Author and historian Catherine Clinton discusses her new book Mrs. Lincoln on Thursday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Mrs. Lincoln is a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Abraham Lincoln.

The 16th president of the United States has had tens of thousands of pages written about him, but his wife has long remained an historical enigma. Clinton draws on important new research to illuminate the remarkable life of Mary Lincoln.

The Lincolns endured many personal setbacks—including the death of a child and defeats in two United States Senate races—along the road to the White House. Mrs. Lincoln herself suffered scorching press attacks, but despite her southern roots remained faithful to the Union and her wartime husband. She was also the first presidential wife to be known as the "First Lady," and it was in this role that she gained her lasting fame. The assassination of her husband haunted her for the rest of her life. Her disintegrating downward spiral resulted in a brief but traumatizing involuntary incarceration in an asylum and exile in Europe during her later years.

Clinton is a professor of U.S. history at Queen’s University Belfast. She has previously taught at Union College, Brandeis University, and Harvard University.