by Lois Romano
First published 2026
Mary Todd Lincoln stands as one of America's most misunderstood First Ladies. Born into Kentucky's Southern aristocracy, she developed sharp political instincts and declared as a child she would marry a president. She helped propel Abraham Lincoln to power, but the Civil War and family tragedies shattered her dreams of triumph. Mary supported Union soldiers, visited military camps, and aided freed slaves while battling personal demons. Her ostentatious dress, public grief, and uncontrolled emotions made powerful enemies who shaped her reputation. After Lincoln's assassination, the nation abandoned her. Her own family, government officials, and doctors failed to understand her mental illness. Former Washington Post journalist Lois Romano uses hundreds of archives, letters, and memoirs to reconstruct Mary's true story. This biography reveals a brilliant but flawed woman who showed remarkable resilience through devastating loss and helped create one of America's greatest presidents.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, historical-figure, unreliable-narrator
Setting: America, Kentucky, Union
Period: 19th-Century, Civil War
480 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: mental-illness, suicide