Mrs. Lincoln: A Life
"This engaging, wonderfully written narrative provides fresh insight into this complex woman. It is a triumph." --Doris Kearns Goodwin
Catherine Clinton, author of the award-winning Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom, returns with Mrs. Lincoln, the first new biography in almost 20 years of Mary Todd Lincoln, one of the most enigmatic First Ladies in American history. Called "fascinating" by Ken Burns and "spirited and fast-paced" by the Boston Globe, Mrs. Lincoln is a meticulously researched and long overdue addition to the historical record. In the words of Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Joseph Ellis, Mrs. Lincoln "is distinctive for its abiding sanity, its deft and in-depth handling of the White House years, and for the consistent quality of its prose."
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Catherine Clinton is the author of Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom and Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars. Educated at Harvard, Sussex, and Princeton, she is a member of the advisory committee to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and holds a chair in U.S. history at Queen's University Belfast.
"As wife and widow of America's greatest president, Mary Lincoln was the focus of cruel controversies in her lifetime and among historians ever since. With sensitivity and empathy, Catherine Clinton brings us the real Mary Lincoln--a tragic yet compelling figure."--James McPherson
"In this remarkable book, Catherine Clinton displays an emotional depth in her understanding of Mary Lincoln that has rarely been revealed in the Lincoln literature. This engaging, wonderfully written narrative provides fresh insight into this complex woman whose intelligence and loving capacities were continually beset by insecurities."--Doris Kearns Goodwin
"Clinton's portrait is distinctive for its abiding sanity, its deft and in-depth handling of the White House years, and for the consistent quality of its prose."--Joseph Ellis
"Our most controversial first lady, Mary Lincoln was reviled by her critics and few historians have treated her kindly. Lively and entertaining, Mrs. Lincoln will cause readers to rethink the stereotypes about Mary--and perhaps to question some of their beliefs about her husband as well."--David Herbert Donald, author of Lincoln
"We can never get enough of Lincoln, and we can never get enough of his family. Catherine Clinton's fascinating book feeds that hunger."--Ken Burns
"Clinton's careful research and thoughtful presentation result in the best treatment of the troubled life of Mary Lincoln in recent memory. . . . Mary was, and continues to be, controversial, but, as Clinton submits, she remains a figure of great color, worthy of continued interest."--Booklist (starred review)
