Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini - 419 pages

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival is the third of Chiaverini's nonofficial "Women of the Civil War" series (Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker and The Spymistress being the others).  In this novel, the woman followed during the war years is Miss Kate Chase, daughter of Salmon P. Chase who first served as Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  As Mr. Chase was a widower, Kate, his eldest daughter, served as his confidant and lady of the house.  Also detailed is Kate's friendship with Lincoln's secretary, John Hay, and her turbulent courtship and marriage to Rhode Island governor turned senator William Sprague.

This book was okay, but it "felt" more like a soap opera and I think Chiaverini made Kate overly wise, as Kate was only 17-22 over the book's course.

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