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A review by gwalt118
Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini
4.0
I stumbled across this book, thanks to my local librarian. I was looking for a different historical fiction novel that wasn't available, but my librarian didn't want me to leave empty handed. I told her I enjoyed historical fiction that focused on women and I was looking for a different era than WWII (because I already have a couple of those on my TBR list). She asked me if I had heard of Jennifer Chiaverini. I mentioned that I was looking forward to Chiaverini's Resistance Women, but I hadn't read anything else by her. I perused Chiaverini's books for a bit before landing on this one for a seemingly silly reason. As soon as I read the first phrase of the jacket flap - "Kate Chase Sprague was born in in 1840 in Cincinnati, Ohio" - I was sold. Why? Well, because I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio too and I had never heard of Kate Chase Sprague. I had heard of her father, Salmon P. Chase, because the Northern Kentucky University Law School is named after him. Nevertheless, I didn't know much about him. I was superbly intrigued to read this book.
I enjoyed it immensely. It's dense with history, beginning in 1858 and ending in 1865. These are the years of the Civil War, and I found it fascinating to examine the historical and political events of this time period through the eyes of the Chase family, notably Kate. In some ways, Kate is Mrs. Lincoln's rival, as the title suggests. However, the book is not about that rivalry as much as the jacket cover led me to believe. It's really about the choices that the Chase family made during the Civil War era - positive and negative, beneficial and destructive, unnoticed and extremely notable. I enjoyed learning how and why Salmon P. Chase never became president, although many believe he would have been a great one.
Kate chose to marry William Sprague, who was known as the "Boy Governor" of Rhode Island. Chiaverini did a wonderful job writing the tumultuous development of their relationship, and I was reminded how differently affection, love, and the concept of marriage was cultivated 160 years ago. Their relationship is not a prominent piece of the story until the last third of the novel, but it certainly affects the remainder of Kate's life, as we learn in the Epilogue.
I relished in the story of Kate, a woman who was certainly born before her time and who society forced to attempt to live out her ambitions through the work of men. At one point, Kate's sister Nettie jokes that she should run for Congress. I chuckled because one could certainly argue that she could have been a great one. For a woman who lived at a time when women could not even vote, Kate Chase Sprague had a large impact on the political workings of the time period, chiefly through assisting the work of her father.
This book is long and parts of it are dense with history, but I never once thought about abandoning it. It is a wonderfully fascinating story of a woman who we don't hear about in history books, but one who is certainly important. On an upcoming visit to Cincinnati, I will be certain to visit the grave of Kate Chase Sprague, who is buried with her mother and father in the beautifully spacious and serene Spring Grove Cemetery.
I enjoyed it immensely. It's dense with history, beginning in 1858 and ending in 1865. These are the years of the Civil War, and I found it fascinating to examine the historical and political events of this time period through the eyes of the Chase family, notably Kate. In some ways, Kate is Mrs. Lincoln's rival, as the title suggests. However, the book is not about that rivalry as much as the jacket cover led me to believe. It's really about the choices that the Chase family made during the Civil War era - positive and negative, beneficial and destructive, unnoticed and extremely notable. I enjoyed learning how and why Salmon P. Chase never became president, although many believe he would have been a great one.
Kate chose to marry William Sprague, who was known as the "Boy Governor" of Rhode Island. Chiaverini did a wonderful job writing the tumultuous development of their relationship, and I was reminded how differently affection, love, and the concept of marriage was cultivated 160 years ago. Their relationship is not a prominent piece of the story until the last third of the novel, but it certainly affects the remainder of Kate's life, as we learn in the Epilogue.
I relished in the story of Kate, a woman who was certainly born before her time and who society forced to attempt to live out her ambitions through the work of men. At one point, Kate's sister Nettie jokes that she should run for Congress. I chuckled because one could certainly argue that she could have been a great one. For a woman who lived at a time when women could not even vote, Kate Chase Sprague had a large impact on the political workings of the time period, chiefly through assisting the work of her father.
This book is long and parts of it are dense with history, but I never once thought about abandoning it. It is a wonderfully fascinating story of a woman who we don't hear about in history books, but one who is certainly important. On an upcoming visit to Cincinnati, I will be certain to visit the grave of Kate Chase Sprague, who is buried with her mother and father in the beautifully spacious and serene Spring Grove Cemetery.