AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE

A portrait of “the sad story of the Lincolns’ domestic life,” which “has long been glossed over.”

Although neither of the couple’s stories is untold, Lincoln scholar Burlingame’s intense focus on their marriage may raise hackles despite generous documentation, citations, and footnotes. Few historians would argue that Mary Todd Lincoln was a gentle soul. All agree that she vigorously encouraged her husband’s political ambitions and treated his enemies as her own, but none deny that she was difficult, prone to “henpecking” and unpredictable behavior. Throughout her life, she exhibited mood swings that ranged from fierce rages to deep depression to bizarre public outbursts that have persuaded some scholars, Burlingame included, that she suffered from bipolar disorder. In her defense, many point out that the premature deaths of three of four sons devastated her, and she was at Lincoln’s side holding his hand when he was shot. Readers will be informed and disheartened as they read page after page of dismal reports from Lincoln’s Springfield neighbors and colleagues about Mary’s tantrums, which often drove him to spend the night in his office. One of Mary’s chronic complaints was her husband’s long absences, which were excessive, Burlingame explains, because he preferred to stay away. For years, he and other lawyers “rode the circuit” of central Illinois on business. All returned home during the weekends except Lincoln. Few scholars defend Mary’s behavior after Lincoln won the presidency, when she accepted bribes from corrupt office seekers and then forced an often reluctant Lincoln to appoint them. Burlingame implies that her unpopularity may have contributed to the death of her husband. Ulysses Grant was invited to Ford’s Theater, but his wife vetoed it because she did not want to sit in a theater box with Mary. Deploring Mary was the rule until two generations of diligent feminist scholarship corrected traditional male prejudices. As a result, she now receives more sympathetic treatment, so Burlingame’s portrait may strike readers as a throwback.

An entertaining though entirely unflattering biography that will certainly provoke debate.