April 19, 1865 funeral procession

[Eva Elisabeth]

I believe we somewhere (can't find where...) have discussed Mary's non-attenndance of her husband's and her sons' funerals, but I think the following point has never been mentioned - that Victorian ladies simply were not to attend funerals.

[L Verge]

Agreed, Eva. And I just learned it at the Surratt conference when speaker Kim Bauer mentioned it as part of his talk on Mary Todd Lincoln after the death of her husband.

[Anita]

Eva, thanks for pointing out funeral customs during Mary Lincoln's time. One often reads that Mary didn't attend Lincoln's or her sons' funerals without explaining that during the Victorian era women were expected to stay home and grieve privately. It was believed that women couldn't control their emotions and outbursts of grief would disrupt the service.

[L Verge]

Kim Bauer made excellent points about Mary's life after the assassination being controlled by the will of men around her -- from where her husband would be buried, her pension pleas, her son's attitude, etc.

[Susan Higginbotham]

Does Kim Bauer have a book out? Eager to read it if he does.

[RJNorton]

Hi Susan. Donna McCreary once posted that she and Kim Bauer were co-authoring a book entitled "The Myths, Mysteries, and Mayhem of Mary Lincoln." I do not know the status of that book, but maybe Donna will see this post and update us.

[Gene C]

What a great title. The more I read about Mary, the more I like her and recognize how difficult her years following Lincoln's first election were.

[Eva Elisabeth]

What a great title. The more I read about Mary, the more I like her and recognize how difficult her years following Lincoln's first election were.

I felt the same. I think she suffered the most from being the odd one out and misunderstood in that era. Nowadays she would fit in much better.

[L Verge]

Does Kim Bauer have a book out? Eager to read it if he does.

Not as of our conference because we would have had it on our sales table. He also did not mention a book when submitting his bio to us months ago.

[LincolnToddFan]

Hi Susan. Donna McCreary once posted that she and Kim Bauer were co-authoring a book entitled "The Myths, Mysteries, and Mayhem of Mary Lincoln." I do not know the status of that book, but maybe Donna will see this post and update us.

I knew it wasn't my imagination! I do remember reading about it here on this very Forum. I hope the project hasn't been shelved..I was very much looking forward to reading that book.

[RJNorton]

Hi Toia. I just sent a note to Donna about this; hopefully we will know soon.

[LincolnToddFan]

YAYYY!! Thanks Roger!

[Donna McCreary]

Ah, "The Myths, Mysteries, and Mayhem of Mary Lincoln" has not been shelved . . . but it will be renamed. Not one person on the editorial board would sign off on that particular title. The book is a Q&A book -- and answers some of the more difficult and even odd questions about Mary's life. Of course we will attack the insanity question -- but there is more, so much more, to Mary's life than the year of questionable sanity. If you look at some of my posted questions here, you will see that some of them are questions from the book -- questions about wax figures, dolls, the body snatchers, and several others.
I am not sure what the exact release date will be. Kim and I are busy writing, and everything must be finished by May 15th. There is not much time left, and I still have piles of research to sort.
My current project consists of brief bios of friends and family members. I am open to suggestions as to who makes the "friends' list." Perhaps we should start a new thread regarding the topic.
Oh, the title (which I agree with Gene -- it is wonderful) will not go to waste. I plan to use it for something -- maybe the next book.

[L Verge]

I seriously doubt the creativity of many folks who have control over the titles of books. There has to be a play of words to attract the attention of modern readers. I remember receiving a phone call a few years back from Anthony Pitch. He had planned on They Have Killed Papa Dead for years. His publisher wanted to name it something else. He wanted my opinion, and I told him to stand firm. The market would be Lincoln and Lincoln assassination people, and they would recognize the significance of the title without having to even pick up the book. Anthony won.

For the longest time, authors could not even choose their book's cover. James Swanson asked his sons for their opinion on a cover for Bloody Crimes, and they immediately said there had to be red in it and also knives. One of my staff members used to work for Borders Books, and she said that red was definitely an eye-catcher, no matter what the subject. The covers with bold colors and graphics were usually placed face forward on shelves as you walked into the store to deliberately catch your eye.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Description
View of steam locomotive "Old Nashville" at the Willson Street Station in Cleveland, Ohio, April 28, 1865. This was just one of many locomotives used by various railroad to pull the Lincoln funeral train. This locomotive was owned by the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad and pulled the funeral train from Cleveland to Columbus. This photograph is the best image of any of the various funeral train locomotives and so all models of the "official" Lincoln funeral train rely on this engine.

Western Reserve Historical Society