(11-20-2014 10:27 PM)Gene C Wrote:  This is a very interesting book.

I agree, Gene. The copy I have was published in 1932 by Alfred A. Knopf. I am afraid it is falling apart. I think this is an underrated book when it comes to really getting to know what made Mary tick. I believe it is the only book I own which has a sketch of the cottage the Lincolns lived in briefly after leaving the Globe Tavern and moving into the Lincoln Home.

The cause of Mary's death is described differently in various books. Here is what Dr. Evans wrote in his book:

"Dr. T. W. Dresser's death certificate read that she died from "paralysis." Generally speaking, the word "paralysis " is very loosely used. It might refer to any one of several kinds of apoplexy, to diabetic coma, to unconsciousness due to drugs or poisons, or to general paralysis of the insane, called paresis. Dr. Dresser clarified the certificate with the statement, given to William H. Herndon, that he meant apoplexy. There was no necropsy.

Mrs. Lincoln did not have general paresis, and her unconsciousness was not due to drugs or poisons. The description of her death, as given in the newspapers, is confirmatory of Dr. Dresser's opinion that the immediate cause of death was apoplexy, probably due to the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain.

There is considerable suspicion of diabetic coma, in some degree, during the last week of her life. Nor do the newspaper accounts of her last three days preclude the possibility that this was the immediate cause of her death. Apoplexy merely seems to be the better explanation. However, there is no contradiction between diabetes, and even diabetic coma, and apoplexy."

I think the W.A. Evans book is first-rate, even if it's a little too "clinical" for my taste. It's extremely thorough and balanced.

Roger, was Mary in a coma for three days? I thought I remember reading that she spent only the last day of her life in a coma?

Hi Toia. Yes, I think most books I have say one day. Jean Baker writes, "Six months later, on the afternoon of July 15, 1882, the dreaded anniversary of Tad's death, she collapsed in her bedroom at the Edwardses, and that night lapsed into a coma. In the early morning of July 16 she died of a stroke."

However, I have other books that say she passed away in the evening of July 16, not the morning. Dr. Wayne C. Temple writes, "On Friday, July 14, she arose from bed and walked across her room. On Saturday, the following day, she again walked with some assistance. But that evening at 9:00 P.M. she suffered a stroke of paralysis. Mary Lincoln could not speak, eat, nor move any part of her body. That day, the fifteenth, proved to be the anniversary of Tad's death at Chicago in 1871, and this fact, no doubt, increased her mental anguish. A member of the press learned on Sunday morning that Mary Lincoln was "semi-comatose." She was completely comatose for several hours, and then passed away at 8:15 P.M. July 16, 1882."

Thanks Roger, fascinating as usual. I agree with you. Just about all of MTL's biographers agree that she died in the evening, and that she smiled a little at the moment of death...a detail that I have always found most poignant.

Just finished "Mrs. Abraham Lincoln" by W.A Evans. I thought Evans did a wonderful job capturing the essence of Mary the person. He methodically looked at members of Mary's family tree from both behavioral characteristics and physical traits of ancestors. He carefully researched parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins documenting through the factual record: business acumen, drive, status in the community, political arena, personality traits, illnesses, marriage choices and more. He documented and footnoted his sources. He then looked at Mary's life by time segments starting with birth. In each segment the major events of her life are listed and then a Chapter follows linking these events to the developing personality. At the age where personality is fully formed Evans links personality to behavior both active and reactive. Evans doesn't try to justify nor condemn Mary's behavior. He provides a scientific way to understand Mary as a product of inherited traits and environmental influences including triggers that can change both behavior and body chemistry. Whats amazing is that he wrote the book in 1932. Today through advances in genetic studies we know that all traits depend on how heredity and environment interact to produce their effects.

Available on line for free.
https://archive.org/details/mrsabrahamlincol006929mbp

IMO, this book has stood the test of time. Thanks for such a well-written review, Anita.

A good analysis Anita, I have enjoyed that book too.
Anita found her copy on our Springfield tour.

(07-01-2019 06:06 AM)Gene C Wrote:  A good analysis Anita, I have enjoyed that book too.
Anita found her copy on our Springfield tour.

Thanks Gene.
One of the many highlights of the Springfield tour was visiting the bookstores. It made my day to find a first edition of the Evans book inscribed by him and then to purchase it from James Cornelius!