The Insanity File: The Case of Mary Todd Lincoln
NEELY, Mark E., Jr., and McMURTRY, R. Gerald
Language: English
Published by Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, 1993
- Signed
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Main Street Fine Books & Mss, ABAA, Galena, IL, U.S.A.Main Street Fine Books & Mss, ABAA
AbeBooks seller since March 11, 1998
Condition: Used
£ 58.27
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Small 4to. Stiff tan wrappers. xiv, 203pp. Frontispiece, illustrations. Very good. Faintest of wear to outer wrappers only, with price sticker scuff at upper right of rear wrapper, else tight and internally fine. Tight and nice later softbound printing of this fascinating 1986 study, one of the most provocative and intriguing Mary Todd Lincoln titles ever. This copy bears a meaty letter from each of the distinguished co-authors as well. Tipped to inside front wrapper is a 2-page Autograph Letter Signed from McMurtry, 8¼" X 11", Fort Wayne, IN, 14 November 1973. Addressed to noted Lincoln scholar Arnold F. Gates (1914-93) Near fine. Two original folds. On pale blue "Lincoln Herald" letterhead, McMurtry chats with this publication's book review editor about a new title (The Stars and the Stripes) that "should be reviewed in the Lincoln Herald because of its Lincoln and Civil War content. Shall I send it to you for review or should I designate some one to review it? You could do an excellent job of it. I will await your decision. It is such a fabulous book I would like to retain the copy for myself. However, I will await your decision. P.S. I might get Mark Neely to review it for the Lincoln Herald." Boldly penned in blue ballpoint and signed simply "Gerald." Tipped to facing front flyleaf is a Typed Note Signed from Neely, 1p, 8½" X 11", Fort Wayne, IN, 22 August 1979. Addressed to Ralph G. Newman (1912-98, founder of Chicago's noted Abraham Lincoln Book Shop). Very good. Two original folds. On pictorial letterhead of The Louis A. Warren Lincoln Library and Museum citing him as director, Neely chats about a couple of Lincoln tidbits, then adds, "Gerald McMurtry and I have been looking for an update of Angle's Shelf [of Lincoln Books] which he recalls your having done some time back. Does such a thing exist? Where might we find it?" Signed simply "Mark" in black ballpoint. McMurtry (1906-88) was the famed director of the Department of Lincolniana at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate; Neely (born 1944) is a popular, prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of Lincoln and the Civil War.…
Seller Inventory # 48123
- Title
- The Insanity File: The Case of Mary Todd Lincoln
- Author
- NEELY, Mark E., Jr., and McMURTRY, R. Gerald
- Publisher
- Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale
- Publication year
- 1993
- Signed
- Signed by Author(s)
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0809318954
- ISBN 13
- 9780809318957
- Seller catalogs
- Abraham Lincoln, Books, Medical
In 1875 Robert Todd Lincoln caused his mother, Mary Todd Lincoln, to be committed to an insane asylum. Based on newly discovered manuscript materials, this book seeks to explain how and why.
In these documents--marked by Robert Todd Lincoln as the "MTL Insanity File"--exists the only definitive record of the tragic story of Mary Todd Lincoln's insanity trial. The book that results from these letters and documents addresses several areas of controversy in the life of the widow of Abraham Lincoln: the extent of her illness, the fairness of her trial, and the motives of those who had her committed for treatment. Related issues include the status of women under the law as well as the legal and medical treatment of insanity.
Speculating on the reasons for her mental condition, the authors note that Mrs. Lincoln suffered an extraordinary amount of tragedy in a relatively few years. Three of her four sons died very young, and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. After the death of her son Willie she maintained a darkly rigorous mourning for nearly three years, prompting the president to warn her that excessive woe might force him to send her to "that large white house on the hill yonder," the government hospital for the insane.
Mrs. Lincoln also suffered anxiety about money, charting an exceptionally erratic financial course. She had spent lavishly during her husband's presidency and at his death found herself deeply in debt. She had purchased trunkfuls of drapes to hang over phantom windows. 84 pairs of kid gloves in less than a month, and $3,200 worth of jewelry in the three months preceding Lincoln's assassination. She followed the same erratic course for the rest of her life, creating in herself a tremendous anxiety. She occasionally feared that people were trying to kill her, and in 1873 she told her doctor that an Indian spirit was removing wires from her eyes and bones from her cheeks.
Her son assembled an army of lawyers and medical experts who would swear in court that Mrs. Lincoln was insane. The jury found her insane and in need of treatment in an asylum. Whether the verdict was correct or not, the trial made Mary Lincoln desperate. Within hours of the verdict she would attempt suicide. In a few months she would contemplate murder. Since then every aspect of the trial has been criticized--from the defense attorney to the laws in force at the time. Neely and McMurtry deal with the trial, the commitment of Mary Todd Lincoln, her release, and her second trial. An appendix features letters and fragments by Mrs. Lincoln from the "Insanity File." The book is illustrated by 25 photographs.
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Main Street Fine Books & Mss, ABAA
Galena, IL, U.S.A.
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Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts has been buying and selling quality books, autographs and ephemera since 1991. We specialize in general antiquarian, first editions, signed books and autographs and documents. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), Midwest Antiquarian Booksellers Association (MWABA), Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC) and The Manuscript Society.
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