Louis Bayard is a New York Times Notable Book author and has been shortlisted for both the Edgar and Dagger awards for his historical thrillers, which include The Pale Blue Eye and Mr. Timothy. His most recent novel was the critically acclaimed young-adult title Lucky Strikes. He lives in Washington, DC, and teaches at George Washington University. Visit him online at www.louisbayard.com.
An Amazon Best of the Month for April
A May Indie Next Pick "An exquisite historical reimagining of a
love acknowledged--and a longing denied."
--People (Book of the Week)
"Bayard has written eight other novels, and he's extraordinarily
gifted at blending provocative fiction with history. The details of
[Mary Todd and Lincoln's] courtship are lovely to read, but
Lincoln's time with Speed is much more riveting. At book's end,
who's courting Lincoln remains an enticing mystery."
--Washington Post "A house divided against itself cannot stand,
Abraham Lincoln warned us. But a book divided against itself stands
up quite nicely in Louis Bayard's wonderful Courting Mr. Lincoln .
. . Suspenseful and revealing . . . It's a tribute to Bayard's
entertaining novel that he has imagined a love story for Abraham
and Mary Todd Lincoln that embroiders the truth but that also fits
perfectly with what we know about these very famous figures."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Courting Mr. Lincoln is a fascinating
(and partly fictional) exploration of not only the 16th president,
but those enamored by him."
--Advocate.com "A rich, fascinating and romantic union of fact and
imagination about young Lincoln, the woman he would marry and his
beloved best friend. Bayard's compelling take on this question is
not academic, nor is it a polemic; Courting Mr. Lincoln is
intimate, warm and, above all, compassionate. Bayard is concerned
with the possibilities of the human heart, and he presents an
enigmatic Lincoln seen--and loved--from two other points of a
romantic triangle . . . the greatest triumph of Courting Mr.
Lincoln is how effectively Bayard creates suspense, even when we
know how the story ends. Love is love is love, after all, and he
invests us deeply in the moving journey of three extraordinary
people."
--Newsday "Bayard's masterful command of language enchants and
thrills; his meticulous, almost otherworldly, understanding of his
historical subject awes and inspires . . . Courting Mr. Lincoln is
Bayard at his absolute best. He offers more reasons to love one of
the most admired presidents in U.S. history and proves yet again
why he himself is one of the nation's greatest literary gems."
--Shelf Awareness "Thoroughly researched and thrillingly plotted .
. . Filled with rich historical detail and compulsively readable,
Courting Mr. Lincoln is a story of a best friend, a future wife,
and the political legend that they came together to create, each
leaving an indelible mark on the man that would one day become
president. Fans of historical fiction will be up late into the
night to uncover the next chapter of this fascinating time in
history."
--New York Journal of Books "Bayard does an exceptional job of
keeping readers engrossed as he weaves fact and fiction in this
intriguing tale of intimacy between Lincoln and his two closest
confidantes."
--BookPage "A wildly clever imagining of Honest Abe's complicated
personal life. In Courting Mr. Lincoln, Louis Bayard, an
accomplished historical novelist, breathes life into the massive
cultural icon whom we know so well, but really don't have much of a
clue about. Read the book. You'll thank me."
--Washington Independent Review of Books "A miracle; an exquisite
story exquisitely told. This glorious novel, big-hearted and
clear-eyed, features the most uncanny incarnation of our sixteenth
president since Daniel Day-Lewis strode onscreen in Lincoln. If you
love Jane Austen, or Hamilton, or fiction--of any era--that
transports and transforms in equal measure, look no further.
'Whatever you are, be a good one, ' Lincoln urged. Courting Mr.
Lincoln is a good one--as good as storytelling gets."
--A.J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window "Was
Abraham Lincoln gay? The question, not a new one, is delicately and
touchingly presented in Courting Mr. Lincoln . . . tenderly
told."
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Delightful . . . Readers will delight in
Joshua and Mary, who provide unique reflections on a man who is
deeply troubled about the path his country is on . . .This charming
love story delicately reveals the emotional roller coaster of two
inexperienced adults traversing the unknown realm of love while
trying to meet the demands and expectations of society."
--Publishers Weekly "With a masterful grasp of its characters, this
moving reflection on Lincoln is an elegiac, illuminating portrait
of love."
--Foreword Reviews "[An] acute and passionate portrait . . . in
Bayard's skilled hands, three complicated people groping toward a
new phase in their lives is all the plot you need."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Bayard has made a career of
working in different genres and styles, and his writing has always
been stellar throughout. Bayard's descriptions of the characters
and the dialogue he creates are delightful. What Bayard has
accomplished is to take popular figures in U.S. history and not
only make them more real--if that is possible --but humanize them
to a level where we all can relate to them. Courting Mr. Lincoln is
engaging because Bayard has such a fine way with words. The result
is a triumph of a novel and an unforgettable read that is a true
page turner."
--Bookreporter.com "With a richly imagined setting and complex
characters . . . this [is] a worthy addition to the
fiction-about-Lincoln bookshelf."
--Booklist "In this sparkling tale of strategy and desire, Louis
Bayard renders the origin story of the Lincoln-Todd marriage with a
wit worthy of Jane Austen and the keen political insight of the
best presidential biographers. When it comes to bringing our most
revered historical figures to vivid life--and returning to them
their full humanity--Louis Bayard has no peer. He is, quite simply,
a master of the storytelling art."
--Liza Mundy, bestselling author of Code Girls "An exquisite novel
about how Lincoln's courtship of the brilliant, complicated Mary
Todd intersected with his long and very (possibly VERY) close
friendship with Joshua Speed. Courting Mr. Lincoln is so subtle and
human and heartbreaking, infused with sly wit. I loved every word
of it, and the end is note-perfect. My heart broke for both Joshua
and Mary, and at the same time, they were lenses that let me think
about my favorite president in new ways."
--Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Never Have
I Ever "Courting Mr. Lincoln gives us a young Abe Lincoln as we've
never imagined him. It's a moving portrait, told with cutting wit
and intimately drawn detail, of three friends struggling to find
their own identities against the weight of social
expectations."
--Thomas Mullen, author of Darktown and Lightning Men "In exquisite
detail and luminous prose, Louis Bayard has taken what might have
been a footnote in the history of Abraham Lincoln and made it the
story. It is as if there was a secret door in Lincoln's life and
Bayard has opened it and walked inside. Suddenly all the pieces
fit. Utterly fascinating and brilliantly convincing, this is a
terrific book that people will be talking about for a long
time."
--Mary Morris, author of Gateway to the Moon "Superb, witty,
gorgeously written. For the length of this dazzling, subversive
novel, I was plunged so deeply into the sitting rooms and muddy
streets of mid-nineteenth-century Springfield, Illinois, that I too
had fallen in love with and had my heart broken by the awkward,
young lawyer from Kentucky. Courting Mr. Lincoln is an essential
read: it makes the past a human place."
--Christopher Bollen, author of The Destroyers "At its heart,
Courting Mr. Lincoln is an intimate portrayal of this complicated
and compassionate romantic triangle. By the end of the novel, who's
courting Lincoln remains a delicious mystery."
--Shepherd Express (Milwaukee) "Bayard recounts their unlikely
romance with the wit and keen observation of a latter-day Austen,
and the pain and poignancy of tragedy waiting in the wings . . .
this is a terrific novel, vivid in detail to satisfy lovers of
historical fiction, and offering a taste of heaven to the
literary."
--Historical Novels Review
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