Review: A refreshing look at the Lincolns and their children
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 28, 2013
This Kindle Single is well worth the 99 cents that it costs to get a look into the Lincoln White House, thanks to author Cecelia Holland.  Much of her research and information came from the writing of Julia Taft who spent a lot of time with Mrs. Lincoln while the two Taft boys played with Willie and Tad Lincoln.  The Lincoln boys had no one else to play with and Washington was a strange place, so play dates were set up for the children and Julia Taft accompanied her brothers to the White House to keep an eye on them as they played.  As their rough play is described, especially Tad's, it's a wonder the White House is standing today.  In those days, anyone off the street could walk into the White House.There are some very nice passages that paint a picture of Lincoln as a father playing with his children and even leaving an important meeting to cater to his child.  He played rough and tumble on the floor with them and loved his children very much.  Julie Taft was a special child to Lincoln, too, because he admired her and her proper ways, and she became a very good friend to Mrs. Lincoln since they both loved fashion and the niceties of life in the upper class.  Lincoln would have liked to have a daughter like Julie.This Single also tells what awful stress the President was under as the Civil War got under way and tragedy struck at home.  About 19 pages in length, I picked up a good bit of information that I hadn't read before and thoroughly enjoyed reading this.  It is well-written and the information about Julie's diary is fascinating.Highly recommended for history readers and those interested in the Lincoln White House.