Booknotes: Loving Lincoln

New Arrival:

• Loving Lincoln: A Personal History of the Women Who Shaped Lincoln's Life and Legacy by Stacy Lynn (SIU Press, 2025).

Stacy Lynn's Loving Lincoln "features thirty historical and personal essays, and within them, the stories of more than ninety women, each with their own mini biographies in an appendix. Among them are Lincoln’s friends, clients, and extended family, as well as writers, artists, and—blurring the lines between history and memoir—author Stacy Lynn herself."

Lynn believes that too many Lincoln scholars and historians have "overlooked Lincoln’s love for and friendship with women." By contrast, her own study "lifts up their interactions with Lincoln." Loving Lincoln centers on the great many women who helped mold Lincoln's "moral character" throughout his life. More from the description: "Lincoln understood the importance of the women in his life, and he put women’s wellbeing at the center of his personal, professional, and political ethos. He was loved by two strong pioneer mothers as well as sisters, friends, nieces, friends’ daughters, and his wife. He served women clients during his long legal career. As president, he met with women, dedicating time to hear their concerns despite the burdens of office. He replied to letters women wrote him. He believed in their capabilities and revolutionized the role of women in the workforce."

After Lincoln's 1865 assassination, women also played a role in shaping his remembrance in the long term. More: "Mary Lincoln ensured his burial among friends, artist Vinnie Ream sculpted his statue in the US Capitol, and biographer Ida Tarbell provided a nuanced portrayal of his life. Harriet Monroe and Ruth Painter Randall further cemented his place in literature and history."

In sum, "Lynn’s unique blending of history, biography, and her own story reveals the ways in which an emotional connection to the historical figures one studies opens the door to richer human and historical understanding."