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The Lincolns Portrait of a Marriage Daniel Mark Epstein 9780345477996 Books

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The Lincolns Portrait of a Marriage Daniel Mark Epstein 9780345477996 Books

The author in this book did a tremendous amount of research and found things no one had found before about the Lincolns. The result is a fascinating story about the love story that was the marriage of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Both suffered from depression and likely from mental illness, but who of us can say that we don't. They came from very different backgrounds, but Mary had decided she wanted to marry someone who would be president. She got her wish, but it ended the happiness that the Lincolns had as a family.

Mary lived a very isolated life as a young wife in Springfield, Illinois. She had two young boys while living in a tiny room in a boarding home that didn't appreciate children. Abe was a lawyer struggling financially and was gone for weeks at a time. Mary was left to fend for herself, and she tried to make the best of it, but she badly missed her husband. It is impossible not to sympathize with her. Things got much better when they were able to buy a house.

Mary had a terrible temper, and she started becoming violent toward her husband in 1861. Today she would be arrested for domestic violence, but at that time, she was a huge embarrassment. Abe was always very solicitous of her, but there was only so much he could do.
But Mary could also be very kind. My favorite story from the book was about a neighbor woman who gave birth the same day Tad Lincoln was born. The woman was extremely sick, and her baby was dying because she couldn't feed it. Abe would sneak into the house, grab the baby, and bring it to Mary. She would nurse the baby until it was satisfied; Abe would bring the baby home and rock its cradle with his foot until the baby fell asleep. I wish the author would have reported on whether the baby made it.

Mary's overspending while she was First Lady is well known, but this book explains that the interior of the White House was in shambles when she moved in. She made it into a showcase worthy of its occupants. But when it came to her wardrobe, she seemed to have no self control at all. The President was so tied up with the war that he paid no attention at all to what she might be spending. When she was constantly going to New York City on shopping trips, what did he think she was using for money?

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It was never boring. I loved Mary Todd while at the same time hating how she treated so many people.


Tags : The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage [Daniel Mark Epstein] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The first full-length portrait of the marriage of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln in more than fifty years,Daniel Mark Epstein,The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage,Ballantine Books,0345477995,Historical - General,United States - Civil War,Presidents' spouses;United States;Biography.,Presidents;United States;Biography.,1809-1865,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Presidents & Heads of State,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography & Autobiography Historical,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,GENERAL,General Adult,HISTORY United States Civil War Period (1850-1877),Historical - U.S.,History,Lincoln, Abraham,,Marriage,Non-Fiction,Presidents,Presidents & Heads of State,Presidents' spouses,U.S. HISTORY - CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (1860-1877),U.S. HISTORY - WESTWARD EXPANSION,U.S. PRESIDENT,United States

The Lincolns Portrait of a Marriage Daniel Mark Epstein 9780345477996 Books Reviews

Powerful, intimate look at a famous person along with his wife and family into their significant day to day existence. So much excellent, readable research was involved in this project. The ties with historical data was commendable.
I couldn't put this down. I love biography, but have not read that much on Abraham Lincoln and nothing of Mary having passed her off as the shallow nut case she has been portrayed as being following his death. The author did a great job of bringing one of the most misunderstood figures in American history to life and with a story that is captivating. Well done and recommended.
This book would have benefitted greatly from foot or end notes and a bibliography. Absent those it is difficult to tell what incidents and interpretations are documented fact or simply conjecture. The author does include parts of many letters, which are helpful. As a holder of a master's in history with a concentration in Lincoln and the Civil War, many incidents were familiar. This gave me hope that the majority of the book is based on truth. I suspect it was. The author appears to be empathetic to both partners and sympathetic to their plights. I feel I learned a lot. The book is well worth the time spent reading. I will view future visits to Springfield differently and search other resources for more of this ultimately tragic story.
This is a truly excellent book. The author writes a poetical account of the courtship and marriage of this most tragic First Couple, yet he presents the facts without bias. Mary was obviously a deeply troubled woman, not easy to love or even like. But my heart still broke for her and I couldn't help imagining how different her life and their marriage might have been if she'd had access to the medication and treatment that are available today for people with mental illness. Lincoln too, for that matter.

This was no match made in Heaven. Mary was needy, volatile, emotional, irrational at times. Abraham was detached, analytical, dreamy, with a maddening tendency to withdraw. Yet in a poignant and inexplicable way they were exactly what the other needed. Lincoln might have led a more peaceful private existence with a different wife, but I am not convinced that he would have attained the Presidency. Mary was the first to spot the greatness within him, and absolutely no one was more ferociously loyal to him than she was.

Their deep love for their children as well as their mutual ambition was the glue that bound them together. There was also a surprisingly strong sexual attraction between them that I'd never realized.

How I wish the ending of their story had been a happier one.
I enjoyed this book very much. It put very human faces on Abraham & Mary Todd Lincoln. History has made Abraham Lincoln almost a mythical deity, when in fact he was very much just a man, human, with faults and flaws, just like the rest of us. Mrs. Lincoln doesn't come across as being a very sympathetic character in the beginning, and even throughout the book, you feel that most of her problems were brought upon herself by her own actions & behaviors, but when one remembers what happened to her after the death of her husband, it makes you a little more inclined to be forgiving.

Mary Todd Lincoln endured more tragedy in her lifetime than any one person should have to endure. The deaths of two children in early childhood, the assassination of her beloved husband, and then the loss of a third child at only age 18. Even if she did not already have a mental illness, this much tragedy could drive a person insane.

I look forward to reading more of Mrs. Lincoln & of her life after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. A sad tale, but even more heartbreaking because it is real & her circumstances actually happened.
The author in this book did a tremendous amount of research and found things no one had found before about the Lincolns. The result is a fascinating story about the love story that was the marriage of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Both suffered from depression and likely from mental illness, but who of us can say that we don't. They came from very different backgrounds, but Mary had decided she wanted to marry someone who would be president. She got her wish, but it ended the happiness that the Lincolns had as a family.

Mary lived a very isolated life as a young wife in Springfield, Illinois. She had two young boys while living in a tiny room in a boarding home that didn't appreciate children. Abe was a lawyer struggling financially and was gone for weeks at a time. Mary was left to fend for herself, and she tried to make the best of it, but she badly missed her husband. It is impossible not to sympathize with her. Things got much better when they were able to buy a house.

Mary had a terrible temper, and she started becoming violent toward her husband in 1861. Today she would be arrested for domestic violence, but at that time, she was a huge embarrassment. Abe was always very solicitous of her, but there was only so much he could do.
But Mary could also be very kind. My favorite story from the book was about a neighbor woman who gave birth the same day Tad Lincoln was born. The woman was extremely sick, and her baby was dying because she couldn't feed it. Abe would sneak into the house, grab the baby, and bring it to Mary. She would nurse the baby until it was satisfied; Abe would bring the baby home and rock its cradle with his foot until the baby fell asleep. I wish the author would have reported on whether the baby made it.

Mary's overspending while she was First Lady is well known, but this book explains that the interior of the White House was in shambles when she moved in. She made it into a showcase worthy of its occupants. But when it came to her wardrobe, she seemed to have no self control at all. The President was so tied up with the war that he paid no attention at all to what she might be spending. When she was constantly going to New York City on shopping trips, what did he think she was using for money?

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It was never boring. I loved Mary Todd while at the same time hating how she treated so many people.