Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini

 In 1875, ten years after assassination of President Lincoln, Mary Lincoln tries to poison herself. Why? Is it because of a deranged mind or traumatized one?

1875. Mary has been estranged from her sister Elizabeth and other siblings and friends for years. She lost her husband and three sons. Robert, her eldest and only surviving child, believes that his mother is a danger to herself and has begun legal proceedings to have her committed to an asylum. Or is compassion and sympathetic companionship what she truly needs? Instead of asylum. That’s what some of her sisters think.

1825. Mary is a cheerful child, full of entertaining ideas, making others laugh. This merry child loses her mother to fever after giving birth. And this is one of the first tragic events in Mary’s life. With years and different events affecting her, she starts changing from her cheerful side into a more dramatic person.

1875. Mary’s sister Ann reveals that Mary’s “eccentricities had manifested long before she suffered these losses. (…) Mary was a moody girl” and temperamental. She presents Mary as manipulative and that she needs to learn her lesson.

Emilie, half-sister, who also lost a husband, on the other hand, sympathizes with Mary. She knows “how the accumulation of sorrows could burden the spirit.”

I enjoyed how the story was revealed through four siblings, who had different views of Mary and what estranged them. We got to know Mary’s siblings and how they got along with Mary throughout their lives.

And above all, I loved the cheerful, witty and curious side of Mary and what an incredible woman she was. From the young age she was inclined toward politics. She knew exactly what she wanted and that was to wed the president of the US. She was “bright, intellectually curious, and sociable (…) and one of the brightest and most popular students at the school.” She was a devoted wife, unwaveringly standing by her husband, who fought an uphill battle against those who saw him as unequal, thus unfit for politics.

Effortlessly written story, interestingly blending history with different personalities, views and opinions of five sisters (including Mary); taking reader on a journey full of feelings and sisterly events.

P.S. If you’re a fan of Mary Lincoln, I also highly recommend Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard and The First Lady and the Rebel by Susan Higginbotham. Keep in mind, there is some overlapping in those three books, which I didn’t mind.

Release date: 2 June 2020