Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters
I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, but I’ve never been a fan of Civil War era books. They tend to be drab and overly dramatic with under developed characters. However, Jennifer Chiaverini has won me over. From the moment you begin Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters, you are immediately immersed in the sisters pre and post Civil War world, and you find yourself not wanting to leave.
As the book begins it immediately pulls you in as the oldest Todd sister, Elizabeth, receives news that (a little over a decade after President Lincoln’s assassination) First Lady, Mary Lincoln, has been legally ruled insane and will henceforth be committed to an insane asylum.
From there, the story unfolds, and the reader follows President Lincoln’s rise and Mary Lincoln’s fall as told through the somewhat biased and at times unkind view of Mary Lincoln’s closest sisters, Elizabeth, Frances, Ann and Emilie. We follow each sister’s point of view (switching between past/antebellum era and present/reconstruction era), and learn how Mary has come to estrange herself from each of her sisters (through her own faults) and how each sister is trying to determine the truth of Mary’s sanity. Is she exaggerating her mental illness for her own malicious devices and attention or is Mary truly suffering a “mental malady?”
As each chapter flowed smoothly back and forth between sisters, I found myself not wanting to leave each sister’s world due to how engrossed in their lives I had become, and wishing their characters had more time to speak and tell the finer details of their own lives (maybe a book on each sister is in the works?). I loved how Chiaverini fully developed the characters of each sister, and their personalities leapt off the page to the point you found yourself either arguing with their decisions or agreeing with their opinions.
Once again, I was amazed at the research that went into this novel to accurately depict the characters, times and events. Chiaverini’s has kept the truth and the rich historical detail of the times. Not to mention the attention Chiaverini has brought to mental illness.
Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
