Edith and Woodrow

Last updated

Edith and Woodrow: The Wilson White House is a 2001 book by Phyllis Lee Levin, published by Scribner.

Contents

It documents Edith Bolling Wilson's de facto rule during the portion of the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson after the man suffered a stroke in 1919. She did this by blockading the media from covering the effects of the stroke, so the public did not know that Wilson had been incapacitated. The state of affairs lasted for the rest of Wilson's presidency. [1] Edith made political decisions and then falsely stated that they originated from Woodrow Wilson. [2]

Edwin M. Yoder Jr. of Washington and Lee University wrote that the author's reception of Edith was "severe"; the author argued that Ellen Axson Wilson would not have made the same choices. [1]

Background

The author previously worked as a journalist for The New York Times . [2]

The research material included medical documents that previously were not accessible; such as documents written by Woodrow Wilson's doctor, Cary T. Grayson. The sons of Grayson made them public. Publishers Weekly stated that the Grayson documents were "Most important" of the sourcing. [2]

The sourcing documents stated that Woodrow Wilson would be unable to fulfill his duties, and Grayson's notes stated that significantly improving the medical condition was not possible. [2]

Contents

The book has around 300 pages of background material, then, for the remainder, covers the main subject. [1]

Reception

According to Yoder, the work is "sophisticated", and "informed" on information on American politics and the United States constitution. [1] Yoder criticized how the book gave, in his view, too much space to the background information. [1]

Kirkus Reviews stated that the book would likely "excite discussion" in post-secondary educational environments. [3]

Publishers Weekly gave the work a starred review. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodrow Wilson</span> President of the United States from 1913 to 1921

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only Democrat to serve as president during the Progressive Era when Republicans dominated the presidency and legislative branches. As president, Wilson changed the nation's economic policies and led the United States into World War I. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Wilson</span> First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921

Edith Wilson was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during his first term as president. Edith Wilson played an influential role in President Wilson's administration following the severe stroke he suffered in October 1919. For the remainder of her husband's presidency, she managed the office of the president, a role she later described as a "stewardship", and determined which communications and matters of state were important enough to bring to the attention of the bedridden president.

<i>Wilson</i> (1944 film) 1944 film by Henry King

Wilson is a 1944 biographical film about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States. Shot in Technicolor and directed by Henry King, the film stars Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Ruth Nelson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, William Eythe and Mary Anderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Talbot</span> American investigative journalist and editor

David Talbot is an American journalist, author, editor, activist and independent historian. Talbot is known for his books about the "hidden history" of U.S. power and the liberal movements to change America, as well as his public advocacy. He was also the founder and former editor-in-chief of the early web magazine Salon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Levin</span> American lawyer, radio and television personality

Mark Reed Levin is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show, as well as Life, Liberty & Levin on Fox News. Levin worked in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese. He is the former president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, an author of seven books, and contributor to media outlets such as National Review Online. Since 2015, Levin has been editor-in-chief of the Conservative Review and is known for his incendiary commentary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cary T. Grayson</span> US Navy admiral and physician to the US President

Cary Travers Grayson was a surgeon in the United States Navy who served a variety of roles from personal aide to President Woodrow Wilson to chairman of the American Red Cross.

The Pueblo speech was an address in favor of the League of Nations, given by US President Woodrow Wilson on the afternoon of September 25, 1919, in Pueblo, Colorado. It was the last of a series of speeches he gave advocating American entry into the League of Nations. In front of a crowd of over 3,000 people, Wilson delivered a speech that was over 6,100 words long. Shortly afterwards, he collapsed and the tour was prematurely ended. The speech is sometimes considered to have been a moving performance, but has also been noted for its attacks on "hyphenated Americans". The historian John Milton Cooper deemed it "the closing lines of one of the greatest speaking careers in American history."

<i>The Great War: Walk in Hell</i> 1999 book by Harry Turtledove

The Great War: Walk in Hell is the second book in the Great War series of alternate history books by Harry Turtledove. It is also the third part of the Southern Victory. It takes the Southern Victory Series from 1915 to 1916.

Ellen Wittlinger was an American author of young adults novels, including the Michael L. Printz Honor book Hard Love.

<i>Philip Dru: Administrator</i> 1912 novel by Edward House

Philip Dru: Administrator: A Story of Tomorrow, 1920-1935 is a futuristic political novel published in 1912 by Edward Mandell House, an American diplomat, politician, and presidential foreign policy advisor. The book's author was originally unknown with an anonymous publication, however House's identity was revealed in a speech on the Senate floor by Republican Senator Lawrence Sherman. According to historians, House highly prized his work and gave a copy of Dru to his closest political ally, Woodrow Wilson, to read while on a trip to Bermuda.

The Narratives of Empire series is a heptalogy of historical novels by American author Gore Vidal, published between 1967 and 2000, which chronicle the dawn-to-decadence history of the "American Empire"; the narratives interweave the personal stories of two families with the personages and events of U.S. history. Despite the publisher's preference for the politically neutral series-title "American Chronicles", Vidal preferred the series title "Narratives of Empire". The seven novels can be read in either historical or publication order without losing narrative intelligibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikki Tate</span> Canadian writer

Nikki Tate is the pseudonym used by Canadian author, Nicole Tate-Stratton. She lives in Canmore, Alberta and is the founder of creative space Nexus Generation, the home of Writers on Fire, an online writing community where she mentors and supports members in developing their writing skills and how to share their stories and poems on a variety of platforms.

<i>Wilson</i> (book) 2013 book by A. Scott Berg

Wilson is a 2013 biography of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg. The book is a New York Times Best Seller.

Steven Gregory Spruill is an author of horror, science fiction, and thriller novels, best known for his "hemophage" novels: Rulers of Darkness, Daughter of Darkness, and Lords of Light. He has also written under the names Steve Harriman and Steve Lyon.

Allen Drurys <i>University</i> series Novel trio by Allen Drury

Allen Drury's University series is a trio of novels written by political novelist Allen Drury between 1990 and 1998, which follow a group of university fraternity brothers for a span of over 60 years from 1938 to 2001. Drury graduated from Stanford University in 1939, and his experiences there provided the basis for the series. The novels are set in a different fictional timeline from Drury's 1959 novel Advise and Consent, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Goulder Izant</span> American journalist

Grace Goulder Izant (1893–1984) was an Ohio writer and historian who wrote for the Plain Dealer Magazine and published several books on Ohio history. She was the first Ohioan ever honored by the American Association for State and Local History, which recognized her work in 1962. She won the Cleveland Arts Prize for Literature in 1965 and was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1982.

This bibliography of Woodrow Wilson is a list of published works about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States. For a more comprehensive listing see Peter H. Buckingham, Woodrow Wilson: A bibliography of his times and presidency.

<i>My Memoir</i> Memoir by Edith Wilson

My Memoir is a 1938 memoir by Edith Wilson, a First Lady of the United States and the wife of Woodrow Wilson. She wrote the book as an apologia to defend her husband from perceived attacks, and to preserve his legacy. Critics generally considered the book to be "delightful" as a "collection of episodes", but especially those writing at publication predicted it would be of little historical value except for its account of Woodrow Wilson's stroke and last days in office. However it has been used by academic historians in the late 20th and early 21st centuries to examine a variety of topics related to Edith Wilson.

The Young Lions Fiction Award is an annual US literary prize of $10,000, awarded to a writer who is 35 years old or younger for a novel or collection of short stories. The award was established in 2001 by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick Moody, Hannah McFarland, and the New York Public Library. Each year, five young fiction writers are selected as finalists by a reading committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians. A panel of judges selects the winner.

Norman H. Finkelstein (1941-2024) was an American author and educator whose books Heeding the Call and Forged in Freedom won National Jewish Book Awards. His 2024 book Saying No To Hate: Overcoming Antisemitism in America was noted to arrive "as antisemitism escalates".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Yoder, Edwin M. Jr. (2001-11-04). "Bedroom Politics". Washington Post . Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "EDITH AND WOODROW: The Wilson White House". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  3. "EDITH AND WOODROW". Kirkus Reviews. 2001-07-15. Retrieved 2024-07-05.