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Rating: 
Summary: Kay Dupont has done a great job with Mary Todd
Review: As a life long student of Abraham Lincoln, I am aware of the fact that Mary Todd was an intelligent, well educated and polished lady. Kay Dupont has done a superb job of making Mary a human being - like the rest of us - while not losing any of her strengths or good points. Yes, she is still strong and a bit stubborn, but what a lady she was. This book is an easy read and one that any student of Lincoln should add to his/her library.
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Summary: Enjoyable, Educational, Engaging
Review: As the saying goes, "behind every successful man is a woman." And many adjectives have been used to describe those women and their ways. They could probably all apply to Mary Todd Lincoln, the woman behind the 16th President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln has been the subject of a considerable amount of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction.Loving Mr. Lincoln is beautifully written, captivating historical fiction. The reader is asked to believe that Mary Todd Lincoln's diaries were discovered in an old trunk purchased at a flea market. The tale is certainly feasible, grabbing the reader's attention immediately. What follows is a representation of what Mary Todd's diary might have been from December 13, 1939 to the day her husband was shot at Ford's Theatre, April 15, 1865. In between, the reader will find page after fascinating page of dated diary entry records that seem awfully real. As in any well-written historical fiction, I couldn't tell you for sure if what I was reading was actually written by Mary Lincoln. Frankly, the more I read, the less I cared about who wrote the words, the alleged diarist or Kay duPont. I was hooked. The experience of viewing history through the eyes of this controversial figure was intriguing. I learned a lot, gained a deeper appreciation for the human side of history, and saw the Lincoln legend from a new perspective. The author has obviously done her homework. After you read this book, you'll be telling others how much you enjoyed it. You'll probably agree with the Georgia Writers Association that Loving Mr. Lincoln deserves the recognition they bestowed as the winner of their Fiction Award. Prepare to be engaged from the first page!
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Summary: History Comes to Life
Review: I am a life long student of Lincoln. There are few books on Mary Todd and those that are out there are essentially critical of her. Kay Dupont has - with this novel - written a book that makes Mary come alive and makes her a real person with the pluses and minuses we all possess. Most of us who have studied Lincoln are aware that he married a well educated, strong willed and politically oriented lady. This book puts a good deal of that background and Mary Todd's role in Mr. Lincoln's rise throught the ranks to the peak as a President, into perpsective. Great read!
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Summary: The Characters Jump Off the Page!
Review: I am an avid reader and I am always halfway through one book or another. When I purchased Kay duPont's book, my plan was to start it sooner or later, after I had completed a few other books. Well, I happened to open the book and read a few of Mary Todd Lincoln's musings - and I was hooked! I am progressing through the book one or two chapters per evening and loving every minute of it! I find that Kay's use of language creates pictures in my mind; I can hear the swish of Mary's ballgown, smell the food cooking or see the Lincoln's son playing on the lawn. I can feel Mary's mood swings and her loneliness as her beloved Abraham leaves for yet another business trip. Both the characters have come alive for me. In my opinion, M. Kay duPont should have turned her talents to historical fiction years ago - the reading world has long needed her literary talents.
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Summary: great book
Review: I loved this book! It made the Lincolns come alive for me, and I felt so many times as though I were in her shoes. The descriptions are great, and make you feel as though you are right there. Wonderful appreciation and understanding of Mary and her life with her husband. Too many people dismiss her as a crazy woman who only caused trouble for her husband; they never look beyond the rumors and stories and realize that there was immense love and strength behind it all. Lincoln was too smart to marry a woman he did not love. A must-have for Lincoln fans and for anyone interested in learning more about him as a father, husband, lover, and friend.
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Summary: Interesting and Different
Review: Kay writes this book more for the general reader, but reading it from the Historian point of view is not altogether lost either. There are a few misquoted facts, but the good thing about this was the author's willingness to point this out in her introduction and explain why she took the route she choose. This single aspect does not take away from the whole of the story. The only disapointment I found personally were the lacking of expansions for some of the entries. She began to weave an interesting tale; and then it ended quickly, leaving more questions than answers for myself, and I would have loved to have seen more details since Kay obviously knew about Mary Todd, and wanted to give her character justice. Taken together, this formula worked successfully, and I do hope to see other novels like this in the future. -Lincoln09
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Summary: Loving Mr. Lincoln: the personal diaries of MT Lincoln
Review: This book is long overdue. There's so much written about Abraham and so little written about Mary. Throughout history, Mary has been maligned for her excessive shopping, manic-depressive behavior and frigidity. This book puts her behavior in perspective...and reveals quite a robust and lustful sexual liasion with Abe. Equally important is the insight gained about Abe, his many physical disabilities and his reluantancy to run for political office. A well-woven story.
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Summary: Fact or Fiction? Who would know.
Review: Who knew what a romantic and visionary Mary Todd Lincoln was.
Whether fact or fiction M. Kay duPont gives us a powerful and at times "delicious" insights of a (much) misunderstood era of American history. duPont gives the reader an easy to read story of a very complex, strong and driven woman. One who became a power, if not the power, behind a President.
Mary Todd Lincoln comes alive in this book.... you will grow to admire her, want to comfort her in your arms... while scolding her at the same time. duPont gives you insightful compassions of her struggles and tragic personal losses. The reader will come to appreciate these struggles (she) and our country went through during this era of American history. Most of all the reader may come to realize that had Mary Todd been a woman of the 21st Century, (perhaps) Mr. Lincoln would be known as the man behind her. Good luck with future publications, wish you all the success you deserve. Paula L.Eichner
111 Holly Hill
Sunset, SC 29685
Rating:
Summary: Fact or Fiction? Who would know.
Review: Who knew what a romantic and visionary Mary Todd Lincoln was.
Whether fact or fiction M. Kay duPont gives us a powerful and at times "delicious" insights of a (much) misunderstood era of American history. duPont gives the reader an easy to read story of a very complex, strong and driven woman. One who became a power, if not the power, behind a President.
Mary Todd Lincoln comes alive in this book.... you will grow to admire her, want to comfort her in your arms... while scolding her at the same time. duPont gives you insightful compassions of her struggles and tragic personal losses. The reader will come to appreciate these struggles (she) and our country went through during this era of American history. Most of all the reader may come to realize that had Mary Todd been a woman of the 21st Century, (perhaps) Mr. Lincoln would be known as the man behind her. Good luck with future publications, wish you all the success you deserve. Paula L.Eichner
111 Holly Hill
Sunset, SC 29685
Rating:
Summary: Age-Old Questions About Mary Lincoln Answered!
Review: Wonderful! Great word pictures and descriptions. I've always wondered why Mary Lincoln did the things she did, and now I know. Any Lincoln fan should read this book immediately.
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