Courting Mr. Lincoln

When Mary Todd meets Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in the winter of 1840 he is on no one's shortlist to be president. Rough and reticent he's a country lawyer lacking money and manners living above a dry goods shop but with a gift for oratory. Mary a quick self-possessed debutante with a tireless interest in debates and elections at first finds him an enigma. "I can only hope " she tells his roommate the handsome charming Joshua Speed "that his waters being so very still they also run deep." It's not long though before she sees the Lincoln that Speed knows: a man who despite his awkwardness is amiable and profound with a gentle wit to match his genius and a respect for her keen political mind. But as her relationship with Lincoln deepens she must confront his inseparable friendship with Speed who has taught his roommate how to dance dress and navigate the polite society of Springfield. Told in the alternating voices of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed and rich with historical detail Courting Mr. Lincoln creates a sympathetic and complex portrait of Mary unlike any that has come before; a moving portrayal of the deep and very real connection between the two men; and most of all an evocation of the unformed man who would grow into one of the nation's most beloved presidents.