The Madness of Mary Lincoln by Jason Emerson

The Madness of Mary Lincoln Reviews

• 
  Bill

  The backstory alone to how this book came about is fascinating enough, as Emerson describes how he came to find Mary Lincoln’s long-lost “insanity letters.” The cache of letters, to and from Mary during and after her commitment to a sanitarium in 1875, turned up in a proverbial forgotten-trunk-in-a-dusty-old-attic while Emerson was researching the biography he later published on Robert Todd Lincoln. So he stopped what he was doing to write this book, which sheds new light on Mary’s state of mind and the circumstances surrounding her commitment and eventual release. 
  
  The book incorporates the letters into a larger story about this often-misunderstood period of Mary’s life, in the context of her full life story. In the process, it comes the closest of any book I’ve read or know of, to providing a fair, well-argued, unvarnished but compassionate look at the state of Mary’s mental health and its apparent steady deterioration throughout her life.
  
  Emerson begins the book with the question that immediately comes to mind when most people think about Mary Lincoln: “Was she really crazy?” As a followup question, did her son Robert act maliciously or altruistically in having her committed? 
  
  On his way to providing answers, Emerson provides a brief biography that acknowledges the difficulties Mary faced throughout her life, how they may have contributed to her being “difficult,” and how that eventually developed into something much more serious. 
  
  Even the mere mention of Mary being difficult, let alone questioning her sanity, is enough to raise the hackles of Mary’s supporters, who believe she’s been unfairly maligned. But Emerson doesn’t appear to have an agenda here - he’s not twisting facts to suit his story or to make Mary look bad. He tells her story without judgment. At her peak, she was "intelligent, witty, vivacious and cultured,” he acknowledges, “but she also was spoiled, petulant, selfish, nervous, and excitable." There’s no reason that both of these can’t be true.
  
  Her husband Abraham was "a calming influence" - but without him, she began a downward spiral. "She had lost her position, social standing, influence, money, husband, and, to some extent, her (last living) son Robert, who was now a married man," Emerson writes. Her increasing haughtiness, and eventually her over-the-top self-pity, alienated her friends, which only worsened her situation. In time, she began suffering delusions, paranoia and irrationality. 
  
  Of course, "was Mary Lincoln crazy?” is far too simplistic a question - it’s not a cut-and-dry, either-or thing. Emerson believes she was bipolar; many others have made alternate diagnoses. But that she suffered from some form of mental illness hardly seems debatable, except among her most ardent supporters or apologists. "Mary's physical and emotional health deteriorated to the point that calling her simply 'eccentric' was no longer viable,” Emerson observes.
  
  Robert seemingly agonized over what to do as his mother became more erratic. Emerson shows how Robert cast a wide net to consult friends and experts, concerned that she was a danger to herself and that he would be morally responsible if he did nothing and something happened to her as a result. The legal process required to commit someone to an asylum against their will - particularly if one was a woman - was not a pretty one back then. But it was no less fair to Mary than it was to anyone else in a similar situation at the time, and Emerson argues there’s no reason to blame Robert for being heartless or malicious for initiating the process.
  
  Many of the “lost letters” consist of Mary’s correspondence, while institutionalized, with friends James and Myra Bradwell, who conspired with her to get her released. If anyone can be said to be the villains of Emerson’s story, it’s not Mary or Robert, but the Bradwells, who tried to manipulate Mary’s way out after only four months, and used the press to make their case publicly, decrying her "imprisonment... behind gates and bars," when the asylum was actually more like a country estate than anything resembling a prison.
  
  So it’s curious, actually, that Emerson then immediately dismisses the Bradwells' influence, concluding that Robert himself independently reached the decision to release Mary to her sister in Springfield. He "was not the type of man to be pressured by others,” Emerson writes. “He was intelligent, self-assured, well-connected, and... 'had his father's fine farseeing judgment.'"
  
  Unfortunately, Mary didn’t get any better after her brief institutionalization, essentially vindicating Robert’s decision to institutionalize her in the first place. Emerson writes how a vengeful Mary went so far as to threaten to have Robert killed - or perhaps kill him herself - before they finally reconciled years later, shortly before her death. 
  
  There were really no winners in this story. Emerson is inclined to sympathize with Robert, who he argues handled the situation about as compassionately as one could expect from a Victorian-era gentleman carrying out his familial responsibilities with a stiff upper lip. As for Mary, she “deserves empathy, and not a little pity” for “her horribly traumatic life and her psychiatric illness."
  
  As for the lost letters - not to minimize Emerson’s discovery in any way, but there are not necessarily any earth-shattering revelations in them for the layman reader. The long-standing mystery of what was in them proved to be somewhat more intriguing to historians than their actual content, though they do provide important insights into Mary’s situation and her state of mind from her own point of view. And they provide a strong foundation for this larger study of the “insanity episode.”
  
  Emerson didn’t set out to write a full Mary Lincoln biography. He didn’t initially intend to write this book at all. I'd love if he did someday write a full biography though, since he seems to understand Mary Lincoln better than most. As brief and accidental a book as this is, it does an excellent job illuminating this particular period of Mary’s life, and providing a new lens through which to consider her earlier life. Too many biographers either try to excuse and whitewash her troubles and bad behavior, or vilify her for them. But neither approach allows us to truly understand her, or how her mental state affected her actions. Emerson considers the evidence, offers well-reasoned arguments, and in the end, provides a much fuller picture of a troubled life than any of her loudest advocates or most strident detractors do. 
• 
  Heidi Mann

  I read The Madness of Mary Lincoln after visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, IL, earlier this summer. While there, I learned, for the first time in my 43 years, about Mrs. Lincoln's apparent struggles with mental illness. I was incredulous! How could it be that I had come up through the U.S. public school system in the 1970s and '80s, learned much, certainly, about President Lincoln, but never been told a thing about this aspect of Mary Todd Lincoln's life?? And how could it be that I lived in Springfield for four full years in the late 1990s, working not one block from the Lincoln Home and Visitors Center, yet not once heard any mention of Mary's so-called "insanity" (in the vernacular of the 1860s-70s and, alas, decades not far in our past)?? How is this possible??? Can you tell I felt a bit cheated???
  
  I suppose it has something to do with the prestige our society has long placed on men (especially men in formal leadership roles) as opposed to women (especially women who were "only" homemakers and mothers). I used to think such disparity was long gone -- at least dating back to my mother's girlhood and young adulthood -- but I continue to see that it still persists, even in some places, even in the so-called "first world," to this day. Similarly, a stigma against mental illness is only in the most recent time frame starting to be erased.
  
  Whatever the reason, I felt desperate to learn more about "the woman behind the man" -- the First Lady who was married to the 16th president of the United States. So I asked a gift shop clerk at the Lincoln Museum what books they offered about Mrs. Lincoln. I chose this one based on the clerk's recommendation, its fairly recent publication date (2007), and the concerted attempt of the author to take a balanced look at the matter and try to sort out whether Mary was indeed, by today's standards, mentally ill.
  
  I believe Jason Emerson succeeded in demonstrating quite conclusively that Mary Lincoln very likely suffered from bipolar disorder. He did so not only through tons of his own research, but also by including a present-day psychiatrist's reflections as a substantial appendix to his own findings. What I most appreciated was that Emerson addressed the issue -- and the whole of Mrs. Lincoln's life -- with compassion and understanding, though not with saccharine pathos. The book strikes a sound balance between being objective and being personal. I appreciated being able to put myself in Mary's shoes somewhat as she did a lot of single-parenting while Abraham traveled for work, and as she suffered the deaths of two sons, then the murder of her husband, and not long after, the death of the third of her four boys. I cannot imagine the sorrow she went through, and it is no wonder to me at all that someone already predisposed to mental illness (which, research indicates, ran in her family) would be pushed over the edge by so many tragic losses.
• 
  Marjorie Clayman

  This book's title is a little misleading. It's not so much about Mary's mental illness as it is about Robert Todd Lincoln, which is great because he doesn't really get much attention. The book details how he was in an impossible situation with his mother. Her actions and the public attention they drew must have been kind of like how we view the Kardashians today. Everyone was waiting for poor crazy Mary to make another mistake. As the man of his family, Robert had to try to keep her in check, not only for her own sake and his but also in the face of his father's intense legacy. If you aren't interested in historical psychological diagnoses or the Lincolns this book will be pretty boring for you. If you are interested in one or the other (or both) you'll find it interesting. It's a good quick read.
• 
  Becky Loader

  I have read a lot of books on Mary Lincoln, and I just finished Emerson's book on Robert Todd Lincoln. Emerson is a formidable editor, and as this book deals with the section of Mary Lincoln's life when her sanity was being questioned, I feel that he really emphasizes his theory that she was bi-polar. As with anything we examine from history, we must rely on what was written (and possibly edited)to draw conclusions. I am not convinced irrevocably about the bi-polar diagnosis. Mary Lincoln experienced the trauma of having her husband killed while she was sitting next to him. She also lost 3 children and suffered from excruciating migraines for her entire life. Emerson does provide excellent notes about his quotations and sources. There is much to digest in this book.
• 
  Jean

  Somewhat dry and dense--190 pages plus endnotes took me 4 days to read--but interesting. I noticed that Mary Lincoln's reaction to her husband's assassination was quite similar to Victoria's reaction to the death of Prince Albert. We would certainly consider it excessive--as did many contemporaries--and at least borderline psychotic, but I would postulate that among well-bred, well-off women of the time it was not so far out of the ordinary. The cult of sensitivity and sentimentality was at its height and fed the fire of genuine grief. That said, it seems clear that Mary Lincoln was mentally ill, and Bi-Polar Disorder seems to fit the bill, as well as can be determined at this distance in time. On the other hand, if she was sane and was put in an asylum--however superior an asylum it may have been--her (rational) reaction to that might reasonably have been as frantic and over-the-top as it in fact was. I also don't doubt that chauvinism played a part in her treatment by the men in her life. One of the more interesting revelations here--and one that makes the mental illness diagnosis much more likely--is how many of her relatives showed signs of mental illness as well. Emerson, however, only talks about her predecessors, cousins, and a niece. I'll be interested to read the book I have on hold about Lincoln's descendants to see if any of them showed similar signs (as I recollect from our visit to Hildene, at least one of them was described as "eccentric").
• 
  Donna

  This is an important work because the author has access to new letters which shed a clearer light on the mental health of Mary Lincoln and the "insanity" trial and confinement. While I agree with the thoughts of the consulting psychiatrist in Appendix 3 "should we even attempt to diagnose someone out of the past?", I think the evidence collected here is strong enough to make the case for Mary's mental health issues.
• 
  Melinda

  I have such mixed feelings for this book. That said, it is well researched, well written and I learned from it which is pretty awesome because I thought I knew most of the known information about this period of Mary Todd Lincoln’s life.
  
  My obsession with the Lincolns began when I was 12 or so. My older sister had a history project she was working on and brought home several books about him from the library. I felt an instant and very strong affinity with Mary Todd in particular. I’ve been fascinated ever since. I would totally have been a Presidential stalker had I lived at the same time. But you know, in an innocent, non-creepy, mostly sane way. 🤣
  
  Because of this strong attraction toward Mary Todd that I’ve always felt, as I learned more about her, I believed that history hadn’t treated her fairly and that she clearly suffered from Bipolar Disorder. I’m not a psychologist, but in my early 20’s I was misdiagnosed as bipolar and I spent a very long time learning about it. I recognized a lot of the markers within her described personality. I also always believed that her son, Robert, had not considered her grief and chronic pain enough and treated her badly by having her declared insane and institutionalized. And this is where my mixed feelings about this book come up.
  
  The book could also have been titled “Robert Todd Lincoln was a Misunderstood Saint and His Mother Bat-Shit Crazy” I honestly felt like the majority of the text was aimed at defending RTL and vilifying MTL rather than exploring her illness and detailing her experience. I was frustrated by this, but I can’t say for sure if my frustration was caused by the fact that the book was different than I expected it to be based upon the title and blurb, if it was because the facts as presented were untrue based upon what I already knew, or if I was merely upset because a long held belief of mine was being challenged and I am pigheaded. It left me feeling unsettled.
  
  I am, however, leaving this book with a better understanding of RTL and willing to consider that my previous point of view regarding his character and actions was likely short sighted and that MTL was far more ill than I realized. I was challenged and felt like I learned and grew as a student and writer of history, so despite my mixed feelings, I’m giving this 5 stars. I feel like it accomplishes exactly what a book of this type is meant to do. It educates, challenges and makes you think. Definitely worth investing the time if this is a topic that interests you.
• 
  Tara

  I have always had an interest in the Lincoln's. I actually wrote a paper in college about the Lincolns' marriage, so some of the information in this book was a little familiar to me. On a whole, Mr. Emerson definitely has a soft spot for Robert Lincoln, which is ok, but it makes it difficult to be objective when you can tell that the author is obviously somewhat biased toward Robert Lincoln and is painting him in a different light than history somewhat has in regards to his mother's insanity trial. Is this fair? Probably not ... but it is what it is. And to be completely honest, Robert Lincoln probably has gotten a bad rap over the years for setting in motion having his mother declared insane. That being said, Mr. Emerson definitely makes a strong case and provides plenty of good evidence to support his claim of Mary Lincoln's insanity. I only really knew the bare minimum of her "insanity," so it was interesting to see a modern medical diagnosis (Bipolar Disorder) be put forth as a distinct possibility to the reason for her obvious mental issues. I didn't find this book to be at all dry and I took lots of notes as I read. It's been years since I really read a non-fiction book with a somewhat critical eye, so I think this book could be pretty readable for everyone. A good read that provides lots of good (and newish) insights into Mary Lincoln and what she went through in her later years in life.
• 
  Peggy

  This book was very interesting. I had always heard that mary Lincoln had mental problems. The author speculates through letters found recently that Mary was bi-poplar. She seemed to be to mostly be in the dpressive side of the disease most of the time. She could be warm and inviting, but was many times eccentric; buying myriads of things she didn't need and having a terrible fear of fire.
  
  Part of the book is about her insanity trial, which lasted three hours and found her needing to be sent to a sanitorium for treatment. She blamed her only living son, Robert, for a lot of her troubles, but he seemed to do the correct thing by helping her before she hurt herself or fell in with the wrong people and spent all her money.
  
  Many of her friends believed that Lincoln's death and the deaths of 3 of her 4 sons threw her over the edge. This was not a bad assumption. She bore a lot more than most people. But, she seemed to always have been a little odd her whole life, it seems to me.
  
  
• 
  Kati

  This is a very good book about Mary Todd Lincoln's likely mental illness, before as well as during and after her institutionalization. Emerson's writing is clear and easy for a layman to read, without getting bogged down in academia. He does a good job of describing not only the events, but also their historical context to help the reader with a casual interest understand how actions were perceived in their own time. I do wish he'd gone into more detail on why he was rejecting some of the other medical hypotheses, such as a potential personality disorder or syphilis, but in fairness a book has a limited amount of space. He also includes copies of his previously unavailable primary sources, and a short piece from the psychologist he worked with in writing this book explaining the rational behind a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis.
  
  In short, it's a good, approachable, interesting study of a controversial subject in Lincoln history. Definitely recommend for those with an interest in history.
• 
  Karen

  I saw the author of this book on C-Span's BookTV. He was giving a presentation about this book at last year's Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I promptly checked this book out from the library and signed up for this year's Lincoln Forum. In 2005, the author discovered a series of letters that were believed to have been lost. They were letters between Mary Todd Lincoln and her friends, James and Myra Bradwell, who were instrumental in getting Mary Lincoln released from a mental institution. She had been committed to the institution by her son, Robert Lincoln. The book was full of revelations to me. First, it addressed the subject of Mary Todd Lincoln's mental illness without making her either a hero or a villain. Second, it presented a sympathetic treatment of Robert Lincoln. And, third, it captured the drama surrounding the discovery of these long lost letters, which were found in the possession of descendants of Robert Lincoln's lawyer.
• 
  Hannah

  I knew nothing about the Lincoln family and through reading this book became so intrigued by Mary Lincoln, her insanity trial, and public perception of this first lady. It's especially poignant in light of today's celebrity-obsessed culture - hello, madness of Britney Spears! What I most enjoyed was the illumination of exactly what might have been ailing this person, with the advances of modern medicine... however, at the end of the last page, I had to realize that anyone who lost her parents and three sons in a short amount of time, and was holding the hand of her husband while he was murdered, whether predisposed or not, would be very lucky to keep it together.
  
  
  
• 
  Tracy

  Emerson is a wonderful researcher and a clear writer. This book makes MTL's pattern of mental illness perfectly clear, leaving me with no doubt the poor thing had bipolar disorder. That, in addition to the multiple tragic losses in her life, make her story almost unbearable. My only concern with this book is that it claims Emerson discovered an unknown trunk of documents and letters pertaining to the Lincoln's and Mary's insanity trial. It seems to me the man who owned them discovered them and realized their importance. Emerson read them, interpreted them, researched them, put them into context--absolutely. But he didn't discover them. Just sayin'.
  
• 
  Katherine

  The story of Mary Lincoln and the insanity trial she faced at the instigation of her surviving son is interesting but the style of the author made it difficult to plow through. The writing is dry and textbook like and so not terribly engaging. It was easy to put down and leave for other more interestingly written books. Nevertheless, because of the subject matter, and the fact that I've been to Springfield and the Lincoln home, as well at Robert's Vermont home, Hildene, I felt compelled to finish it.
• 
  Maryann Jorissen

  Scientifically explains how Ms. Lincoln suffered from what we know now to be bipolar disorder. She was unfortunate in so many ways. She had an illness in a time when few would have knowledge or sympathy for the signs/ symptoms. Instead her historical significance was diminished by the disparaging term "insanity". Within that backdrop, she suffered the loss of three of her four children. As though that wasn't enough, her beloved was shot while he was sitting by her side! The fact that Ms. Lincoln was viewed so unfavorably causes one to question ( yet again) the validity of popular opinion.
• 
  Carol Ann

  Poor Mary, poor Abraham, from prior study I knew that Mary Todd suffered from mania. This rather factual book deals with this mental illness, now called bi-polar, with sympathy and understanding. The death of three of her young sons compounded by the assassination of President Lincoln pushed her into madness. Her remaining son Robert was left to deal with his father's legacy, his mother's illness and life in the Victorian era was no piece of cake
  
  
• 
  Suzanna

  I picked this book up on a trip to Vermont with my Dad last summer. I've taken to reading books that are contextual to the places I travel. We visited the home of Robert Todd Lincoln and I was struck by how much I really didn't know about that family. This is a very well written historical account that is both fair and balanced.
• 
  Kbrew

  Fascinating study of a badly disturbed woman and her son's efforts to protect her from herself and those who would take advantage of her. It is also a look at the "Victorian" ideal of manliness- Respect for others, duty to the family was primary, however duty to friends, to the nation, were also important, failure to do so was cause for disgrace- Really, duty duty duty- Can you imagine!
• 
  Dawn Mateo

  Very well written and informative book. I like the fact that the author incorperated so many facts and quotes from MTL and the people she corrosponded with. The notes in the back were actually fascinating. I also enjoyed how the author seemed to interact with the reader by posing questions. Was she insane? No, I don't think so. Did she have mental issues? Oh hell yeah.
• 
  Kyrie

  It was very interesting. I had heard rumors that she was crazy, but hadn't really thought about it. The author came across missing letters from Mrs. Lincoln that give psychiatrists and historians a look at the woman's way of thinking. While I wouldn't call her "crazy", she sure could have benefitted from modern psychiatric help and/or counseling.
• 
  Michelle

  Loved this book. It is amazing to hear the story of such a strong woman. She had so many obstacles but managed to keep her head up high and kept her strong will. After reading this book, I went to visit Mary Todd Lincoln's home in KY. Everything that was in this book was verified during the tour of her home. Some people thought she was mad, but in truth, she was a survivor.
• 
  Tricia Scott

  I did not know much about Mary Todd Lincoln before this book. This book offers everything! Intrigue, historiography, suspense, scandal, mystery, and so much more for anyone wishing to know more about her life and why Mary Todd Lincoln behaved as she did and why her own son put they in a mental hospital. For me, I want to learn more about her life now. You'll love it!!
• 
  Kimberly

  I was riveted by this book! Emerson makes a very convincing argument that Mary was crazy, both before and after her years in the White House. Although this is non-fiction, the story is so exciting and interesting, that it reads like fiction.