Year’s ago I read "Love Is Eternal" by Irving Stone, a romanticized novel about the relationship between Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. I was going through my historical novel phase at the time, and Irving Stone’s love stories about presidential marriages were a favorite. As I remember the book, Stone celebrated the Lincoln’s marriage as a marvelous love story, sugarcoating the struggles in their relationship. If you are interested in a more faithful picture of the lives of Abraham and Mary Lincoln but still want to read a novel, I recommend "The Emancipator’s Wife: A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln" by Barbara Hambly.

Ms. Hambly brings a historian’s perspective to her analysis of Mary Todd Lincoln’s life. The novel jumps around chronologically, which some readers may find confusing. It begins in 1862, demonstrating Mrs. Lincoln’s concern for wounded soldiers and contraband slaves. Because writers have tended to focus more on her volatile temper and extravagant spending, Mary’s work with the wounded during the war and her strong anti-slavery views are often overlooked. The novel next moves to Robert Lincoln’s commitment of his mother to a mental institution in May 1875. Her sense of betrayal must have been overwhelming. For a woman who had buried three sons and seen her husband murdered at her side, having her last living son lock her away as insane, can only have felt like the ultimate treachery. Moving back and forth through her life the reader begins to understand her intelligence, complexity and sorrow. In other words, what made her tick.

Because this is a work of fiction, some of the author’s inferences should not be taken as fact; however, they are based upon logical suppositions—two of which I find compelling. One is that Mary may have unknowingly been addicted to the alcohol and opium in the patent medicines of the day. Suffering from "female problems", migraines, and chronic pain, she was known to have been a heavy user of these products. The second conclusion is that Mrs. Lincoln may have been bipolar. Enough is known about her history of manic episodes and depression to make this reasonable assumption. "The Emancipator’s Wife" is a fascinating study of one of the nation’s most controversial first ladies.

For those who are interested in the Lincolns but prefer non-fiction, I recommend "Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Goodwin is an accomplished writer and historian. Her biography of the Roosevelt’s "No Ordinary Time" won the Pulitzer Prize. "Team of Rivals" is a lengthy book and will take a time commitment to finish. If you love history, however, you will not be disappointed. Goodwin studies Lincoln in juxtaposition to his chief rivals for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination. His three main competitors were William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates. After winning an election, most politicians would leave their political opponents in obscurity but not Abraham Lincoln. He took these men into his cabinet. A large part of his genius lay in his ability to mold strong, often contentious personalities into the cabinet, which saved the nation. "Team of Rivals" is an absorbing analysis of strong, dominate men, and the man who dominated them all.

Other historical fiction about the Civil War:

• "The March" by E. L. Doctorow. Acclaimed author Doctorow chronicles Sherman’s march to the sea.
• "Together Is All We Need" by Michael Phillips is the story of two women, one the daughter of a plantation owner and the other a slave who become friends as they fight to save their plantation from destruction. (large print only)
• "March" by Geraldine Brooks takes the character of Mr. March from Louisa May Alcott’s "Little Women" and imagines his experiences during the Civil War. (large print only)

New biographies about president’s and their families include:

• "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" by Richard Reeves.
• "First Families: The Impact Of The White House On Their Lives" by Bonnie Angelo.

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