Book Review

Title: Mary, Mrs. A Lincoln

Author: Janis Cooke Newman

Publisher: Anchor Canada/Random House

Random House Website: Click Here

Released: October 2007

Pages: 636

ISBN-10: 015603347X

ISBN-13: 978-0156033473

$24.95

4 Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

We can all feel very sorry for Mrs. Abraham Lincoln as she was a Southern woman caught on the opposite side of a civil war and a revolution. As a result, Mary was deeply misunderstood, and what might be called cultural differences nowadays was reason for institutionalization back then. Southern Belle Mary had a tendency towards being a shopaholic, temperamental, high-strung and dabbling in spiritualism; not entirely the image of a first-lady a young nation wants. Mary was severely criticized for her character, but Janis Cooke Newman sheds light on Abraham's wife who had more than enough tragedy in her life, betrayal and hurt to show the reasoning why she had such personality traits.

Mary Todd Lincoln's story in Janis Cooke Newman's book Mary, Mrs. A Lincoln starts in the asylum she is committed to by her son Robert after her husband's assassination. This is not the start of Mary's life of course, but it is an ultimate betrayal in her eyes by her son, in a life that would be considered one big betrayal. While Mary is in the asylum she reflects on her life up until this point. Mary remembers the devastation of her Mother's passing, of having her palm read where she was told she would marry a man who was ugly, kind and ambitious and that he would be president one day. When Mary meets Abraham, she knows immediately she wants to be his wife, and even through the hardships of the marriage, she loves him ardently. Mary has four boys by Abraham and loses three of them to illness, the oldest (Robert) is hard and moody and is angered by his Mother's shopping, but he seems to be the only one that outlives her. Mary attends séances to connect to her sons in spirit, we see that she has a very lonely life with Abraham as he is distant and afraid of his own sexuality; he is also prone to bouts of melancholy.

We follow the Lincoln's as he becomes president and she first lady. The impending Civil War takes shape, the abolishment of slavery and an untimely assassination of her husband compounds grief in Mary's world. Although Mary is no saint, far from it, her ultimate sadness is her son Robert committing her so that he can take possession of her assets. Mary is eventually released from the asylum to go live with her sister and live out her days in heartache as she never speaks to her son again.

Janis Cooke Newman tells a fabulous story about an integral person of history that is often overshadowed by the huge shadow her husband has cast. Mary Todd Lincoln is a dynamic woman and very much a 21^st century woman; it is this fact that makes it so hard to see her living within the restraints of the 19^th Century. Janis Cooke Newman does such an accurate job of detailing the Lincoln's life that is public knowledge that one does not question Janis Cooke Newman's capabilities at figuring out the paths of the heart behind closed doors. Mary, Mrs. A Lincoln is well written, detailed and long, but moves well and is definitely a page turner. I would recommend this book to avid readers, or people who love historical fiction.