Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters audiobook

I almost always have a few reservations about reading a fictional account of a real person, and in particular a well know historic figure. One of the good things, though about reading these types of novels is that I’m usually inspired to read more about the person’s life to see how factual the story is. I’m disappointed when it veers too far off from the truth. In this case, I was not disappointed. This novel begins in 1875 with Mary Todd Lincoln’s sisters reacting to her having been committed to a mental health facility by her son Robert after her erratic behavior and suicide attempt. It’s sad in so many ways and the portrayal here of Mary Todd Lincoln by her sisters is not the prettiest picture at times in this fictional account. If you know anything about her or read anything about her as this book inspired me to do , it appears that a good bit here is true to the facts. As for her sisters and how they respond, I don’t know, but the imagined parts of the story are compelling and reflect the complexity of the woman and the complexity of family relationships. In alternating chapters from the present of 1875 back to the past in the years around 1825 and in between, we get a view Mary and her siblings as they grow up, as they lose their beloved mother, make their way through the demands of the time and their family in finding good husbands. The relationships between Mary and her sisters are strained over the years, but resentment is mixed with love and concern for Mary during the trying times of her life. Mary and Abraham’s courtship and marriage, his rise to the presidency, the Civil War, slavery, Lincoln’s assassination - Chiaverini gives us a slice of history through the lives of this family. It’s also about the depths of grief of a daughter, a mother, a wife, a troubled woman, more than likely suffering from depression. Since the narratives are from the sister’s perspectives, what was missing for me was Mary’s perspective. Otherwise, a compelling piece of historical fiction. I received a copy of this book from WilliamMorrow through Edelweiss.

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.

I won this book as a goodreads giveaway. Thank you William Morrow and Harper Collins.I thought this book was very well written. I enjoyed how the author took known information about the Todd sisters and made it into a well flowing narrative.It’s also a story of how the war between the states tore apart and brought together families. If you are a fan of 19th Century America give this book a go.

I loved Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini and found myself immersed in the story-line while reading.As Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters begins, Elizabeth Todd Edwards receives the news that her estranged sister Mary Todd Lincoln has been declared legally insane and is being committed to a mental institution after attempting suicide. Elizabeth wants to go to her other sisters to see what they can do for Mary. She is willing to bring her estranged sister home to care for her but the other sisters are not so eager to help Mary and even think she may be exaggerating her mental illness for attention. The sisters try to decipher what is truly going on with Mary because they are receiving different accounts regarding the situation. The chapters alternate with flashbacks as the story-line mainly centers around Mary, past and present, as well as on her three sisters Elizabeth, Frances, Ann and Emilie. Many of the passages and scenes were moving, especially after the assassination. I never realized some of these sisters sided with the Confederacy and some with the Union and their brothers and even husbands died on the battlefield. I enjoyed diving into this nice piece of historical fiction. The writing was rich and descriptive, the story flowed smoothly and I ended up googling some of it to see what was true to life or not. I recommend Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters if you are looking to get lost in a wonderfully written piece of historical fiction centering around Mary Todd Lincoln and her sisters. I have a non-fiction book on Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd, I need to pick it up soon.https://bookwormnai.wordpress.com/202...disclaimer:Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received my free review copy of Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini via NetGalley / Harper Collins in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. While I initially was skeptical of this book, I have really enjoyed reading it. The book follows the Todd sisters, specifically revolving around the life of Mary Todd Lincoln. The 27 chapters alternate in focus between the different sisters as well as between periods in time. While time-jumping is sometimes dizzying in books, the movement between their childhood and 'present-day' was smooth and easy to follow.The content of the book is very historical in nature with fictional dialogue throughout to develop the relationships between the sisters and their families. As a result, the author is successful in telling a historical story in a style that is quite easy and enjoyable to read.Read this book to learn about the lives of Mary and Abraham Lincoln and to learn more about the aftermath of the President's assassination, a topic that is rarely covered in the history books.My main complaint with the book is that I didn't really see the need for assigning the chapters to individual sisters. Because most of the chapters involve all of the sisters, this assignment simply led to me wondering 'who's chapter this is' while reading from time to time.Overall, this is a very interesting and easy to read book!

Another great book on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln by Jennifer Chiaverini. The focus of this book concentrates on Lincoln's sisters, namely Elizabeth, Anna, Frances, and her half-sister Emilie. The story is written from the perspective of two time periods that eventually connect. The first chapter begins in 1875, ten years after Lincoln's assassination. His wife, Mary, has been committed by her son Robert to Bellvue Hospital for convalescence due to mental instability and severe depression. The court ordered convalescence makes the headlines and the sisters react to the news. Chiaverini then goes back to early life for the Todd sisters to begin telling their story and the events that lead up to Mary's medical issues. Every other chapter is from either the early days moving forward or from the later days also moving forward. Each chapter also is told from a different sister's viewpoint, cycling through the four women. The second to the last chapter is from Mary's viewpoint. The changes in time and the focal point of characters for each chapter actually works. It seems a little confusing at first but I fell into the rhythm quite well. There are many books on Mary Todd Lincoln but I enjoy the Lincoln stories by Chiaverini. Although they are listed as historical fiction, Chiaverini does an excellent job of researching her subject and tells an accurate portrayal of real history with creative license on dialogue.

I really enjoyed this in-depth look at the life of Mary Lincoln, the author did an awesome job of giving a glimpse into the personal life of the former First Lady.Such heartbreak, no wonder some of the things that went on in her life happened. How to deal with such grief, enough to break almost anyone.We meet and get to know a lot of Mary’s family, and of course, her sisters. Now her Dad had two wives and so there is quite a bit of family. We get to meet and know most of them, and how they come in time of need.I cringed at her feelings for her son Robert, but keep reading. We also see the love, hate relationship of sisters, and then a war that puts siblings on separate sides.I was quickly drawn into this story, and although fictional, it is rich with history!

All of Mary Lincoln's sisters were born into privilege. They all loved Mary and were always on the helping side.Elizabeth, the oldest sister helped Mary the most, talking to her in a calm manor with reason.Ann Marie sided with son Robert as to Mary's mental state. She was with Elizabeth and was part of the sisterly team.Frances kept Robert informed of Mary's feeling of unjustly called insane. Mary was at Bellevue only for four months. She should have been there longer.Frances blamed the Bradwells for Mary's spending habits. Frances felt Mary's excessive spending during the Civil War was very insensitive.Emili , the youngest sister and most beautiful. She was kidnapped as a child only for her beauty. Her father soon intervened. The President referred to her as "Little Sister". Emili often quoted the President.Emili and her husband were guests at the White House on many occasions . Mary confided in Emili.It was a joy to read about sister for the most part were loyal to each other and only wanted the best for their sister Mary.

Fascinating history of Mary Todd Lincoln’s family. I never knew much about them besides some fought for the Confederacy. 16 siblings in all including half so she had a lot of sisters! Some parts of the story were slow for me, but I enjoyed the focus on different sisters going back and forth between different timelines. Clever writing. I’m curious to learn more about the Todd family. I loved the last page sharing how Abraham Lincoln responded when learning of the death of a brother in law who turned down his offer and joined the Confederacy. “I feel as David of old did when he was told of the death of Absalom.”

A great deal of illumination to what I've already read about Mary Todd's time in the asylum. I spent summers in the Springfield area and was taken to many Lincoln sites by my grandmother. I'm afraid i probably glossed over the sisters and waited for the next item about Abe. ;) I'm surprised that I don't remember they lived so close in Springfield. As always, a very enjoyable read.

Wow! This definitely makes me wonder how much history I’ve missed after reading this. While I knew poor Mrs.Lincoln suffered from mental illness after her husband’s murder I had no idea to what extent. Though this is a fictional novel it has true historical facts as well. I was truly captivated and shocked by all the things I read right to the end! I had no idea that this was apart of a series and it read well without me reading the one prior. I did this in mostly audio and the narration was perfectly done so much so I bought the other book! Fantastic read!

I found this book to be extremely interesting. Living only a couple miles from the "Mary Todd Lincoln House" in Lexington, I am very interested in Mrs. Lincoln's story. This book, though a novel, is well researched and I learned some fine points of her history that I had not encountered before.

Extremely interesting! The dual timeline worked really well.

Chiaverini writes historical fiction that is not only fulfilling story telling, but also feels authentic. In this book, the point of views from the Mary Todd Lincoln’s sisters give different perspectives on Mary and her mental state.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley for my honest review.*Mary Todd Lincoln attempted suicide 10 years after the assassination of President Lincoln. The events leading up to the attempt lead Robert Lincoln, her son, to have her declared legally insane and commit her to a hospital for rest. In the years after Lincoln's assassination, Mary had become estranged from each of her sisters for various reasons. Once she was committed to the hospital, she began having people reach out to a sister to be saved from the harsh treatment she felt she was receiving.This historical fiction novel follows 2 different timelines: 1875 after the trial to have Mary declared insane and the years leading from childhood through the assassination of President Lincoln. Each chapter is through the eyes of a different sister - Elizabeth, the eldest sibling; Frances, the next eldest sister; Ann, the sister following Mary; and Emilie, a younger half sister. Each sister has a different relationship with Mary based on their younger years which is explained in the second timelines in the book.I enjoyed this novel and learning more about the Todd family. I hadn't realized how many siblings Mary had and didn't know about the suicide of declaration of insanity. It was also interesting to see how many influential people the Todd sisters were related to or had in their close circles. It was also a bit of a shock to see how vindictive Mary was and the threats that she made against her son after she moved into Elizabeth's home from the hospital.It has been a while since I have read a Chiaverini novel. I really enjoyed the Elm Creek series and a few of the novels she wrote (for example the one about the underground railroad), but I stopped reading them after some of the books that were set during the Civil War because I found it hard to make it through the descriptions of what was going on in the war. The writing was very dry and almost just a regurgitation of facts. I'm happy to say that in this novel, the chapters about the war were set against how the war affected sisters directly and it was much easier to read.Overall, Chiaverini does an excellent job of bringing the story to life. And letting the sisters live on through her words.