I Mary

[Gene C]

Written by Ruth Painter Randall, published in 1959, with 230 pages of text.

The dust jacket indicates it is written for young readers (teen age). I think young to adult readers will enjoy and learn from it. Mrs. Randall was the wife of Lincoln historian James Randall and assisted him with his research and writings.

I have read a couple of books about Mary Lincoln and what makes this one stand out is Mrs Randall's approach to her subject. It's not a collection of details about Mary, it is written as though Mrs Randall knew Mary and is telling the story of her life, as her close friend. She mentions Mary's fears, insecurities about money, her dependence on Mr. Lincoln, feelings of loneliness, mental and health issue, as an understanding and caring friend. She shares through Mary's letters, how much Mary loved Mr. Lincoln, and how she was devastated by his death, Willie's and Tad's. She also tells about Mary as a young girl, her romance with Mr. Lincoln, and her deep, never ending love for him. This helps to see Mary as a real person.

Mrs. Randall takes a dim view of Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon. She blames him for a considerable amount of Mary's mental anguish. She attributes much of this to his drinking problems and she gives a few descriptive examples. She writes as someone who knows the pain an alcoholic can cause to others. She has several pages about Herndon, his alcoholism and writes "... he was an ill-ballanced, flighty person, whose statements were often based on his own imagination and could not be trusted." (p 212) That was one of her milder comments

I enjoyed the book, and recommend it to anyone interested in Mary Lincoln. It is not a detailed book, but after reading it you will feel like you have a better understanding and know what Mary Lincoln was like as a real person. Unfortunately, there is no bibliography or footnotes. It is easy and enjoyable to read with good sized print, and I think has stood the test of time.

It is not available on Internet Archives yet.
Available at Amazon and other book dealers, I purchased my copy in good condition (with some underlining) for $15
https://www.amazon.com/Mary-biography-ma...oks&sr=1-5