Liam Neeson At Work On Lincoln Film

Liam Neeson has at long last begun work on Stephen Spielberg's upcoming movie about Abraham Lincoln. Post-production efforts on another Spielberg film have finished, permitting work on the Lincoln film to resume. No date has been set for the release of the Lincoln film. Unfortunately, it will not be this year during the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.

Neeson has the physical appearance to portray Lincoln. Like Lincoln, Neeson is 6'4" in height and has a slender build. In order to prepare for the role, Neeson prepared by reading 22 Lincoln books and even viewed various Lincoln documents while in Washington, D.C. It's obvious that Neeson is taking his role seriously, which is very encouraging.

Playing the role of Mary Todd Lincoln will be Sally Field, who vaguely resembles Mrs. Lincoln, at least in Mary's youth.

Both Field and Neeson are extraordinary actors and of course Spielberg is in a class of his own. Let's hope that the quality of the film, whenever it's released, reflects the brilliance of the people who will craft it.

Mary Todd Lincoln And Her Madness

One of the more important books associated with Abraham Lincoln to be published recently is The Madness Of Mary Lincoln, written by Jason Emerson, a young independent historian currently based in Virginia. As you might guess, the book deals with the mental problems Mrs. Lincoln exhibited during her lifetime, especially after the death of her husband. Eventually, these problems led to her commitment to a mental institution by her sole surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln.

On June 14, 2008 I had the great pleasure of attending a lecture and book signing given by its author at the National First Ladies' Library in my hometown of Canton, Ohio. Since I live only 5 miles from the library, I would have been remiss to not attend. I'm glad I did!

During the lecture, Mr. Emerson told the fascinating story behind his discovery of 20 letters pertaining to Mary Todd Lincoln's mental problems, of which many were written by Mary herself. These letters were long thought to have been destroyed by the Lincoln family, either by Robert himself or by descendants. Instead, the letters were tucked away in a trunk owned by the son of Robert Lincoln's personal lawyer, where they lay unknown to historians for many decades. The lawyer's families are to be commended for donating these documents to the Library of Congress, where they are available to anyone who wishes to read them. Mr. Emerson thoughtfully has included the text of each of these letters in his book.

Mr. Emerson also told the lecture audience how debate still goes on today over Robert Lincoln's actions in committing his mother to the mental hospital. Some believe he did so in order to keep his mother from spending his inheritance and that he was cold-hearted with her. But Mr. Emerson strongly believes that Robert did so in order to save his mother from herself. While she was in the asylum, Mary had privileges to come and go as she pleased for shopping and other excursions. She was apparently treated very well in the hospital. However, it's also true that for at least five years, Mary refused to have any relationship at all with her only surviving child.

He has come to the conclusion, along with the professional opinion of a psychiatrist, that Mrs. Lincoln suffered from bipolar disorder, formerly called "manic depression." He pointed out to the audience that almost anyone would be derailed by the deaths of 3 children plus being present when your spouse is murdered in cold blood. Emerson also told how his research indicated that at least 11 of Mrs. Lincoln's relatives suffered from some form of mental illness. And it seems that Abraham was the only person who could keep Mary relatively calm and "sane" throughout her life.

The lecture was very enjoyable and quite informative. I found Mr. Emerson to be engaging, witty, and open to questions and discussion about the topic at hand. The lecture was well worth the admission price of only $5.00. His next books are about Abraham Lincoln's invention for flatboats (for which Lincoln held a patent, the only president to do so), and a biography of Robert Todd Lincoln.

The Madness Of Mary Lincoln has won the 2007 Book Of The Year award from the Illinois State Historical Society. It has also been named to the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop's (Chicago) list of essential Lincoln books. You may find more information about Jason Emerson at his website. An excerpt of the Madness may be found here, courtesy of the Cleveland (Ohio) Civil War Roundtable.

I've not yet had the chance to read this book thanks to my recent vacation, but I look forward to doing so soon.

Modern Dance Commissioned For Lincoln Bicentennial

Abe Sits This One Out

According to the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, one of the latest projects planned for the celebration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth is a specially commissioned modern dance. The dance will be debuted at the famous Ravinia Festival north of Chicago, but there is no scheduled date. The man who will create the work, Bill T. Jones, is a Tony Award-winning choreographer. The work is to be a full-length dance which will encompass an entire evening.

Lincoln of course appreciated poetry, Shakespeare, and other fine writing. He attended the theater often and also took in traveling troupes of performers. Still, the creation of a dance is a bit ironic when the story about Lincoln asking Mary Todd to dance is recalled. He said something along the lines of "Miss Todd, I would like to dance with you in the worst way." Later on, Mary quipped "And he certainly did!".

Mary Todd Lincoln at The National First Ladies' Library and Museum

Abraham Lincoln scholars and researchers have long been almost as fascinated by his troubled relationship and marriage with Mary Todd Lincoln as much as by Lincoln himself. Innumerable books have been written about their marriage and a PBS documentary further investigated their relationship. And certainly, a large number of biographies have been written just about Mary Todd Lincoln as well.

An excellent resource for further understanding this complicated woman is the National First Ladies' Library and Museum located in my home city of Canton, Ohio. This National Historic Site was the home of Ida Saxton McKinley, the wife of the nation's 25th President, William McKinley. This Library/Museum is the only such site dedicated to research of every First Lady in our country's history from Martha Washington to Laura Bush. Each First Lady's basic biography is located on the website as well.

The Museum portion of the complex houses special exhibits, including gowns worn by the various First Ladies, photos, various letters and documents, etc. The Museum also hosts book signings by nationally recognized authors such as Cokie Roberts of ABC and NPR who appeared in 2005 to sign her book "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation."

Researchers should take advantage of the Mary Todd Lincoln bibliography compiled by the Library. The bibliography is an extremely comprehensive list of books, magazines, articles and other publications about her, and her marriage to Lincoln.

The complex was the brainchild of Mary Regula, the wife of Ralph Regula, who is the 16th Congressional District Representative to Washington, D.C. Some people, myself included, have commented that this Library and Museum is a shining example of congressional pork-barrel spending and a vanity project for Mrs. Regula. On the other hand, the complex does serve an important role for providing a greater understanding of the women who helped to shape the lives and presidencies of our nation's Chief Executives. It is well worth the visit.

Should Hillary Clinton win election to the presidency in 2008, I imagine the name will have to be changed to the National First Spouses' Library.

Canton, Ohio is located about 60 miles south of Cleveland. The city is also the home of the Professional Football Hall Of Fame. Drop by and visit both!