Lois Romano, "An Inconvenient Widow"

Lois Romano, "An Inconvenient Widow"

From C-SPAN Bookshelf by C-SPAN

June 2, 2026 · 1h 9m

About this episode

Lois Romano discusses her book re-examining the legacy of Mary Todd Lincoln and the challenges she faced in her widowhood.

Lois Romano, formerly of the Washington Post, re-examines the legacy of Mary Todd Lincoln. In the promotion of the book, Simon & Schuster, the publisher, claims that Mrs. Lincoln "was failed at nearly every turn in her widowhood by her family, by her government, by medical professionals ill-equipped to diagnose her mental illness, and finally failed by history." In her prologue, Lois Romano writes: "After Lincoln died in 1865, there was no one to protect Mary. Since leaving the White House, she had been adrift and virtually homeless, restlessly moving from hotel to hotel, from city to city." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guest: Lois Romano

Topics covered

  • Mary Todd Lincoln
  • widowhood
  • mental illness
  • historical legacy
  • biography

Keywords

  • Mary Todd Lincoln
  • Lois Romano
  • widowhood
  • mental illness
  • historical legacy
  • Washington Post
  • Simon & Schuster

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Washington Post, Simon & Schuster

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