that her voice was not breathy. She was thinner and