What about the novel surprised you? Did you learn anything new about the time period?

What about the novel surprised you? Did you learn anything new about the time period?

I must say the rioting in protest to Abraham Lincoln's presidency was a stark eye opener for me, particularly because it mirrors what has happened in this country over the last few years. In a 1948 speech to the British House of Commons, Winston Churchill said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Before reading the novel, I did not know that a race riot occurred in the town where Lincoln lived, raised his family and built his career. The Civil War was fought to end slavery but sadly, as this and other historical events showed and are still showing, it was the beginning of a long battle for civil rights.

The most surprising element of the novel for me was the fact that it focused more on events and people outside The House of Lincoln than I expected it might. It didn't occur to me that the book would look at the community and society in general at the time as much as it did. I took the title to refer to the government and the private home and family of Lincoln. I think I was sort of blindsided going in and was pleasantly surprised.
I think the race riots and elements of the war were the most interesting. To learn that Mary Lincoln's sister was the wife of a Confederate general was certainly a shock.

I did not know Mary Todd Lincoln sister was married to a Confederate solder and the rioting.

The House of Lincoln is really Springfield, IL. Susiej summarizes many of my thoughts in her comments above. And, I agree with Susiej and Dorothy about Mary Lincoln's sister being a Confederate's wife was surprising. I didn't know that most of Mary Lincoln's half-siblings were Confederate sympathizers. Maybe that's why I've previously read, "there's a spy in the White House."

Susiej does summarize my thoughts also plus the fact that Mary's sister is married to a Confederate which must have caused conflict and some hardship within the family. Also, though in the background one can see the role of women in society especially how Lincoln listened to Mary if she spoke up.

I didn't realize there was so much support for slavery in Illinois, for one thing. I was also surprised about the laws that were so incredibly discriminatory against Blacks in many Northern states. And I also didn't know a thing about the Portuguese immigration at that time - that might have been the biggest surprise.

For me, the strength of the novel was its exploration of the time period covered in it. I learned many things. I did not know about the race riot in Springfield Illinois in 1908 and that it was the impetus for the founding of the NAACP. I also did not know about the asylum-seekers from Madeira, Portugal. I found the portrayals of Lincoln and Mary particularly affecting and moving. The book gave me a fascinating insight into the period and people, and I finished it with a much richer sense of both.

The reason for the Civil War has so long been taught that it was all about slavery. The anger that Lincoln changed the narrative to that from preserving the Union is not something you see that often.

I was surprised about the Portuguese immigration to Illinois due to religious persecution. That was a real eye opener.
Also, as others have noted, I was surprised that Mary Lincoln's sister was married to a Confederate general and that others in her family were confederate. That dramatizes and personalizes the divisiveness and family ruptures caused by the Civil War.
I was also surprised and saddened that a race riot took place in Springfield and that race riots happened in several other northern cities at that time. Truly shameful.

I began this book knowing that I knew very little about Illinois in this specific time period so I was prepared to hear much that I didn’t know. This includes what others have mentioned such as the race riot, the Portuguese immigration and the Lincoln’s links to the Confederacy.

What really surprised me was the positive depiction of Mary Todd considering what history has typically presented her as. I assume the ‘truth’ is probably somewhere in the middle, as it usually is, but it was nice to see a more positive slant on her life.

I also was surprised that Mary Lincoln's sister was married to a confederate and that so many of her siblings were confederate minded. This had to have been a very difficult situation for both Mary and Abraham Lincoln. I also did not know about the immigration of the people from Madeira and how they were persecuted over religious beliefs.

I did not realize Lincoln had proposed voluntary colonization in Africa. And like others, I was surprised that many of Mary Lincoln's siblings were Confederates. Nor did I know of the Illinois race riots.

I did not know anything about the American Colonization Society or the colonization in Liberia. Two wrongs do not make a right.