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Imagining ‘A Friend of Mr. Lincoln’
Author of new Lincoln novel to speak March 3 at Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
 

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[February 26, 2016]  SPRINGFIELD – The Abraham Lincoln of the 1830s and ‘40s was a talented young man still trying to find a path that would lead him to success. Could he make it as a lawyer? How would marriage change his fortunes? What were his political prospects?

Author Stephen Harrigan explores this period in colorful, imaginative detail in the new novel “A Friend of Mr. Lincoln.” Harrigan will speak and sign copies of his book at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on March 3.

The free event begins at 6 p.m. with Harrigan signing books in the museum’s main plaza. Then, at 6:30, Harrigan will discuss his novel in the museum’s Union Theater.

To reserve a seat, visit www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov and click on “special event reservations.”

Through the eyes of a fictional poet and boardinghouse owner, “A Friend of Mr. Lincoln” takes readers to the skirmishes of the Black Hawk War and the escapades of a rural judicial circuit. It imagines Lincoln’s growing attraction to Mary Todd as a partner in both romance and ambition. It includes unpleasant realities from Lincoln’s life, such as his representation of a slave owner.

The Washington Post praised the book as “a rumbling, rambunctious novel.” The Wall Street Journal called it “a brisk narrative filled with adventure, romance, sex, and political high jinks.” Booklist said it gives readers “a first-hand glimpse of early Illinois politics, a physically dangerous, occasionally bloody endeavor.”

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The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a division of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is dedicated to telling the story of America’s 16th president through old-fashioned scholarship and modern technology.

The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents, photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history. The museum uses traditional exhibits, eye-catching special effects and innovative story-telling techniques to educate visitors.

[Shanta Thoele, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]

 

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