30 Books Before I'm 30: The Madness of Mary Lincoln

The Madness of Mary Lincoln by James Emerson

"Mary Lincoln was a woman who knew how to hold a grudge, or, as one historian aptly characterized her, she was always a 'good hater.'"

It's possible that I'm the only person on this planet who didn't realize that Mary Lincoln was nuts-o (that's a technical term), but she was declared insane by a jury of her peers following the assassination of her husband and death of her youngest child Tad.* Past biographers have theorized that Mary's oldest child Robert had her committed because she was too much of a burden and he wanted control of her money. There is certainly evidence of that, but Emerson found a series of letters to ML's friend (and the woman credited with getting ML released from Bellevue) Myra Bradwell. These letters are referred to as the "lost insanity letters" because, well, they were lost letters chronicling the years during and following her commitment. 

A few things appear to be true: Mary Lincoln had a lot of trauma in her life. Her mother died unexpectedly when she was seven, one son (Eddie) died in childhood, another son (Willie) died while they lived in the White House, and her last son (Tad) died following a ship ride from England to America-- not to mention the obvious fact that her husband was assassinated while she was sitting right next to him. If I had her as a client, I would be glad she was even getting out of bed in the morning. But it also seems clear that ML displayed Bipolar Disorder symptomology throughout her life. She was a hoarder, compulsive shopper, and easily angered. At one point she was traveling around (because she didn't stay too long in one place) with nearly 70 trunks of clothes she never wore, tons of curtain fabric she never used, and apparently a bunch of footstools (?). She was so angry at Robert, she demanded he return everything she ever gave him, including gifts and things he inherited with the death of his father. 

Things I Liked: The narrative was easy to follow and definitely interesting. After visiting DC last year and being in Ford's Theater and the Peterson house, the Lincoln history feels more real to me than before. Not being a Presidential Scholar, I didn't know anything about anything in the book aside from ML's obsession with spirituality and her sadness following the deaths of nearly her entire family. The research that went into this book appears exhaustive and apparently finding the lost insanity letters was a coup. 

Things I Didn't Like: It took me forever to read, which doesn't make sense because it's only 155 pages (not including appendices). I think it was because the pages are so big and the print is small. It's definitely not a page turner. 

This Book Would Be Good to Read: When you have a lot of time on your hands or if you don't mind reading the same book for awhile.

I Would Recommend this Book to: Someone interested in American history or real-life examples of mental health diagnoses.

I Would Also Recommend: National Geographic's documentary Inside the White House.


4 down, 26 to go!

*As an anecdotal story, Tad Lincoln is credited with starting the tradition of pardoning the Thanksgiving turkeys at the White House. Supposedly he made friends with one of the turkeys and was inconsolably upset at the idea that this turkey would soon be eaten for dinner. To placate him, Lincoln decided to pardon the turkey and the tradition was born.