Courting Mr. Lincoln (Thorndike Press Large Print Core Series)

Bayard, Louis

ISBN 10: 1432865110 ISBN 13: 9781432865115

Publisher: Thorndike Press Large Print, 2019

Synopsis

From the prizewinning author of Mr. Timothy and The Pale Blue Eye comes Courting Mr. Lincoln, the page-turning and surprising story of a young Abraham Lincoln and the two people who loved him best: a sparky, marriageable Mary Todd and Lincoln's best friend, Joshua Speed.

"A miracle; an exquisite story exquisitely told . . . If you love Jane Austen, or Hamilton, or fiction--of any era--that transports and transforms in equal measure, look no further." --A.J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
When Mary Todd meets Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in the winter of 1840, he is on no one's shortlist to be president. Rough and reticent, he's a country lawyer lacking money and manners, living above a dry goods shop, but with a gift for oratory. Mary, a quick, self-possessed debutante with a tireless interest in debates and elections, at first finds him an enigma. "I can only hope," she tells his roommate, the handsome, charming Joshua Speed, "that his waters being so very still, they also run deep."

It's not long, though, before she sees the Lincoln that Speed knows: a man who, despite his awkwardness, is amiable and profound, with a gentle wit to match his genius and a respect for her keen political mind. But as her relationship with Lincoln deepens, she must confront his inseparable friendship with Speed, who has taught his roommate how to dance, dress, and navigate the polite society of Springfield.

Told in the alternating voices of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed, and rich with historical detail, Courting Mr. Lincoln creates a sympathetic and complex portrait of Mary unlike any that has come before; a moving portrayal of the deep and very real connection between the two men; and most of all, an evocation of the unformed man who would grow into one of the nation's most beloved presidents.

Louis Bayard, a master storyteller at the height of his powers, delivers here a page-turning tale of love, longing, and forbidden possibilities.

About this title

About the Author

Louis Bayard is a New York Times Notable Book author and has been shortlisted for both the Edgar and Dagger awards for his historical thrillers, which include The Pale Blue Eye and Mr. Timothy. His most recent novel was the critically acclaimed young-adult title Lucky Strikes. He lives in Washington, DC, and teaches at George Washington University. Visit him online at www.louisbayard.com.

Review

"Delightful . . . Readers will delight in Joshua and Mary, who provide unique reflections on a man who is deeply troubled about the path his country is on . . .This charming love story delicately reveals the emotional roller coaster of two inexperienced adults traversing the unknown realm of love while trying to meet the demands and expectations of society."
--Publishers Weekly

"[An] acute and passionate portrait . . . in Bayard's skilled hands, three complicated people groping toward a new phase in their lives is all the plot you need."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A miracle; an exquisite story exquisitely told. This glorious novel, big-hearted and clear-eyed, features the most uncanny incarnation of our sixteenth president since Daniel Day-Lewis strode onscreen in Lincoln. If you love Jane Austen, or Hamilton, or fiction--of any era--that transports and transforms in equal measure, look no further. 'Whatever you are, be a good one, ' Lincoln urged. Courting Mr. Lincoln is a good one--as good as storytelling gets."
--A.J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"In this sparkling tale of strategy and desire, Louis Bayard renders the origin story of the Lincoln-Todd marriage with a wit worthy of Jane Austen and the keen political insight of the best presidential biographers. When it comes to bringing our most revered historical figures to vivid life--and returning to them their full humanity--Louis Bayard has no peer. He is, quite simply, a master of the storytelling art."
--Liza Mundy, bestselling author of Code Girls

"Courting Mr. Lincoln gives us a young Abe Lincoln as we've never imagined him. It's a moving portrait, told with cutting wit and intimately drawn detail, of three friends struggling to find their own identities against the weight of social expectations."
--Thomas Mullen, author of Darktown and Lightning Men

"In exquisite detail and luminous prose, Louis Bayard has taken what might have been a footnote in the history of Abraham Lincoln and made it the story. It is as if there was a secret door in Lincoln's life and Bayard has opened it and walked inside. Suddenly all the pieces fit. Utterly fascinating and brilliantly convincing, this is a terrific book that people will be talking about for a long time."
--Mary Morris, author of Gateway to the Moon

"Superb, witty, gorgeously written. For the length of this dazzling, subversive novel, I was plunged so deeply into the sitting rooms and muddy streets of mid-nineteenth-century Springfield, Illinois, that I too had fallen in love with and had my heart broken by the awkward, young lawyer from Kentucky. Courting Mr. Lincoln is an essential read: it makes the past a human place."
--Christopher Bollen, author of The Destroyers

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Press Large Print
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1432865110
• ISBN 13: 9781432865115
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 663