The Lincolns in the White House: Four Years That Shattered a FamilyFrom the day of Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, a nation divided by savage conflict confronted the new president. But what many don't know was that within the White House's walls, the Lincoln's family would soon find itself suffering turmoil mirroring that of the nation he led. Savagely criticized for her extravagance by the American public and widely distrusted because of her southern roots, first lady Mary Lincoln's increasing instability would deeply strain her marriage and eventually end in her mental collapse. The couple was devastated when eleven-year-old Willie died in the White House of typhoid fever. Tad, the youngest son, remained the family joy despite his physical impairments. Though their son Robert's success at Harvard made his parents proud, his relationship with them was troubled and would result in a painful estrangement, one which would eventually permanently separate him from his mother. The president's assassination brutally crushed Mary's always-fragile spirits. After leaving the White House and following Tad's early death, the former first lady retreated into increasing eccentricity and seclusion until her death in 1882. A moving and poignant portrait of the family life of America's greatest president. |
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Contents
Lincolns office connected by a private passageway to Family Living Room | 1 |
Reception Room | 2 |
Part of West Hall | 3 |
Office stairs | 4 |
Bedroom for Nicolay and | 5 |
Hays office | 6 |
West Hall | 7 |
Nicolays office | 8 |
Central Hall for familys | 21 |
private living quarters | 26 |
TWO Settling In | 31 |
19 | 60 |
THREE Calamity in War Calamity at Home | 74 |
FOUR Death in the White House | 109 |
FIVE Shadows Everywhere | 136 |
SIX Victories | 171 |
Family Living Room | 9 |
Mary Lincolns bedroom | 10 |
1113 Lincolns bedroomdressing room suite | 11 |
Grand stairs and landing | 14 |
Tads bedroom | 15 |
Willies Prince of Wales bedroom | 16 |
Service stairs | 17 |
1820 Pair of bedrooms divided by a corridor from whose window Lincoln spoke | 18 |
SEVEN An Unfinished Work | 212 |
5 | 215 |
EPILOGUE The Flying Dutchman | 254 |
NOTES | 267 |
| 273 | |
| 279 | |
Other editions - View all
The Lincolns in the White House: Four Years That Shattered a Family Jerrold M. Packard Limited preview - 2006 |
The Lincolns in the White House: Four Years That Shattered a Family Jerrold M. Packard Limited preview - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Lincolns in the White House: Four Years That Shattered a Family |
| Author | Jerrold M. Packard |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Macmillan, 2005 |
| ISBN | 0312313020, 9780312313029 |
| Length | 290 pages |
| Subjects | › › Biography & Autobiography / Presidents & Heads of State History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877) |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |