Mary Lincoln Extra Credit Questions

[Donna McCreary]

(11-08-2022 06:48 PM)mbgross Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 08:42 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(10-30-2022 04:00 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Bingo, Gene! IMO, Jason has attempted (in his books) to be reasonably balanced in his coverage of Mary. Not all good, not all bad. I did not think he would change. I was surprised to read that he now seems to be more in agreement with Burlingame's negativity toward Mary than he used to be.

Source of Jason Emerson's review: The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Fall, 2022.

Truth to be told I found his "The Madness of Mary Lincoln" totally as negative as Burlingame (pro-Robert, anti-Mary past century male attitude). The title alone speaks for itself.

I agree completely. The term "madness" was last used in the medical field as an acceptable term around 1825. It only added to the circus like freak show atmosphere, that has always, unfortunately, surrounded Mrs. Lincoln.

In fairness to authors everywhere, titles are often created by marketing teams and not the author. The title I had chosen for my most recent book, and the title that appears on the book's cover, are not similar. Well, they both do contain "Mary Lincoln."

I do not know if Jason chose to use the word "madness," but it does read like a marketing gimmick.