MARY LINCOLN Biography of a Marriage " Now for the first time - - the truth about one of the most controversial women in American history, and the never-before-told, never-to-be- forgotten story of her life with Abraham Lincoln. " Hardback Book with Dust Jacket by Ruth Painter Randall Copyright 1953, by Ruth Painter Randall " Mary Todd Lincoln is probably the most maligned of famous women in our nation's history. The truth about the President's wife has for years been hidden under a mountain of myth built up largely by Lincoln's biographer and law partner, William H. Herndon. Now for the first time the true woman beneath that myth is presented in a warmly sympathetic biography based on new research. When the veil of legend surrounding her is torn aside, an entirely new picture of a woman and a marriage emerges. " " People said Lincoln really loved Ann Rutledge, that his marriage was a cross he had to bear, that he had tried to avoid it, that his wife hurt him politically though she drove him to the Presidency, that she embarrassed him financially as well as socially and inflicted on him the agony of adjustment to her psychopathic personality. Here is the evidence which restores Mary Todd Lincoln to her rightful place in history and in the affections of the American people- as a wife and mother who possessed, and fully earned, the love and admiration of her husband. " " Through the eyes of the people who knew the Lincolns, through the long-lost telegrams and letters they sent each other, this is the story of their day-to-day family life together. It begins with Springfield, Illinois, and the stormy Lincoln courtship. Then they are married and neighbors come to visit. Mr. Lincoln comes to the door in shirt sleeves, wearing an apron. But often he is off riding the legal circuit and Mary sits at home alone. Lincoln is elected to the Presidency and the Lincolns enter the excitement and fear of wartime Washington. " " Now Mary must entertain not her Springfield friends, but the official friends and opponents of the Administration. She refurnishes the White House and spends more than her $ 20,000 appropriation- much to her sorrow and Mr. Lincoln's. And a far deeper sorrow overwhelms the Lincolns when their beloved son Willie takes sick and dies. Mary is grief-stricken; the days when Mr. Lincoln reports that she "is not well" become more frequent. Finally, Ford's Theater, and the Presidential couple sit, holding hands, in the last minutes of Mr. Lincoln's life. Alone, Mary travels to Europe and back. For years Congress delays giving her the pension she deserves. And even her son Robert turns against her and she is tried twice for her "insanity." Then at last she returns to her home in Springfield. " Contents include: " Foreword Acknowledgments 1. Young Mary is Young Springfield 2. Joshua Speed's Friend 3. "Mind-Education-Raising" 4. Broken Engagement 5. "I Awfully Forebode" 6. A Duel Prevented but Not a Wedding 7. "Four Dollars a Week" 8. "Women and Oxen" 9. "The Happiest Stages of Life" 10. "Tears in the Jury" 11. In-Law Problems 12. "Little Eddie" 13. "Good Neighbors" 14. "Fizzle-gigs and Fire-works" 15. Widening Circle 16. Tangled Tales and Good-by Springfield 17. "Pits and Pinnacles of Change" 18. "Empaneled to Convict" 19. Attention of the President's Wife 20. Further Activities of the First Lady 21. "Flub Dubs" with Complications 22. White House Family 23. "Furnace of Affliction" 24. Dark Whisperings 25. Telegrams 26. "If He is Re-elected" 27. "As Ardent an Abolitionist" 28. City Point 29. Last Ride Together 30. "Without Him" 31. Herndon Lectures on Ann Rutledge 32. The Old-Clothes Scandal 33. "Without Taddie": Insanity ? 34. "Dear Lewis" " The book is in good condition, but the dust jacket is very worn and torn. The edges of the pages are slightly yellowed due to aging. No torn or ripped pages. No other markings or writing. |