At home with Illinois Governors: A social history of the Illinois Executive Mansion, 1855-2003

by Dan Moore, Lura Lynn Ryan

A history of the Illinois Executive Mansion in Springfield, IL. Pages filled with beautiful color photographs, this book by former Illinois First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan artfully details the rich history of one of the best kept and most expensive governor's mansions in the nation. Biographical explanations about the lives of the governors and their families, along with the roles of past caretakers, is honestly portrayed here warts and all (for example, Gov. William Bissell, who died from a mystery illness in office in 1860, isn't spared. Despite being kept secret for more than a century, this book reveals he died of syphilis).

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Lorene · Rating 3 out of 5]

The point of this book is to offer a social history of the mansion, but it also gives a really interesting history of Illinois. The book contains beautiful artwork. However, the book is shockingly political for a write up of social events and remodels of the governor's mansion. Co-written by a Republican first lady, there are comments like, "He was a typical Democrat who liked to raise taxes and then spend extra money." Also, more recent Republican governors are fawned over. There is no mention of Mrs. Ryan's husband's prison sentence.