In this sweeping analytical bibliography, Jason Emerson goes beyond the
few sources usually employed to contextualize Mary Lincoln's life and
thoroughly reexamines nearly every word ever written about her. In doing
so, this book becomes the prime authority on Mary Lincoln, points
researchers to key underused sources, reveals how views about her have
evolved over the years, and sets the stage for new questions and debates
about the themes and controversies that have defined her legacy.
Mary Lincoln for the Ages first articulates how reliance on limited
sources has greatly restricted our understanding of the subject,
evaluating their flaws and benefits and pointing out the shallowness of
using the same texts to study her life. Emerson then presents more than
four hundred bibliographical entries of nonfiction books and pamphlets,
scholarly and popular articles, journalism, literature, and juvenilia.
More than just listings of titles and publication dates, each entry
includes Emerson's deft analysis of these additional works on Mary
Lincoln that should be used--but rarely have been--to better understand
who she was during her life and why we see her as we do. The volume also
includes rarely used illustrations, including some that have never
before appeared in print.
A roadmap for a firmer, more complete grasp of Mary Lincoln's place in
the historical record, this is the first and only extensive, analytical
bibliography of the subject. In highlighting hundreds of overlooked
sources, Emerson changes the paradigm of Mary Lincoln's legacy.
