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Mary
Historical fiction details her years in the Bellevue Sanatorium suring which time she tells the story of her life from the grevious loss of her mother, through her passionate love for Abraham, the loss of three dear sons and hussband and the coldness of her surviving son Robert who has her committed to the upscale home for the insane. Women of this era who showed passion and excess were sometimes deemed insane because "there nerves were smaller than men's and couldeasily be drained byt the excesses of modern life". Mary showed two excesses: her passionate love for Abraham and her addictive shopping.
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Janis Cooke Newman
6 books74 followersJanis Cooke Newman is the author of
A Master Plan for Rescue
, a magical novel about the surprising acts of heroism that can be inspired by love. She is also the author of
Mary
, a historical novel about Mary Todd Lincoln. Mary was chosen by USA Today as the best historical fiction of 2006 and was a finalist for the LA Times First Fiction award. She is also the author of The Russian Word for Snow, a memoir about adopting her son from a Moscow orphanage. Both books are available in paperback. Newman is the founder of the Lit Camp writers conference.
Author photo copyright Ian Tuttle.
Author photo copyright Ian Tuttle.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 686 reviews
September 21, 2009
Wow. I have so much to say about this book. It was wonderful, engrossing, and hard to put down. It starts with Mary as a child who loses her mother and it is obvious from the get go that Mary has a problem with death, like many other people then and now. She tends to replace death with inanimate objects that give her comfort. She is a passionate woman. When she meets Mr. Lincoln (Indeed my only complaint is he is called Mr. Lincoln throughout the entire book..Never once did she refer to him or call him anything else.) she scares him with her passion, which is apparently unladylike and unseemly for the times. (The fellows could not handle it I suppose) She then proceeds to face a marriage in which she must curb her passions in the sack. There are many deaths she must face and again, the inanimate object obsession occurs. To sum it up, the woman had a healthy sexual appetite, loved to shop, travel with her husband, and speak her mind. If that means insanity, majority of women in United States today belong in the looney bin. Yes, she did have no self control with spending money, but otherwise, the craziest thing she ever did was try to sell the white house manure! I was enthralled with her character. She was an interesting woman and I actually had to put the book down in sadness at times. There is especially a sad part on the day of Abe's death, a little interlude in which he says some amazing words to his wife that she has been waiting a long time to hear and it warms the heart. I would also like to add, that if this book is accurate, Mary was the heart and soul behind her husband winning his first election. Read it and find out how. Truly amazing book!
January 8, 2010
What I think this book does better than the non-fiction books which I have previously read about Abraham Lincoln is to look at the personalities of Mary and Abraham, their relationship and Mary's relationship with her first son Robert. Another subject that is scarcely covered in the books below, but extensively covered here, is Mary's and Abraham's belief in the occult. Most of the names and events dealing with this subject seem to be true. I did a check on internet. The book focuses on Mary. It focuses on her life, and in this way shows how she affected her husband.The medical problems they had to deal with? Was she crazy? Was she a shopaholic? How involved was she in Abe's political career? A lot! The book also gives the reader a gripping idea of what life was like in a mental institution during the latter half of the 1800s. The book starts at Mary's youth. It ends not with her death but after she is released from the Belview Place Sanatorium, a mental institution to which her son had committed her in May 1875, ten years after the assassination. She was there for almost four months. Everything of importance in Mary's life IS covered, so of course also the president's assassination. She was seated next to him at Ford’s Theatre. Details of the civil war are not the central theme.
Mary is telling her own life story, writing it when she is in the sanatorium. It is a sad tale; Mary had a very difficult life. Although it is her story she is self-critical. I felt I got a balanced view of Mary, Abraham and Robert. None are saints. None are perfect. A very short epilog relates events after her release from the sanatorium.
Although I did like the book, I was never totally convinced that the author correctly captured Mary's internal thoughts. There is an awful lot about Mary's passion…and the lack of it in the men of her family. Was this perhaps a bit exaggerated? So much, maybe too much, is explained by Mary’s passion and the lack of it in others!
Supposedly Abraham always had a joke to tell. This is not reflected in the story, and this bothers me a bit. If he was a joker, why is none of this portrayed in the book? There is very little humor in this book.
The audiobook is narrated by Anne Buelteman. It is well done. Mary's language is "old-fashioned". It has to be, since this is her story. The reading is sad, and it is gripping. At other times you hear her horror and confusion.
Here is a book of historical fiction that delivers the facts through the eyes of one of its participants. I think it is important to understand the personality of people because this will mold their actions, and Mary certainly did shape Abraham Lincoln. My view of Lincoln is changed - a little bit less glorified.
***********************************
After 2/3 of the book:
I have been checking everything and so far I cannot find one detail to be incorrect! So yeah, I guess what surprised me to pieces is actually true. The research put into this book of historical fiction is impressive. Not all is known to 100% but what is stated is not pure fantasy created by the author.
**************************
After a bit more than 1/3 of the book:
I don't want to leave an erroneous impression by the words below, when I first started the book. This book is not a light, quick read. It looks at the personalities of both Lincoln and his wife, their relationship and how men react to passionate women. I don't think this can or should be explained away by saying, "But that was the 1800s." I have a question: "How far passion should be allowed to run free? Aren't there limits????!" I can't help but query, "Is this fiction or fact?" The book also looks at the treatment of the insane and the ease with which women could be labeled as insane. You should never make quick judgments about people’s behavior. It is not an easy read at all. It is an emotionally gripping read, but now I am also asking questions about proof.
**********************
At the beginning, after an hour or two:
Mary is only ten. Her mother died at six and now she has a stepmother..
I AM liking Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln. I did a little research and found that the book is said to be true to the facts. It is written in such a manner that you see how as a youth Mary was raised with a belief in the occult. I know that later in life she arranges séances. Voodoo bits are exciting; it is quite simply an engaging read. I feel like I am seeing through the eyes of a young child at the "unknowable and strange" world around her.
You see how her childhood is molding who she will become as an adult. Death, the occult and politics.
I think my pleasure is enhanced by the narration of the audiobook by Anne Buelteman. The language is Southern and old-fashioned. (She grew up in Kentucky.)Really perfect, well evoking those times. This is an easy, fun read, so far.
I am not starting from scratch. I can recommend both Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Goodwin and "They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance
Mary is telling her own life story, writing it when she is in the sanatorium. It is a sad tale; Mary had a very difficult life. Although it is her story she is self-critical. I felt I got a balanced view of Mary, Abraham and Robert. None are saints. None are perfect. A very short epilog relates events after her release from the sanatorium.
Although I did like the book, I was never totally convinced that the author correctly captured Mary's internal thoughts. There is an awful lot about Mary's passion…and the lack of it in the men of her family. Was this perhaps a bit exaggerated? So much, maybe too much, is explained by Mary’s passion and the lack of it in others!
Supposedly Abraham always had a joke to tell. This is not reflected in the story, and this bothers me a bit. If he was a joker, why is none of this portrayed in the book? There is very little humor in this book.
The audiobook is narrated by Anne Buelteman. It is well done. Mary's language is "old-fashioned". It has to be, since this is her story. The reading is sad, and it is gripping. At other times you hear her horror and confusion.
Here is a book of historical fiction that delivers the facts through the eyes of one of its participants. I think it is important to understand the personality of people because this will mold their actions, and Mary certainly did shape Abraham Lincoln. My view of Lincoln is changed - a little bit less glorified.
***********************************
After 2/3 of the book:
I have been checking everything and so far I cannot find one detail to be incorrect! So yeah, I guess what surprised me to pieces is actually true. The research put into this book of historical fiction is impressive. Not all is known to 100% but what is stated is not pure fantasy created by the author.
**************************
After a bit more than 1/3 of the book:
I don't want to leave an erroneous impression by the words below, when I first started the book. This book is not a light, quick read. It looks at the personalities of both Lincoln and his wife, their relationship and how men react to passionate women. I don't think this can or should be explained away by saying, "But that was the 1800s." I have a question: "How far passion should be allowed to run free? Aren't there limits????!" I can't help but query, "Is this fiction or fact?" The book also looks at the treatment of the insane and the ease with which women could be labeled as insane. You should never make quick judgments about people’s behavior. It is not an easy read at all. It is an emotionally gripping read, but now I am also asking questions about proof.
**********************
At the beginning, after an hour or two:
Mary is only ten. Her mother died at six and now she has a stepmother..
I AM liking Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln. I did a little research and found that the book is said to be true to the facts. It is written in such a manner that you see how as a youth Mary was raised with a belief in the occult. I know that later in life she arranges séances. Voodoo bits are exciting; it is quite simply an engaging read. I feel like I am seeing through the eyes of a young child at the "unknowable and strange" world around her.
You see how her childhood is molding who she will become as an adult. Death, the occult and politics.
I think my pleasure is enhanced by the narration of the audiobook by Anne Buelteman. The language is Southern and old-fashioned. (She grew up in Kentucky.)Really perfect, well evoking those times. This is an easy, fun read, so far.
I am not starting from scratch. I can recommend both Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Goodwin and "They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance
February 21, 2019
"I cannot say if it is this tally of words which decides me. Or if it is only the unfilled hours of my sleeplessness. Whichever it is, I somehow decided. I shall spend my nights at Bellevue Place writing my true story."
As Mary finds herself confined at Bellevue Place, an asylum for the insane, she begins to reminisce about her life and all the incidents that brought her to this point. Mary Ann Todd grew up in a Southern household, in Kentucky. The fourth of seven children, she adored her mother and her death quite unsettled her. Mary had trouble establishing a bond with her stepmother for she could not reign in her passion and zeal. When she moved to Springfield as a young lady, Mary was courted by many but one man in particular caught her eye. An awkwardly tall, not-so-handsome, nor well-off or well-connected fellow by the name of Abraham Lincoln. Thus begins a exciting and tumultuous journey for this brave lady.
WOW! I absolutely love this book. I regret having it on my shelves for almost three years and not having read it sooner. Lately, I have been reading a lot about women behind well-known man and it has been such a great experience. Newman's 'Mary' is no exception. Mary Todd Lincoln is easily one of the most fascinating and controversial of the first ladies. Initially, I did not like this book, but when I had the chance to sit and read it for a whole afternoon, I simply could not put it back down. The way in which Newman constructed the plot, integrated historical details and build up Mary herself is masterful. The prose is haunting, melancholic but also carries a note of power and strength. Perception of Mary shifted like the tides. At times she seemed sad and overwheled by grief. At others, her judgement was severely questioned and her character deemed less than agreeble. In other words, Newman painted a complex picture of a woman that was both a sinner and a saint. Superb execution! This is a book that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.
I have to bring to the forefront the relationship between Mary and her firtborn son (and the only one that survived her), Robert Lincoln. From the get-go, these two locked heads. While Mary had more affectionate and close relationship with her other three sons, Robert always felt at a arms length. This relationship further deteriorated when Robert had her involuntarily confined in Bellevue. It is hard to determine wether Robert might have harboured resentment towards his mother or if Mary loved him any less than the rest of her children. Where Robert was restraint, Mary was passion. It is quite tempting to want to see Robert as a villain (and to some extent he is) but Mary's unpredictable and erratic behaviour had to be difficult to handle. As much as Mary is admirable she was also frustrating. Robert was trying to keep his father's legacy intact which Mary (unintenionally, of course) was damaging.
Mrs. Mary Lincoln sure is a study of contrasts. On one hand, a firm advocate of her husband (and his policies), devoted mother, an abolitionist (despite the fact that her family were slave-holders), the first to invite African-Americans into the President's House as guests, friend to dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley (a former slave) and the first wife to be reffered to as First Lady. On the other hand, she also behaved in erratic ways, spent money excessively and without restraint (its estimated that she racked up a debt between 25 and 30 thousand dollars, equivalent to about half a million dollars in todays's terms), she overspent the budget she had to redecorate the President's House, held seances and her mouth made her as much an ally as a liability to Lincoln's presidency. Perhaps one of the most crazy schemes to try and cover her debt was Mary's attempt to sell the manure that was leftover from the lawns of the President's House. Many theories have been offered as to why Mrs. Lincoln behaved in the way she did: PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, vitamin deficiencies, overuse/wrong use of chloral hydrate and laudanum and a profound grief (she did lose three of her four sons and saw her husband assasinated). My takeaway from this book is that despite her flaws, she was a brave woman that refused to be invisible.
As Mary finds herself confined at Bellevue Place, an asylum for the insane, she begins to reminisce about her life and all the incidents that brought her to this point. Mary Ann Todd grew up in a Southern household, in Kentucky. The fourth of seven children, she adored her mother and her death quite unsettled her. Mary had trouble establishing a bond with her stepmother for she could not reign in her passion and zeal. When she moved to Springfield as a young lady, Mary was courted by many but one man in particular caught her eye. An awkwardly tall, not-so-handsome, nor well-off or well-connected fellow by the name of Abraham Lincoln. Thus begins a exciting and tumultuous journey for this brave lady.
WOW! I absolutely love this book. I regret having it on my shelves for almost three years and not having read it sooner. Lately, I have been reading a lot about women behind well-known man and it has been such a great experience. Newman's 'Mary' is no exception. Mary Todd Lincoln is easily one of the most fascinating and controversial of the first ladies. Initially, I did not like this book, but when I had the chance to sit and read it for a whole afternoon, I simply could not put it back down. The way in which Newman constructed the plot, integrated historical details and build up Mary herself is masterful. The prose is haunting, melancholic but also carries a note of power and strength. Perception of Mary shifted like the tides. At times she seemed sad and overwheled by grief. At others, her judgement was severely questioned and her character deemed less than agreeble. In other words, Newman painted a complex picture of a woman that was both a sinner and a saint. Superb execution! This is a book that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.
I have to bring to the forefront the relationship between Mary and her firtborn son (and the only one that survived her), Robert Lincoln. From the get-go, these two locked heads. While Mary had more affectionate and close relationship with her other three sons, Robert always felt at a arms length. This relationship further deteriorated when Robert had her involuntarily confined in Bellevue. It is hard to determine wether Robert might have harboured resentment towards his mother or if Mary loved him any less than the rest of her children. Where Robert was restraint, Mary was passion. It is quite tempting to want to see Robert as a villain (and to some extent he is) but Mary's unpredictable and erratic behaviour had to be difficult to handle. As much as Mary is admirable she was also frustrating. Robert was trying to keep his father's legacy intact which Mary (unintenionally, of course) was damaging.
Mrs. Mary Lincoln sure is a study of contrasts. On one hand, a firm advocate of her husband (and his policies), devoted mother, an abolitionist (despite the fact that her family were slave-holders), the first to invite African-Americans into the President's House as guests, friend to dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley (a former slave) and the first wife to be reffered to as First Lady. On the other hand, she also behaved in erratic ways, spent money excessively and without restraint (its estimated that she racked up a debt between 25 and 30 thousand dollars, equivalent to about half a million dollars in todays's terms), she overspent the budget she had to redecorate the President's House, held seances and her mouth made her as much an ally as a liability to Lincoln's presidency. Perhaps one of the most crazy schemes to try and cover her debt was Mary's attempt to sell the manure that was leftover from the lawns of the President's House. Many theories have been offered as to why Mrs. Lincoln behaved in the way she did: PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, vitamin deficiencies, overuse/wrong use of chloral hydrate and laudanum and a profound grief (she did lose three of her four sons and saw her husband assasinated). My takeaway from this book is that despite her flaws, she was a brave woman that refused to be invisible.
March 19, 2008
Yeah, I enjoyed this book, but when I think back on it not a lot sticks with me. I found it an interesting tale of a first lady we've heard of so much due to being wife to one of the most influential and great president's the U.S. has seen today, but yet we don't know much about. There are many things that made this book a unique and fun read.
One thing was that we got a new view on the Civil War. Many books are written about either soldiers or slaves, occasionally family members of those fighting. Not many are written through the eyes of a politician, let alone one directly in the White House, and let alone the First Lady. The way Mary Lincoln is written she would definitely be considered a politician.
That was another thing that made this book such a good read. Mary not only supported her husband in all of his political ambitions, but often discussed and planned with him the various actions he was hoping to take on. She was often outside that box women were constantly shoved into back then. Yet at the same time, in contrast to doing things not suitable for a woman, she did things that were quintessentially feminine. Decorating, shopping, cooking, cleaning, hosting, mothering, etc. She was almost a walking contradiction to herself, and it could have gotten very tricky to write at times, but Newman pulls it off flawlessly and smoothly.
Of course the book was not without it's flaws as a whole. At times it became long and dry, parts popped up that didn't neccessarily need to be there. Also, I was occasionally uncomfortable by the overt sexuality of Mary Lincoln, especially with her husband, Mr. Lincoln. Possibly it's because I couldn't shake the image of the older, noble president and his wife that appears in pictures not looking all that young. It's almost like reading about your parents or grandparents having sex. The romance is sweet, and it gives the Lincoln's a side rarely seen, but it often came off as something Newman desperately wanted to write. I think if she had such a desire to write a historical romance she should have saved it for some different characters, I'm positive she could pull it off without trouble.
In the end, one of the main reasons I liked this book was because of dear Robert Todd. Such a misunderstood man that was written more on the two demensional side amongst a cast of fully developed characters, still succeeded in frustrating me beyond reason with his inability to understand and sympathize with his mother. I'm pretty positive anyone else who reads this book will also find themselves scoffing and dropping their jaws at the moments of pure thick-headedness Robert constantly displays.
So if you're looking for something new in Civil War era historical fiction I would say try out Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln and see how that works out for you. I highly doubt you've read something like it before. And if you have definitely let me know and tell me if it was even better.
One thing was that we got a new view on the Civil War. Many books are written about either soldiers or slaves, occasionally family members of those fighting. Not many are written through the eyes of a politician, let alone one directly in the White House, and let alone the First Lady. The way Mary Lincoln is written she would definitely be considered a politician.
That was another thing that made this book such a good read. Mary not only supported her husband in all of his political ambitions, but often discussed and planned with him the various actions he was hoping to take on. She was often outside that box women were constantly shoved into back then. Yet at the same time, in contrast to doing things not suitable for a woman, she did things that were quintessentially feminine. Decorating, shopping, cooking, cleaning, hosting, mothering, etc. She was almost a walking contradiction to herself, and it could have gotten very tricky to write at times, but Newman pulls it off flawlessly and smoothly.
Of course the book was not without it's flaws as a whole. At times it became long and dry, parts popped up that didn't neccessarily need to be there. Also, I was occasionally uncomfortable by the overt sexuality of Mary Lincoln, especially with her husband, Mr. Lincoln. Possibly it's because I couldn't shake the image of the older, noble president and his wife that appears in pictures not looking all that young. It's almost like reading about your parents or grandparents having sex. The romance is sweet, and it gives the Lincoln's a side rarely seen, but it often came off as something Newman desperately wanted to write. I think if she had such a desire to write a historical romance she should have saved it for some different characters, I'm positive she could pull it off without trouble.
In the end, one of the main reasons I liked this book was because of dear Robert Todd. Such a misunderstood man that was written more on the two demensional side amongst a cast of fully developed characters, still succeeded in frustrating me beyond reason with his inability to understand and sympathize with his mother. I'm pretty positive anyone else who reads this book will also find themselves scoffing and dropping their jaws at the moments of pure thick-headedness Robert constantly displays.
So if you're looking for something new in Civil War era historical fiction I would say try out Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln and see how that works out for you. I highly doubt you've read something like it before. And if you have definitely let me know and tell me if it was even better.
February 27, 2009
This was an odd one for me. Although I plowed through 700+ pages in two weeks, as I was finishing it up this morning it dawned on me, I don't really like Mary! The story is the tale of Mary Todd Lincoln as she was committed in an insane asylum by her son, Robert Todd. Then there were stories looking back at her life. A sad, sad life she led: the loss of her husband and three sons; her only living son was absolutely horrible to her; she was a shopoholic and got herself in terrible debt, more than once; and the one friend she had turned on her and wrote a book about her life, which was not favorable. For a while I felt sorry for her, then I just grew weary of her and was glad the book ended.
When I finished, I questioned whether she was insane. In the end you see what instances brought her to that place; all along, she seemed to be one of the saner characters of the book, but I now see the reasons why she was brought there.
I don't know if I could recommend this. While I'm glad I read this--brought a new perspective to Lincoln and that time--it just became tired and old, and I felt like I overstayed my time with a draining friend. Mary was SO needy!
In the southern part of the state is Hildene, the "summer" home of Robert Todd Lincoln. I've never visited it before, but at the start of this book, thought that would be a nice spring visit. Um, no, not after reading what an absolute jerk this man was!
When I finished, I questioned whether she was insane. In the end you see what instances brought her to that place; all along, she seemed to be one of the saner characters of the book, but I now see the reasons why she was brought there.
I don't know if I could recommend this. While I'm glad I read this--brought a new perspective to Lincoln and that time--it just became tired and old, and I felt like I overstayed my time with a draining friend. Mary was SO needy!
In the southern part of the state is Hildene, the "summer" home of Robert Todd Lincoln. I've never visited it before, but at the start of this book, thought that would be a nice spring visit. Um, no, not after reading what an absolute jerk this man was!
June 21, 2020
Was Mary Lincoln really insane, as her oldest son declared her to be? Or had the many depressing events of her lifetime, understandably, caused her not to be able to face reality because of its horrors?
Janis Cooke Newman has written a historical fiction novel about this most controversial woman, alternating between Mary’s experiences at the insane asylum in 1875 and her “flashbacks” to the happy and tragic memories of her life before.
Time-travel with this extremely complicated but intensely loving woman. Experience her Kentucky childhood with a “wicked” step-mother; her ambitious plans to get the love of her life to the White House; the divisions within her family during the Civil War, and the loss of many, many loved ones...
the reader will most likely be questioning by the end how anyone could survive what Mary Todd Lincoln did and not succumb to erratic behavior...
Janis Cooke Newman has written a historical fiction novel about this most controversial woman, alternating between Mary’s experiences at the insane asylum in 1875 and her “flashbacks” to the happy and tragic memories of her life before.
Time-travel with this extremely complicated but intensely loving woman. Experience her Kentucky childhood with a “wicked” step-mother; her ambitious plans to get the love of her life to the White House; the divisions within her family during the Civil War, and the loss of many, many loved ones...
the reader will most likely be questioning by the end how anyone could survive what Mary Todd Lincoln did and not succumb to erratic behavior...
June 17, 2011
By far, this is one of my favorite historical-fiction books. Newman succeeded in capturing the nuances, pains, entertainments, thoughts, and emotions of a wholly tragic and yet strong hero: Mary, the FIRST "First Lady".
If you see the other reviews, much debate comes across regarding whether Mary was a strong, feminine role model who simply wanted the love of her husband and children, or one with insane tendacies and paranoid thoughts. The fact that this debate exists, demonstrates that not only was Mary a complex creature but that Newman was able to successfully bring this complexity to light. Job well done.
Although for the record, I believe that Mary was more strong than anything and that yes, she has some "crazy" behaviors, but this was merely those that she was driven to due to her strife. People do crazy things when trying to emotionally survive. Plus, her actions weren't crazy, they were more psychologically obsessive-compulsive by nature.
Newman intricately weaved a smooth blanket of the storyline of Mary recalling her life while in a mental institute. The modern and past storylines were clearly delineated and you felt for Mary during both times.
One of the standout characters? Son Robert Todd. Stubborn and prenticious, I grew to hate him. There was so much that was clear to me in Mary's actions that Robert just wasn't seeing. Whether he was a bad person or just a rebellious son, is debatable but Newman, again, brought the character to life.
Strong, emotional, passionate; this novel has brings Mary and her family to life. You will never view the Lincolns the same again.
If you see the other reviews, much debate comes across regarding whether Mary was a strong, feminine role model who simply wanted the love of her husband and children, or one with insane tendacies and paranoid thoughts. The fact that this debate exists, demonstrates that not only was Mary a complex creature but that Newman was able to successfully bring this complexity to light. Job well done.
Although for the record, I believe that Mary was more strong than anything and that yes, she has some "crazy" behaviors, but this was merely those that she was driven to due to her strife. People do crazy things when trying to emotionally survive. Plus, her actions weren't crazy, they were more psychologically obsessive-compulsive by nature.
Newman intricately weaved a smooth blanket of the storyline of Mary recalling her life while in a mental institute. The modern and past storylines were clearly delineated and you felt for Mary during both times.
One of the standout characters? Son Robert Todd. Stubborn and prenticious, I grew to hate him. There was so much that was clear to me in Mary's actions that Robert just wasn't seeing. Whether he was a bad person or just a rebellious son, is debatable but Newman, again, brought the character to life.
Strong, emotional, passionate; this novel has brings Mary and her family to life. You will never view the Lincolns the same again.
January 2, 2013
This book was devastating. I know that it's fictional, but many facts of her life support the author's characterization. I really want to talk to somebody about this book. The fact that she was given laudanum and chloral hydrate - and told to drink as much as she wanted to "help her sleep" - because of "feminine" problems - clearly originated by the loss of 3 sons and the assassination of her husband as she sat by him - it just makes me sick. To think that women were so carelessly treated this way by the men in their lives who had complete power over them (her oldest son - who also seems to have mistreated his wife - and every man who had power over her money or her circumstances). She did some thoughtless things and had a problem being a "shopaholic" - but this book gives some reason for her to have done some of these things - that some love and friendship might well have held in check. I know I'm rambling, but this book really got to me!
July 31, 2012
Anyone ever have a book they have SO much they want to write about/review that they end up writing nothing at all?
February 8, 2018
Mary Lincoln was a study in contrasts and books based on her are among my favorites - this one included.
A woman who suffered terribly, including the loss of 3 children and the assasination of her dearly beloved husband, she is the woman that the term "First Lady" was first applied to. She was also, however, committed to an insane asylum later in her life, and it is well known that she conducted seances in the White House. She was a complusive shopper who drove the Lincoln family deep into debt.
At the beginning of the book, we hear Mary's voice through writings and notes she left as she was in the insane asylum. She took up writing in an effort to drown out the horrific sounds of other inmates screaming and carrying on. She asserts that she is perfectly sane, and sets out to prove that fact.
Mary was born to a slaveholder in Kentucky, but at the age of 20 moved to Illinois, which is where she met Abraham. Despite the fact that most people found him rather homely, she adored him. However, where Mary was an extrovert in all aspects of life (including their love life, according to this book), Lincoln was extremely reserved. He found her exhuberance trying at times.
I include the above not because this book focuses on their private life, which is does not, but to emphasize that this book does not just talk about the life of the President and First Lady. It's her story and it deserves to be told. Too many write off Mary Lincoln as the insane and weird wife of poor, suffering Abraham when she is so much more than that.
A woman who suffered terribly, including the loss of 3 children and the assasination of her dearly beloved husband, she is the woman that the term "First Lady" was first applied to. She was also, however, committed to an insane asylum later in her life, and it is well known that she conducted seances in the White House. She was a complusive shopper who drove the Lincoln family deep into debt.
At the beginning of the book, we hear Mary's voice through writings and notes she left as she was in the insane asylum. She took up writing in an effort to drown out the horrific sounds of other inmates screaming and carrying on. She asserts that she is perfectly sane, and sets out to prove that fact.
Mary was born to a slaveholder in Kentucky, but at the age of 20 moved to Illinois, which is where she met Abraham. Despite the fact that most people found him rather homely, she adored him. However, where Mary was an extrovert in all aspects of life (including their love life, according to this book), Lincoln was extremely reserved. He found her exhuberance trying at times.
I include the above not because this book focuses on their private life, which is does not, but to emphasize that this book does not just talk about the life of the President and First Lady. It's her story and it deserves to be told. Too many write off Mary Lincoln as the insane and weird wife of poor, suffering Abraham when she is so much more than that.
September 22, 2025
Poor Mary. An unloving not affectionate dad, her mother died when she was young to Whom she was extremely close, and a distant controlling step mother, she lost 3 of her 4 sons and one son was very unloving and extremely critical of her. He showed no affection to her from birth. A husband who had severe bouts of depression and melancholy and was shot in front of her and died. She was committed to an asylum by her son. She had a shopping addiction. 2 half brothers one that she was close with died in the war fighting for the south. No wonder she had emotional issues I would have too. This is fiction. The author did a lot of research. It is easy to read and keeps you engaged.
June 19, 2025
I read this before GR existed, so no in depth review, but I remember that it was a great read.
February 24, 2018
Reading a 620+ page book takes a toll on your Goodreads book goals for the year! ;) That said, I really liked this book.
I have to admit that there were times reading this book that I just wanted it to end. Parts of Mary Lincoln's life were depressing to say the least and you know it's not going to end well. In the book, Mary Lincoln tells her story from the insane asylum that her son had her committed to (yes, really) and it weaves back to her childhood and through her entire life, while also talking about what is going on in the asylum as she was trying to survive and find a way to get free in a time when men could (and did) commit women for anything that they liked.
Mary Lincoln was such a fascinating, strong, passionate woman, and this book pulls you into her life and makes you feel as if you knew her -- flaws and neuroses and all. She talks about her passions for Mr. Lincoln (wow, what passions! LOL), her trips to seances and mediums (one of the main reasons her son succeeded in getting her committed against her will), her great losses, and her feminist nature in a time when women were not permitted to be political or empowered.
It is such a long book but that much is needed to properly flesh out all of Mary Lincoln's life. Obviously, much of it is imagined and you have to keep that in mind as you read. We have no way of knowing exactly what the sex life of President Lincoln and his wife was like (it's not handled in a smutty way but you certainly get a glimpse of Abe and Mary Lincoln that our elementary school lessons didn't give) or what she really may have thought about how cruelly her only surviving son treated her.
The author tells the story by giving Mrs. Lincoln a strong, passionate, likeable voice that pulls you into her story and makes you want to research her and the others in her life more fully. I am very glad I read it.
I have to admit that there were times reading this book that I just wanted it to end. Parts of Mary Lincoln's life were depressing to say the least and you know it's not going to end well. In the book, Mary Lincoln tells her story from the insane asylum that her son had her committed to (yes, really) and it weaves back to her childhood and through her entire life, while also talking about what is going on in the asylum as she was trying to survive and find a way to get free in a time when men could (and did) commit women for anything that they liked.
Mary Lincoln was such a fascinating, strong, passionate woman, and this book pulls you into her life and makes you feel as if you knew her -- flaws and neuroses and all. She talks about her passions for Mr. Lincoln (wow, what passions! LOL), her trips to seances and mediums (one of the main reasons her son succeeded in getting her committed against her will), her great losses, and her feminist nature in a time when women were not permitted to be political or empowered.
It is such a long book but that much is needed to properly flesh out all of Mary Lincoln's life. Obviously, much of it is imagined and you have to keep that in mind as you read. We have no way of knowing exactly what the sex life of President Lincoln and his wife was like (it's not handled in a smutty way but you certainly get a glimpse of Abe and Mary Lincoln that our elementary school lessons didn't give) or what she really may have thought about how cruelly her only surviving son treated her.
The author tells the story by giving Mrs. Lincoln a strong, passionate, likeable voice that pulls you into her story and makes you want to research her and the others in her life more fully. I am very glad I read it.
August 26, 2010
Read about 1/3 of this today just so I could get on to greener passages, BUT this book was not all bad. It is about Mary Lincoln, wife of Honest Abe, both about her eldest son committing her to an assylum as a lunatic and her looking back over her life. Mary turns out to be quite colorful, but as the book is historical fiction, you don't know what exactly is true and what is not.
From what I have read online and heard from book club members also reading the book, Mary is the most vilified First Lady (a term first used on her, not all complimentarily, if that is a word, either). As covered in the book, she did hold seances in the White House and sought many Spiritualists nationwide after losing three sons and her husband throughout her life. She also spent money excessively, and bougt so much on credit, much of the book talks of her figuring out how to pay back the creditors. Also, I won't go into it much, but as a friend said, she does come across very much of a "hussy."
At first you are made to dislike her eldest who commits her to the assylum, but over the course of the novel, you end up wondering if he wasn't in part right (though insane assylums of that time particularly were cruel and inhumane places). But, surely a person who thinks she can keep her family safe from sickness, war, or assassination by buying expensive teas sets and crystal glasses only to store them in the attic, is partially deluded. And if you took the time to read 700 pgs of this book, you would see much more what I mean. It is not a must read, but I must say it was well-written and interesting. You do get I lovely picture of the President (quiet and witty, committed to his country) and an in-depth glance at the history of this tumultuous time between the north and south.
From what I have read online and heard from book club members also reading the book, Mary is the most vilified First Lady (a term first used on her, not all complimentarily, if that is a word, either). As covered in the book, she did hold seances in the White House and sought many Spiritualists nationwide after losing three sons and her husband throughout her life. She also spent money excessively, and bougt so much on credit, much of the book talks of her figuring out how to pay back the creditors. Also, I won't go into it much, but as a friend said, she does come across very much of a "hussy."
At first you are made to dislike her eldest who commits her to the assylum, but over the course of the novel, you end up wondering if he wasn't in part right (though insane assylums of that time particularly were cruel and inhumane places). But, surely a person who thinks she can keep her family safe from sickness, war, or assassination by buying expensive teas sets and crystal glasses only to store them in the attic, is partially deluded. And if you took the time to read 700 pgs of this book, you would see much more what I mean. It is not a must read, but I must say it was well-written and interesting. You do get I lovely picture of the President (quiet and witty, committed to his country) and an in-depth glance at the history of this tumultuous time between the north and south.
March 12, 2007
I am glad I got this book from the library instead of buying it.
February 16, 2017
Oh. My. Goodness. The author did a lot of research for this one. Everyone knows about Mary Todd Lincoln, all the heartache she went through in the late 1850's and into the 1870's, loosing children, her husband. But you aren't always told about how she dealt with that heartache, other than her famous seances to meet up with her departed children and husband. This book took you into the days after and how Mary exhibited her grief was the only way she knew how. You don't hear a lot about her after the assassination of her husband. But this really put you up in front with the uncontrollable grief she had and the only way she knew how to deal with it. That her own son would commit her thinking she was crazy. That finally, after years of torment, she got some peace before she passed. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Abraham Lincoln or the Civil War. A very eye-opening, good read!
February 5, 2018
Really well written and very moving in parts. Just interesting and I will never think of Abraham Lincoln in quite the same way again.
August 16, 2021
Great historical fiction about one of the most maligned and misunderstood women in American history. Beautifully researched and well written. Poor tragic Mrs Lincoln. 4 stars
October 1, 2015
I was captivated as I read this fictional biography of Abraham Lincoln's wife. My sympathy was deeply engaged with Mary as I read about her losing her mother at a young age and the lack of affection her new stepmother gave to her. I was most interested in the chapters describing their lives during and prior to the Civil War.
Mary Todd Lincoln had a tragic life. Eddie, at three years old, succumbs to illness and then a few years later, the Lincolns lose a second son, Willie, to typhoid. This disease ran rampant throughout the city of Washington DC during the Civil War as a result of the influx of thousands of Union soldiers into the city. The losses of her sons, her husband being shot right before her eyes, and of course, her heartbreaking childhood, all make for a life that makes one wonder how anyone could possibly survive such tragedies and cope with life unscathed.
Even though not a light, pleasant or uplifting read, the author did a good job as this fictional portrait sheds another point of view on Mary's character. Mary is portrayed as ambitious, passionate (perhaps overly so), and an affectionate wife and mother. She initially decides to prove to the nation that the Union would win the war by refurbishing the White House, when, as the newly elected Presidential couple they find it in deteriorating, sad condition:
"When I asked about the poor upkeep of the house, Mr. Nicolay, my husband's secretary, informed me that every president received a twenty-thousand-dollar appropriation to spend upon the upkeep of the house. Mr. Nicolay was a Bavarian gentleman whose sharply pointed beard told him as European before his accent did. "Thus far," said the secretary, "I am unable to discover what they have done with it...
...The deteriorating condition of the house seemed a metaphor for the country. By the time of my husband's inauguration, seven states - South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas - had seceded from the Union, and four more were threatening to join the new Confederate States."
It took years to settle her assassinated husband's estate and during that time Mary lives in poverty, attempting to sell her dresses and jewelry to survive. Her attempts fail as the press widely criticizes her greed and imprudent spending during the time spent occupying the White House.
"I held the sugar bowl and the creamer in my hands and their gleaming weight seemed a promise that the infection which sickened limbs would not find Robert, that whatever it was which poisoned blood would keep from Taddie. The serving pot offered me assurance that my husband would survive the burdens of his office, that the war would not eat out his life. I kept the silver service in my closet where I might look upon it whenever I felt need of its unmarred durability. Two days later, when Robert wrote again begging to go to war and a hint of the gangrene filled my nose and mouth, I returned to the shop and purchased a set of silver cake plates to keep it company."
At this time she loses a third son, Taddie, to illness. Her uncontrolled spending and her attempts to handle her grief by turning to spiritualists to contact her dead loved ones were looked on as symptoms of insanity.
Mary's son Robert, who seems to have no natural affection for his family, ultimately has her committed to an insane asylum. (It is later suspected that the medication she was prescribed for her insomnia led to hallucinations). However from the very beginning of the book, Mary asserts that she is sane and decides to write her story in the hopes it would influence her son to arrange for her release.
Is there any hope for Mary Todd Lincoln? will she ever escape the asylum and find freedom and, if not happiness, at least contentment?
I kept reading, wondering if her attempts to prove that she is sane will bear fruit with her son, while also horrified that her son could treat her so insensitively. By the time I came upon the final chapters I found myself losing patience with her so frequent (and somewhat ridiculous), contact with mediums. However, I have to wonder how much the lack of a stable, loving home environment can affect reasoning and the ability to cope with life's challenges. It is not that uncommon even in our day for those suffering from grief or tragedy to turn to any number of questionable behaviors and outlets, for solace and comfort, even to the point of personal harm via physical addictions. (It is also obvious to me that the author did such a good job of garnering sympathy for Mary, that the reader can almost excuse her excesses!)
Later, as I read about Mary's disillusionment with the spiritualists as she realizes that they are fakes, I could feel only sympathy as she decides that she has nothing left to live for.
"I wrote one last desperate letter to Judge Davis, penning it with my watered ink which rendered my plea faint and indefinite. I begged the judge to settle Mr. Lincoln's estate, or to at least make me a loan against it so I would not be forced to give up my house. But the judge sent back word that my inquiries only served to delay him further...
Robert had reminded me that it has always been his opinion that buying the house had been a type of insanity."
What a sad story. Mary experiences personal betrayal not only from political enemies and the press, but also from unexpected places; her son, the executor of her husband's estate, and even from her close friend and companion, her seamstress.
"I am Mrs. Clarke, and I have reserved two rooms together upon the second floor," I informed the perfumed young man.
Mr. Furth glanced at Lizzie's complexion. "We have no rooms on the second floor," he replied in a precise voice.
"But I have reserved them," I insisted.
He glanced at my ungloved hands. "There is only a room for you," he said to me.
"But this lady is my traveling companion."
"Colored guests must stay on the fifth floor," he informed me."
Janis Cooke Newman has written a very engaging portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln.Mary's story that has so piqued my interest that I am determined to read more about the Lincolns and this period of history.
This interview identifies Janis Newman as "Mary's Defender", and she describes Mary's assumed insanity as a result of the medication prescribed for her insomnia.
Mary Todd Lincoln had a tragic life. Eddie, at three years old, succumbs to illness and then a few years later, the Lincolns lose a second son, Willie, to typhoid. This disease ran rampant throughout the city of Washington DC during the Civil War as a result of the influx of thousands of Union soldiers into the city. The losses of her sons, her husband being shot right before her eyes, and of course, her heartbreaking childhood, all make for a life that makes one wonder how anyone could possibly survive such tragedies and cope with life unscathed.
Even though not a light, pleasant or uplifting read, the author did a good job as this fictional portrait sheds another point of view on Mary's character. Mary is portrayed as ambitious, passionate (perhaps overly so), and an affectionate wife and mother. She initially decides to prove to the nation that the Union would win the war by refurbishing the White House, when, as the newly elected Presidential couple they find it in deteriorating, sad condition:
"When I asked about the poor upkeep of the house, Mr. Nicolay, my husband's secretary, informed me that every president received a twenty-thousand-dollar appropriation to spend upon the upkeep of the house. Mr. Nicolay was a Bavarian gentleman whose sharply pointed beard told him as European before his accent did. "Thus far," said the secretary, "I am unable to discover what they have done with it...
...The deteriorating condition of the house seemed a metaphor for the country. By the time of my husband's inauguration, seven states - South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas - had seceded from the Union, and four more were threatening to join the new Confederate States."
It took years to settle her assassinated husband's estate and during that time Mary lives in poverty, attempting to sell her dresses and jewelry to survive. Her attempts fail as the press widely criticizes her greed and imprudent spending during the time spent occupying the White House.
"I held the sugar bowl and the creamer in my hands and their gleaming weight seemed a promise that the infection which sickened limbs would not find Robert, that whatever it was which poisoned blood would keep from Taddie. The serving pot offered me assurance that my husband would survive the burdens of his office, that the war would not eat out his life. I kept the silver service in my closet where I might look upon it whenever I felt need of its unmarred durability. Two days later, when Robert wrote again begging to go to war and a hint of the gangrene filled my nose and mouth, I returned to the shop and purchased a set of silver cake plates to keep it company."
At this time she loses a third son, Taddie, to illness. Her uncontrolled spending and her attempts to handle her grief by turning to spiritualists to contact her dead loved ones were looked on as symptoms of insanity.
Mary's son Robert, who seems to have no natural affection for his family, ultimately has her committed to an insane asylum. (It is later suspected that the medication she was prescribed for her insomnia led to hallucinations). However from the very beginning of the book, Mary asserts that she is sane and decides to write her story in the hopes it would influence her son to arrange for her release.
Is there any hope for Mary Todd Lincoln? will she ever escape the asylum and find freedom and, if not happiness, at least contentment?
I kept reading, wondering if her attempts to prove that she is sane will bear fruit with her son, while also horrified that her son could treat her so insensitively. By the time I came upon the final chapters I found myself losing patience with her so frequent (and somewhat ridiculous), contact with mediums. However, I have to wonder how much the lack of a stable, loving home environment can affect reasoning and the ability to cope with life's challenges. It is not that uncommon even in our day for those suffering from grief or tragedy to turn to any number of questionable behaviors and outlets, for solace and comfort, even to the point of personal harm via physical addictions. (It is also obvious to me that the author did such a good job of garnering sympathy for Mary, that the reader can almost excuse her excesses!)
Later, as I read about Mary's disillusionment with the spiritualists as she realizes that they are fakes, I could feel only sympathy as she decides that she has nothing left to live for.
"I wrote one last desperate letter to Judge Davis, penning it with my watered ink which rendered my plea faint and indefinite. I begged the judge to settle Mr. Lincoln's estate, or to at least make me a loan against it so I would not be forced to give up my house. But the judge sent back word that my inquiries only served to delay him further...
Robert had reminded me that it has always been his opinion that buying the house had been a type of insanity."
What a sad story. Mary experiences personal betrayal not only from political enemies and the press, but also from unexpected places; her son, the executor of her husband's estate, and even from her close friend and companion, her seamstress.
"I am Mrs. Clarke, and I have reserved two rooms together upon the second floor," I informed the perfumed young man.
Mr. Furth glanced at Lizzie's complexion. "We have no rooms on the second floor," he replied in a precise voice.
"But I have reserved them," I insisted.
He glanced at my ungloved hands. "There is only a room for you," he said to me.
"But this lady is my traveling companion."
"Colored guests must stay on the fifth floor," he informed me."
Janis Cooke Newman has written a very engaging portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln.Mary's story that has so piqued my interest that I am determined to read more about the Lincolns and this period of history.
This interview identifies Janis Newman as "Mary's Defender", and she describes Mary's assumed insanity as a result of the medication prescribed for her insomnia.
May 23, 2022
I absolutely loved the writing style and storyline of this historical novel. Having been born and raised in Springfield, IL, the "Land of Lincoln," I have always had an affinity (politics aside) for Abraham Lincoln; however, I have had little to no knowledge of his wife, Mary. The book was written in 1st person, through Mary's eyes, which I found to be quite spellbinding. I will now read a biography of Mary to be able to discern fact from fiction.
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April 17, 2024Detailed historical fiction about Mary Lincoln. Interesting theories about her obsessions both in her personal life and in her political machinations. There is some speculation on her love life that is a little uncomfortable but the book gives you a better indication about Mary's sad life and the true cause of her "madness."
March 25, 2009
Mary is a fictionalized memoir written from the perspective of Mary Todd Lincoln while she was committed at the Bellevue Place Sanitarium by her son, Robert Todd. While Mary is in the asylum she looks back on her life and tells her story from her past days of meeting Abraham Lincoln and raising a family, Lincoln's presidency, and his subsequent assassination, to the present day in the asylum and having to live with the truly insane. The book is well written and the author does an excellent job of transitioning between the past and present day so as to not confuse the reader. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Mary's actual Patient Progress Reports completed by the nurses at the asylum.
Mary had a difficult life: the loss of her husband and three sons, her only living son's cold and unloving character, her addiction to shopping and the tremendous debt she accumulated (so much that even today it would be considered substantial), and the betrayal of her one true friend who wrote an unfavorable book about her. However, despite Mary's hardships, I found it difficult to be sympathetic towards her. I had anticipated learning miraculous things about her life, but instead discovered I don't much like her and found her to be greedy and self indulgent. It was also frustrating to see that Mary either wouldn't or couldn't see that her son, Robert Todd, did not have her best interests at heart in committing her to the asylum despite the numerous occasions he demonstrated that fact by his pompous selfishness. (Perhaps because it was the sign of times for a women not to question the head of the household. But still, frustrating.)
I could never decide if Mary was actually insane (caused from the loss of her husband and children) or whether she was just quirky and eccentric. Certain instances of her insanity (hallucinations of her dead loved ones, paranoia that people were conspiring to kill her) could be attributed to the amount of laudanum, cocaine and other medicinary prescriptions given to her by doctors. Other proof of her lunacy was not proof at all, but rather an addiction to shopping and her lack of self control, clearly that era's version of a shopaholic on a grand scale.
Despite the frustration of Mary's character and the fact that near the end I was growing weary of her self-induced troubles, I was glad to add this to my list of reads. In fact, I found the book so engaging that it took me little more than five days to read its 700 pages, a length of book I don't normally read let alone less than a week's time. It was an interesting viewpoint of an important time in history and gave not only a riveting story of the President and Mrs. Lincoln, but a fascinating account of what life was like for a woman in the 1800s and how they were regarded and expected to act. Certainly a worthwhile read.
Mary had a difficult life: the loss of her husband and three sons, her only living son's cold and unloving character, her addiction to shopping and the tremendous debt she accumulated (so much that even today it would be considered substantial), and the betrayal of her one true friend who wrote an unfavorable book about her. However, despite Mary's hardships, I found it difficult to be sympathetic towards her. I had anticipated learning miraculous things about her life, but instead discovered I don't much like her and found her to be greedy and self indulgent. It was also frustrating to see that Mary either wouldn't or couldn't see that her son, Robert Todd, did not have her best interests at heart in committing her to the asylum despite the numerous occasions he demonstrated that fact by his pompous selfishness. (Perhaps because it was the sign of times for a women not to question the head of the household. But still, frustrating.)
I could never decide if Mary was actually insane (caused from the loss of her husband and children) or whether she was just quirky and eccentric. Certain instances of her insanity (hallucinations of her dead loved ones, paranoia that people were conspiring to kill her) could be attributed to the amount of laudanum, cocaine and other medicinary prescriptions given to her by doctors. Other proof of her lunacy was not proof at all, but rather an addiction to shopping and her lack of self control, clearly that era's version of a shopaholic on a grand scale.
Despite the frustration of Mary's character and the fact that near the end I was growing weary of her self-induced troubles, I was glad to add this to my list of reads. In fact, I found the book so engaging that it took me little more than five days to read its 700 pages, a length of book I don't normally read let alone less than a week's time. It was an interesting viewpoint of an important time in history and gave not only a riveting story of the President and Mrs. Lincoln, but a fascinating account of what life was like for a woman in the 1800s and how they were regarded and expected to act. Certainly a worthwhile read.
May 4, 2012
I can't decide how I feel about this book... It was definitely interesting, and I could NOT put it down. The life of Mary Todd Lincoln is fascinating-- she endured more in her lifetime than any person should have to. She lost 3 of her 4 sons as well as her husband to an assassin-- an event she witnessed. She was completely abused by the newspaper and other media of the time throughout her husband's presidency and for many, many years after, until her death. She was also committed against her will to an insane assylum by her only living son after her youngest son Taddie died and she was overcome with depression and grief. I could not help but sympathize with this poor woman, and what she sacrificed to the country. Major issue number one with the book was really the author's doing-- she took liberties with Mary Todd and Abraham's relationship, depicting that because her family so disapproved of the match that their idea was to get her pregnant out of wedlock so they would have to approve of their marriage. So they did, resulting in their son Robert, who according to historical dates was born exactly 9 months after their wedding date. Issue number 2, I disliked how she characterized Lincoln as a complete misfit. We all know he did suffer from debilitating depression, but it's hard to believe he ever became president they way she describes is ineptitude and his political success she credits totally to Mary's doing. Final issue, she writes that Mary has an affair during Lincoln's first year or his presidency b/c he is so absorbed in the Civil War drama and she feels an overwhelming sense of abandonment. Those 3 issues to me, took away from the nature of the story and the biographical value of the book.
June 3, 2019
My biggest thing with any historical fiction is that it must be factually correct! Especially if it's based on a real person's life, such as this one. I was very disappointed that in the author's note, Newman stated that this is not a factually correct account of Mrs. Lincoln's life, as I was hoping to learn more about her.
I don't know if Mary Lincoln was really a shopoholic who craved all and any kind of positive attention as she was written in this novel, but I found her to be incredibly annoying! Part of why I found her annoying was the fact that she was portrayed as being, or at least acting, very stupid.
The start of the book was very interesting to me, and I looked forward to reading it. However, as the book wore on, I found it to be a chore to read. Finally I got to the point where I was just reading it to conquer to book and be able to say I finished.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend reading this book. I found it to be a waste of time since it wasn't historically accurate and the story wasn't interesting.
I don't know if Mary Lincoln was really a shopoholic who craved all and any kind of positive attention as she was written in this novel, but I found her to be incredibly annoying! Part of why I found her annoying was the fact that she was portrayed as being, or at least acting, very stupid.
The start of the book was very interesting to me, and I looked forward to reading it. However, as the book wore on, I found it to be a chore to read. Finally I got to the point where I was just reading it to conquer to book and be able to say I finished.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend reading this book. I found it to be a waste of time since it wasn't historically accurate and the story wasn't interesting.
April 13, 2010
Wow! I had expected to enjoy this book but enjoyed it so much more than expected. It's a very readable book and Mary is portrayed as a woman of deep emotional feelings....in a time when feelings and emotions were normally kept subdued. Trying to repress her emotions caused outlets in other ways...such as obsessive shopping.
Mary lived through more pain and grief and tragedy than anyone ever should. It's not a wonder that her obsessions overcame her for periods of time.
She may not have been mentally strong but she wasn't insane, as her son proclaimed....at least I don't think so.
This book packs a punch. The Assassination scene was heart-wrenching, as were the deaths of her sons.
I highly recommend this book.
Mary lived through more pain and grief and tragedy than anyone ever should. It's not a wonder that her obsessions overcame her for periods of time.
She may not have been mentally strong but she wasn't insane, as her son proclaimed....at least I don't think so.
This book packs a punch. The Assassination scene was heart-wrenching, as were the deaths of her sons.
I highly recommend this book.
October 28, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found a greater sympathy for her than I have in other readings. She definitely had a difficult life, and the time she lived was not receptive of mentally ill people, and I think espceially women. Her son Robert, I think actually had some kind of mental illness as well. He did not treat or take care of his mother or wife in an acceptable manner. The book is well written.
August 3, 2014
Loved this book for the incite and clarity Janis Newman brings to the very complicated personality of an historical figure previously portrayed as one dimensional. Not only do we get a nuanced look at Mary Lincoln, but the interactions between Mary and Abe. Janis also does an excellent job of portraying Abe Lincoln's brilliance as a strategist and politician while dealing with his many demons. Couldn't put it down.
June 25, 2017
What a sad era for women, when having any sort of passion would put you in an institution. From her early years to that of being President Lincoln's widow, we read a "fictional" telling of her life. A frustrating read in that we have come so far and to know how much they suffered. A brave, vivacious and highly intelligent woman, she deserved so much, much more.
August 7, 2014
I so wanted to like this book more but...just couldn't finish it. Started off strong and then seemed to meander.
November 19, 2025
Mary by Janis Cooke Newman is a book written about Mary Todd Lincoln’s life up to her release from an insane asylum. It flits back and forth between the present (the asylum) and her past life. This is a jumble, but:
•A little weird that there are really only three women we get to know—Mary, Minnie (her friend in the asylum), and Robert’s wife Mary—and all three are viewed to be unbalanced because of their sexual feelings toward their husbands. The terror of Lincoln toward having sex with Mary is one thing, but now that we have a reverend who is the same way toward his wife, and Robert too with his wife, it feels as though the men in the story may all be staid and repressed and only going about their duty. I get it’s supposed to underline how Mary shouldn’t be in an asylum, she’s just passionate, but it’s a strange choice. Also she seems consistently horny at all times. Hearing her husband lecture? Shopping? After she’s been crying over her dead brother? Mourning the loss of Willie? All great times to want to have sex. She begs him, saying he can BEAT HER if he’ll just have sex with her. Once she contemplates RAPING him (“startle him into taking me before he had the chance to wake”). What is the author DOING? Between her, Minnie, and the Mary that weds Robert, ALL of them love their husbands and NONE of their husbands love them or want to have sex with them or be romantic toward them. Every woman is sex-starved and lacking in romance and all the men are cold, aloof, and passionless.
•I also didn’t like the novel casting Robert as the villain. I’m sure they had friction, but would Robert order his mother around? At one point he LITERALLY tells her to get into the kitchen—“you should be in the kitchen”. If Mary is “unsexed” by involving herself in politics, then Robert isn’t being dutiful and Christian and honouring and obeying his parents, something one would think a boy of the time would wish to do. Another instance of this is when they are on the train going to hear Lincoln speak and Robert screams at her that she’s violating social customs—and he isn’t? If I had yelled at my mother in public as a child, scolding her, I would have been in HUGE trouble, and I was not born in the 19th century. I understand that the Lincolns were permissive parents, but this seems a step too far to let your son chastise you and tell you how to behave where anyone and everyone can hear it.
•Even at Lincoln’s death Robert is painted as restrained, that he MAY have cried but stopped when seeing Mary’s grief, even though a firsthand account from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles says he “bore himself well, but on two occasions gave way to overpowering grief and sobbed aloud, turning his head and leaning on the shoulder of Senator Sumner”.
•After Lincoln dies, Robert is so ashamed of Tad’s poor speech he has a cruel metal device implanted in his mouth and Mary bears it because it pleases Robert even though it hurts Tad, and eventually she takes it out because it’s made Tad quiet and Robert has stopped visiting. Too bad that it was MARY who had it put in after a dentist prescribed it and she removed it to eventually seek elocution lessons.
•The Friends of the Lincoln Collection say that Robert and his mother were actually very close; he comforted her when Lincoln was away and they enjoyed doing many similar things, like reading literature and poetry, learning piano together, and speaking (fluently) in French. When he became an adult in the ‘60s, he would come home from college to travel with her as they both enjoyed it. He even said after moving to Chicago to be with his mother and brother after his father’s death that “I presume that I must put up with it, as mother’s pleasure must be consulted before my own,” when living in a tight, unpleasant place. But the book paints it as his mother demanding to come with him while he—as usual—explodes on her and wants her to stay away from him. It seems—at least from the once lost now found insanity letters—that Mary turned against Robert while in the asylum and because of Myra Bradwell’s influence and not before.
The more I read, the more difficult it was to continue and I had to keep stopping because every evil was laid at Robert’s feet. He hated his mother. He hated his father. He hated his siblings. He hates his wife. Nevermind that his wife and his mother had the falling out in reality; no! Actually it was Robert being unloving and incapable of being AROUND love that sent Mary (his wife) away. And he CLAIMED she didn’t want Mary there, but Mary suspects it was him, not her. In trying to repair some of the damage that historians have done to Mary’s image, the author has torn Robert to shreds. The fact that most of it—all? I know he was not very close to his father, but his father was not around much when he was younger. I also know he didn’t like comparisons to his father, but most wouldn’t—isn’t true makes me question how much of the rest of the novel is a distortion of what happened.
•This book is a weird one. It’s got great style and I keep reading to know more, but it never seems to end. There seems to be more and more. At the halfway mark, I’m just circling previous topics. Mary is sad. She’s horny. Lincoln says control yourself. Robert says she’s terrible. She tries to be a better wife and mother. She’s sad and horny. She’s shopping. She’s in the asylum. She’s sad. She’s sad and horny. She’s shopping. Lincoln rebuffs her and she tries to be a better wife to him so he’ll want her. Robert says she’s awful. She tries to be a better mother. On and on and on. If the author wanted to paint a picture of Mary being a sad, lustful woman who was never touched by her husband who despised her and was repulsed by her, job well done.
•Kind of weird the text never delved at all into her verbal and physical abuse toward him and the only mention of her having a temper was whenever he wouldn’t be ambitious, and then the author was careful to say she NEVER took it out on him but just furiously cleaned things around him. Even if some of the reports were exaggerated or made up, there’s enough—throwing books, chasing with a knife, hitting with wood, throwing coffee in his face—to make some seem credible.
•There’s no mention of how Mary claimed Robert was hoarding her items for himself, or how he looked after her money and earned her an extra $4000 in interest.
•It also never touched upon her wild jealousies of anyone coming near to Lincoln, like when Mary Mercy Ord rode next to Lincoln, prompting Mary (Lincoln) to fly into a rage in public. Her anger pushed people away, including Julia Grant, but the author never puts it down in text. Instead, Mary is usually sad, lonesome, and desirous of her husband’s company. You can make Mary a sympathetic person without hiding her faults and lying about other figures.
•Also this is a petty quibble—two petty quibbles, but there was no mention of Laura Keene cradling Lincoln in the box, staining her dress? And when Lincoln dies, the author has Robert going to Ford’s Theater three or more times a week during the day when no plays were going. I read this, accepted it, then went “wait a minute”. Knowing how rabid the populace went after the assassination—a mob formed to lynch Junius, Edwin received death threats (both Booth brothers who had NOTHING to do with it and in fact Edwin supported Lincoln and kicked Wilkes out of his house once over politics)—I couldn’t imagine it reopened and went “business as usual!”. It didn’t; it was closed for a criminal investigation, then given back to Ford who tried to put on a play in July (3 months later) and Stanton snatched it back again, paying Ford off and closing the theater down.
•A little weird that there are really only three women we get to know—Mary, Minnie (her friend in the asylum), and Robert’s wife Mary—and all three are viewed to be unbalanced because of their sexual feelings toward their husbands. The terror of Lincoln toward having sex with Mary is one thing, but now that we have a reverend who is the same way toward his wife, and Robert too with his wife, it feels as though the men in the story may all be staid and repressed and only going about their duty. I get it’s supposed to underline how Mary shouldn’t be in an asylum, she’s just passionate, but it’s a strange choice. Also she seems consistently horny at all times. Hearing her husband lecture? Shopping? After she’s been crying over her dead brother? Mourning the loss of Willie? All great times to want to have sex. She begs him, saying he can BEAT HER if he’ll just have sex with her. Once she contemplates RAPING him (“startle him into taking me before he had the chance to wake”). What is the author DOING? Between her, Minnie, and the Mary that weds Robert, ALL of them love their husbands and NONE of their husbands love them or want to have sex with them or be romantic toward them. Every woman is sex-starved and lacking in romance and all the men are cold, aloof, and passionless.
•I also didn’t like the novel casting Robert as the villain. I’m sure they had friction, but would Robert order his mother around? At one point he LITERALLY tells her to get into the kitchen—“you should be in the kitchen”. If Mary is “unsexed” by involving herself in politics, then Robert isn’t being dutiful and Christian and honouring and obeying his parents, something one would think a boy of the time would wish to do. Another instance of this is when they are on the train going to hear Lincoln speak and Robert screams at her that she’s violating social customs—and he isn’t? If I had yelled at my mother in public as a child, scolding her, I would have been in HUGE trouble, and I was not born in the 19th century. I understand that the Lincolns were permissive parents, but this seems a step too far to let your son chastise you and tell you how to behave where anyone and everyone can hear it.
•Even at Lincoln’s death Robert is painted as restrained, that he MAY have cried but stopped when seeing Mary’s grief, even though a firsthand account from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles says he “bore himself well, but on two occasions gave way to overpowering grief and sobbed aloud, turning his head and leaning on the shoulder of Senator Sumner”.
•After Lincoln dies, Robert is so ashamed of Tad’s poor speech he has a cruel metal device implanted in his mouth and Mary bears it because it pleases Robert even though it hurts Tad, and eventually she takes it out because it’s made Tad quiet and Robert has stopped visiting. Too bad that it was MARY who had it put in after a dentist prescribed it and she removed it to eventually seek elocution lessons.
•The Friends of the Lincoln Collection say that Robert and his mother were actually very close; he comforted her when Lincoln was away and they enjoyed doing many similar things, like reading literature and poetry, learning piano together, and speaking (fluently) in French. When he became an adult in the ‘60s, he would come home from college to travel with her as they both enjoyed it. He even said after moving to Chicago to be with his mother and brother after his father’s death that “I presume that I must put up with it, as mother’s pleasure must be consulted before my own,” when living in a tight, unpleasant place. But the book paints it as his mother demanding to come with him while he—as usual—explodes on her and wants her to stay away from him. It seems—at least from the once lost now found insanity letters—that Mary turned against Robert while in the asylum and because of Myra Bradwell’s influence and not before.
The more I read, the more difficult it was to continue and I had to keep stopping because every evil was laid at Robert’s feet. He hated his mother. He hated his father. He hated his siblings. He hates his wife. Nevermind that his wife and his mother had the falling out in reality; no! Actually it was Robert being unloving and incapable of being AROUND love that sent Mary (his wife) away. And he CLAIMED she didn’t want Mary there, but Mary suspects it was him, not her. In trying to repair some of the damage that historians have done to Mary’s image, the author has torn Robert to shreds. The fact that most of it—all? I know he was not very close to his father, but his father was not around much when he was younger. I also know he didn’t like comparisons to his father, but most wouldn’t—isn’t true makes me question how much of the rest of the novel is a distortion of what happened.
•This book is a weird one. It’s got great style and I keep reading to know more, but it never seems to end. There seems to be more and more. At the halfway mark, I’m just circling previous topics. Mary is sad. She’s horny. Lincoln says control yourself. Robert says she’s terrible. She tries to be a better wife and mother. She’s sad and horny. She’s shopping. She’s in the asylum. She’s sad. She’s sad and horny. She’s shopping. Lincoln rebuffs her and she tries to be a better wife to him so he’ll want her. Robert says she’s awful. She tries to be a better mother. On and on and on. If the author wanted to paint a picture of Mary being a sad, lustful woman who was never touched by her husband who despised her and was repulsed by her, job well done.
•Kind of weird the text never delved at all into her verbal and physical abuse toward him and the only mention of her having a temper was whenever he wouldn’t be ambitious, and then the author was careful to say she NEVER took it out on him but just furiously cleaned things around him. Even if some of the reports were exaggerated or made up, there’s enough—throwing books, chasing with a knife, hitting with wood, throwing coffee in his face—to make some seem credible.
•There’s no mention of how Mary claimed Robert was hoarding her items for himself, or how he looked after her money and earned her an extra $4000 in interest.
•It also never touched upon her wild jealousies of anyone coming near to Lincoln, like when Mary Mercy Ord rode next to Lincoln, prompting Mary (Lincoln) to fly into a rage in public. Her anger pushed people away, including Julia Grant, but the author never puts it down in text. Instead, Mary is usually sad, lonesome, and desirous of her husband’s company. You can make Mary a sympathetic person without hiding her faults and lying about other figures.
•Also this is a petty quibble—two petty quibbles, but there was no mention of Laura Keene cradling Lincoln in the box, staining her dress? And when Lincoln dies, the author has Robert going to Ford’s Theater three or more times a week during the day when no plays were going. I read this, accepted it, then went “wait a minute”. Knowing how rabid the populace went after the assassination—a mob formed to lynch Junius, Edwin received death threats (both Booth brothers who had NOTHING to do with it and in fact Edwin supported Lincoln and kicked Wilkes out of his house once over politics)—I couldn’t imagine it reopened and went “business as usual!”. It didn’t; it was closed for a criminal investigation, then given back to Ford who tried to put on a play in July (3 months later) and Stanton snatched it back again, paying Ford off and closing the theater down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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