Jennifer Chiaverini returns to her most famous heroine in MRS. LINCOLN’S SISTERS. Just as she did in MRS. LINCOLN’S DRESSMAKER, the bestselling and beloved author invites readers into the compelling, grief-filled life of Mary Todd Lincoln. But she takes a different approach in this novel: Mary as seen through the eyes of her sisters, both when they are all children growing into women and later when news strikes that Mary has attempted suicide. Weaving together stories of love, loss and sisterhood, Chiaverini reminds us why no one can write Mary Todd Lincoln like she can.

At the start of MRS. LINCOLN’S SISTERS, we meet Elizabeth, Mary’s eldest sister, who has become estranged from Mary in recent years. So she is shocked when a reporter shows up at her door requesting a statement on the latest developments: Mary has been declared legally insane and is being committed to a mental institution. Though Elizabeth is familiar with Mary’s emotional highs and lows, she can’t believe that Mary has deteriorated so much that her son, Robert, saw fit to take legal and medical action. As the story continues to unfold, Mary tries to take her own life, and amid public outcry against the brazen, insane Mrs. Lincoln and her own medical and emotional traumas, Elizabeth begins to unite her sisters --- each feuding with Mary for a different reason --- to determine if she really is insane or is just a grief-filled woman desperate for a way out.

"Weaving together stories of love, loss and sisterhood, Chiaverini reminds us why no one can write Mary Todd Lincoln like she can.... Each [sister] is fully realized, painfully relatable and perfectly easy to love."

In alternating perspectives and timelines, Chiaverini introduces us to Frances, an erstwhile peacemaker who always has had a tense relationship with Mary; jealous Ann, the youngest of the original Todd brood; and Emilie, an adored half-sister with whom Mary was once very close. Each displays wildly different reactions to the news about Mary’s suicide attempt: Some, like Ann, believe that Mary is simply putting on a show for attention, while others, like Emilie, is desperate to uncover the truth and learn how she could have fallen to such despair and desperation. It quickly becomes clear that Mary Todd Lincoln was a complicated woman, beautiful and ambitious, but just as often vain and stubborn. Even more telling is how fractured the sisters’ lives have become, in part because of unrest over the Civil War, but also because of their own squabbles and disagreements.

Alternating the timeline a bit, Chiaverini jumps to the 1820s, the scene of Mary’s first parlay with grief: the loss of her beloved mother. As Mary, Elizabeth, Frances and Ann each grapple with the news and the subsequent changes in their family structure --- including a noble new stepmother --- Mary becomes a bit of a wild card. Gorgeous, charming and completely sure of herself, she annoys her siblings to no end with her promise that she will only marry a man worthy of the presidency and that she will live in the White House one day. As we all know, Mary’s vow comes with a dark side, for it was only Abraham Lincoln’s role as president that ultimately led to his brutal assassination. Writing with lots of heart and a careful eye for character details, Chiaverini effortlessly places readers in the mind of each woman, laying bare her hopes and dreams along with her fears and failings. From maternal Elizabeth to envious Ann, each sister emerges as her own woman, with all of them holding their own storylines and furthering the plot.

Returning to the year of Mary’s condemnation and suicide attempt, Chiaverini shows us how the sisters once again come together, revealing long-held but never-forgotten slights, betrayals and alliances. Some readers --- like this one --- may be surprised to learn that they were not always on the same side of major issues, including the Civil War and Lincoln’s belief that the slaves should be freed. In a journey that feels painfully timely, readers watch as the sisters fall apart and come together, always debating the need for freedom --- both for their slaves and for each other as women in a patriarchal society. Mary’s own path to freedom and escape runs parallel to Chiaverini’s retelling of the sisters’ lives during and following the Civil War, bringing both situations to the forefront of readers’ hearts and minds. Even when she is jumping between characters and time periods, Chiaverini manages to guide her audience along with little to no confusion.

Chiaverini is known for her ability to make history come alive, and her talents, much like in MRS. LINCOLN’S DRESSMAKER, are on full display as she chronicles the life of Mary Todd Lincoln. Every scene is richly detailed, every historical moment is fully explained, and every character feels current and believable. She infuses every scene with compassion and poignancy, and though she does not sugarcoat Mrs. Lincoln’s more questionable actions --- particularly when it comes to her treatment of her son --- she breathes such fresh life into her that you can understand every move, even if you do not agree with it. This is what makes MRS. LINCOLN’S SISTERS so innately powerful: Chiaverini knows her characters inside and out and loves them deeply, even when they are in the wrong.

Although this story is ostensibly about the famed First Lady, I loved getting to know her sisters, particularly Elizabeth and Emilie, and learning about how their lives unfolded as Mary became famous. Chiaverini clearly adores Mary Todd Lincoln, but her compassion extends easily to her sisters. Each woman is fully realized, painfully relatable and perfectly easy to love.