The First Lady and the Rebel

August 26, 2019
Higginbotham (Hanging Mary) memorably depicts the relationship between Mary Todd Lincoln and her sister, Emily Todd Helm, wife of a Confederate general, against the backdrop of the Civil War. As a young unmarried woman in 1839, Mary Todd travels from her home in Lexington, Ky., to live with her married sister, Elizabeth Edwards, in Springfield, Ill. While in Springfield, Mary meets Abraham Lincoln, the law partner of her cousin John Todd Stuart. Abraham is attracted to Mary’s intellect and her interest in politics, and though they break off their initial engagement when Abraham gets cold feet, they eventually marry in 1842. After Abraham becomes president, he offers a job to his brother-in-law, Hardin Helm, who is married to Mary’s younger sister, Emily. But Hardin declines the job and offers his services to Jefferson Davis. After both women’s husbands die in war-related incidents, their once close relationship is fractured by hatred for the enemy responsible for those deaths. Higginbotham does a great job portraying her characters with complexity and nuance, while also illuminating the circumstances of a war that tore families apart. Historical fiction enthusiasts will delight in this revealing view of the relationship between Union supporter Mary and her Southern-sympathizing sister.

September 1, 2019

The American Civil War tore apart friends and families, with brother fighting against brother--and sister against sister. Higginbotham's novel introduces Mary and Emily Todd as young girls in Kentucky; their family, like many others, keeps some slaves. The story quickly shifts to Springfield, the new capital of Illinois, where Mary, always of a political bent, finds the man she wants to marry--Abraham Lincoln. Emily also journeys to Springfield, but her heart lies closer to home, with a Mr. Helm. Though Lincoln and Helm have respect for each other, they, and therefore the sisters, are on opposite sides of the Great Conflict. The war shapes their lives and their private joys and tragedies as well as the public ones. Like Jennifer Chiaverini's Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, this work pays meticulous attention to historical detail while weaving an enthralling tale of the private life of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as the ups and downs of Mary's relationship with Emily. VERDICT This page-turner will please those who enjoy Civil War-era settings. This may also appeal to readers of Higginbotham's previous historicals (Margaret Pole: The Countess in the Tower), though they are set much earlier and for the most part in England.--Pamela O'Sullivan, Coll. at Brockport Lib., SUNY

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2019
When Mary Todd Lincoln moved into the White House, she left her sister Emily Todd Helm back in Kentucky. President Lincoln offered Emily's husband a position in Washington, but he chose the Confederate Army instead. The sisters' lives, described in alternating chapters, were radically different during the Civil War. Virtually homeless and with three children, Emily followed Helm from camp to camp, reading about Mary in the newspapers and, unaware of Mary's physical ailments, envying her sister's life. Mary worried constantly about Emily's uncertain future and, when Helm was killed, Lincoln arranged Emily's transit to Washington. But the brief visit left Mary dissatisfied. There were too many forbidden subjects?war, slavery, cotton?for comfort between the two. Mary's portrait is convincing and her influence is indisputable, but Emily's story sometimes gets lost in time jumps and wide-ranging changes in locale. Nevertheless, Higginbotham (Hanging Mary, 2016) is a meticulous researcher, and The First Lady and the Rebel reveals a tenuous, often fraught relationship, not uncommon between two sisters, that will fascinate her readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)