This is a thorough examination of the adult life of Kate Chase, daughter of Salmon P. Chase.  Salmon was the U.S. Treasury Secretary under Abraham Lincoln.  Kate was a rising socialite during this time and hoped to one day be First Lady herself; Kate was intensely involved in her father's political life and his run for the Presidency.  Much to the chagrin of Mary Todd Lincoln, many found Kate's life, fashion and political musings  far more interesting thus creating a long-standing rivalry.  

This was another outstanding woman in history who I was very glad to get to know more about.  However, this book seemed to me to read more like a biography and at times was a little difficult to get through.  Granted, Kate Chase was very involved in her father's politics and the story is set within the government at the time of the Civil War, so we are taken into the political decisions of the time.  I've never been one for all of that.  I actually found myself most interested in Kate's courtship and marriage to the 'Boy Governor' of Rhode Island, William Sprague.  His characterization within the book was engrossing, perhaps because he was an alcoholic or because of the secrets he kept, William came off as almost bi-polar. William and Kate's relationship was as gripping as watching a train wreck. I was also compelled to see how Mary Todd Lincoln was portrayed.  There are actually not many interactions between Kate and Mary since Mary avoided Kate at all costs, this disappointed me a little since I thought Mary would have a bit more of a role in the book.  However, Kate and her friends do call Mary 'Her Satanic Majesty' and other fun nicknames throughout.  

A good book to read if you want an in-depth portrayal of Kate Chase's life, but this was a little heavy for me and almost seemed as a slightly romanticized non-fiction. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.  

Kate Chase, known as the Belle of Washington in the civil war era, was as beautiful and charming as she was politically savvy. Her good humor and social graces earned her the friendship of many but Mrs. Lincoln perceived her social success as a threat. This rivalry was only one of the challenges she faced while managing her father's political career and her many suitors.

I went into this book with high expectations, having read several great reviews of the author's earlier books. I was immediately disappointed by the sparse prose and stiff dialogue. Although I could see someone living in the Civil War era speaking as formally as this book was written, combined with the third-person perspective, it left me feeling disconnected. Sometimes it seems as though the author is just trying to include all the details she could find out. She often mentions battles or people that she describes minimally and that don't add to the story.

The details she included could also be very interesting. The way people lived, the progress of the war, and the political process at the time all fascinated me. One detail of the times actually led to my biggest problem with this book. Kate feels guilty over letting a suitor kiss her. She acts completely subservient to the men in her life and is happy to devote her life to first her father's and then her husband's career. And when she ends up in an abusive relationship, she blames herself! All of this is in keeping with the times, but some indication from the author that this is unacceptable now would be necessary for me to recommend this book, especially to younger readers.

While the author mentions in the author note at the end that Kate eventually got a divorce, the book leaves her relationship story completely unresolved. The political plot is also fairly anticlimactic since we know that neither Kate's father nor her husband ever become president. At the end of the book, this left me unsure what the focus of the plot was supposed to be. Despite these negative comments, if you can accept the probably accurate but unfortunate representation of women's rights, this was a nice light read which gave an interesting glimpses of life during the Civil War. It's not the finest historical fiction I've read, but still might be worth picking up if you have an interest in the time period.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

I first read about and became aware of Kate Chase Sprague when I read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I didn't really like her that much after reading about her but I was interested in learning more about her rivalry with Mrs. Lincoln. Even though this book is titled "Mrs. Lincoln's Rival" there is only a small bit about her rivalry with Mrs. Lincoln. Maybe it was just me hoping for some more drama between the two. This was more a historical fiction view on Kate Chase Sprague's life a little before and during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. I did find it interesting following Kate and actually found myself liking her a bit more and feeling sorry for her. One problem I had with this book is that it felt long while I was reading it. There were so many events and things that the author covered in this book that I think that is why it felt so long to me. The author included a historical note at the end of the book which included a summary of Kate's life after the events of the book. Those events in the historical note seemed very interesting and I would have loved to have read more about them. I do understand why the author left them out as it would have made the book much longer (and I did just complain about it feeling long). I would definitely recommend this book to someone who is really interested in American Civil War historical fiction and also someone who is interested in reading more about Kate Chase Sprague.

 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the book.

[I'm trying out the new updates now instead of a master post. We'll see if I end up staying with these updates.]

18%:

I first learned about Kate Chase Sprague when I read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I didn't like her that much after reading about her in that book but I was interested in her relationship with Mrs. Lincoln. So when I saw this book I knew it would be an interesting read. I've enjoyed reading about the events from Kate's perspective and I look forward to reading more.