Synopses & Reviews
Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-82) was a politically ambitious, volatile, and sharp-tongued woman, a shopaholic, and an embarrassment to her son and to the powerful men who sought to control the Lincoln legacy for their own political supremacy. Slandered by former Lincoln cronies and Republican operatives, such as William Herndon, Ward Hill Lamon, and Thurlow Weed; disliked by her sons wife, the former Mary Harlan; plagued by debts, her pension grant having been denied by Congress; conspired against by her son, Robert, along with Supreme Court justice David Davis, Leonard Swett, John Todd Stuart, Isaac N. Arnold, and others, she had literally no one to turn to. This account of her final years, based on documentary evidence, sets the record straight and restores the reputation of one of the most maligned women in American political history.
Review
“[A] lively popular account of Mrs. Lincolns travails.”—Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly
Review
“A sprightly, enjoyable narrative.”—Library Journal Library Journal
Review
“A convincing argument that Mary Lincoln was a mistreated woman.”—Presidential Studies Quarterly Presidential Studies Quarterly
About the Author
Samuel A Schreiner Jr., a veteran journalist and former senior editor at Readers Digest, is the author of The Passionate Beechers: A Family Saga of Sanctity and Scandal That Changed America.