Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The House of Lincoln by Nancy Horan

The House of Lincoln does not offer many new insights into the personal and political life of Abraham Lincoln, but readers are treated to an in-depth, carefully-crafted look at Springfield, Illinois---its citizens, its culture and its changes during and after the life of Lincoln. Especially noteworthy is the culminating tragic story of the 1908 race riots, carried on in a city that more than any other exemplifies Abraham Lincoln.

Horan has included a most vibrant cast of characters including the narrator, Ana, an immigrant from Portugal,
Cal, the African-American girl who is denied Ana's friendship due to race, and the real-life African-American Donnegan family who lived in Springfield and whose family members aided the Underground Railroad through Illinois. The struggles of Ana and Cal are the struggles of the United States at its most dire time in history. Readers will find themselves immersed in both the big picture and the everyday events from newspapers, letters and speeches.

It is noted that one of the major factors leading to the race riots was an accusation by a white woman that an African-American man had come into her home and assaulted her. An innocent man was arrested and later the woman recanted the story. Images of the Emmett Till tragedy nearly a half century later questions how slowly the wheels of justice can turn.

Author Nancy Horan's research has resulted in a very readable account of one city's actions and reactions during times of struggle and change.

Many words have been written about Abraham Lincoln and his family, so it's hard to add anything fresh or trailblazing to the mix. Nancy Horan doesn't try to reinvent the historical fiction wheel with this book as much as have us look at the wheel from different perspectives and she pulls it off well.

Yes, The House of Lincoln is about the Lincoln family, but also not. It's about the times they lived in and how they viewed what was happening, along with the viewpoints of other people living in their world. Slavery is discussed, of course, but we also touch on immigration, women's rights, class disparity, and so much more. We see things from the view of a young Portuguese immigrant escaping religious persecution, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Mary Lincoln's sisters, and a variety of others. Solutions aren't simple, endings aren't always happy. But it is fascinating and you will learn things you didn't know.

I give this a solid four stars and highly recommend.

A history lesson wrapped in an incredible story. Great perspective on the characters that surround historical people and events.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm bucking the glowing reviews here but i this book failed to engage me. I found myself skimming the pages often. Yes, I learned things from the account but there was very little character development or plot. I feel that the summary given of the book gives it way too much credit - very little is included about Lincoln himself.

WoW! What a book! The House of Lincoln by Nancy Horan is a remarkable, fascinating and well written novel.
Nancy Horan’s words flow together so seamlessly. Her characters are full-fleshed, well-rounded individuals and her ability to draw attention to detail just made them seem all more real in my mind.
This storyline is engaging it flowed at a nice pace.
And held my attention throughout. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hooked or drawn to a historical fiction novel before like I was hooked to this one.
A stellar read for sure.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I love when an author takes a real person and develops a story around them. But what the author has done here is far more that that, she brings a character to life and tells a story that could very well have happened and how it ties into the events that happened during Lincoln’s life and times.

The story is really well written and the characters come to life as you’re reading. A great chance to learn and enjoy all at the same time. I love history and love historical fiction as well…this is the best of both of these worlds right here in this book!

I loved Nancy Horan's "Loving Frank," and had high hopes for this novel as well, but for me it fell a bit short of expectations. The book centers around three distinct groups of characters who all intertwine from time to time. There's Ana Ferreira, the main focus of the book, and her Portuguese immigrant family plus her childhood friend Cal. There's the Donnegan family, free blacks living and working in Springfield. Lastly, there's Abraham Lincoln and his family. Despite the title of the book, Lincoln is not the primary focus of the book, and the book spans before and well after his time as President.

I found there to be a lack of cohesion between the stories of the three groupings of people, especially in part one, where the Donnegans appear sporadically. There are big gaps of time as the book moves forward over the decades, and it feels like some things are mentioned so briefly (Lincoln's death, for example) and others get a much stronger focus (Springfield's 1908 race riots). For me the story never quite gelled or felt smooth as it was jumping between characters and time.

With that said, I did learn a lot about that time period -- more than I ever remember learning in school about the Civil War, Lincoln's presidency, and other important facts of the time. I found myself searching outside the book for additional information on the people and places mentioned in the book. For that alone, it was a nice focus on a time period which I have read little about.

I think if you love historical fiction and books about early American history this will probably be a draw for you. If you're expecting a heavy emphasis on Lincoln, look elsewhere perhaps, but this gives a good overall impression of the decades before and after the Civil War through the lens of those living in Springfield, Illinois.

Ana and Cal are friends. Both girls work for Mary Lincoln, helping with the boys and activities surrounding Mr. Lincoln’s political ambitions. Cal is African American and shares a lot of her life during the fight for emancipation and the presence of the underground railroad. Ana is Portuguese and shares a lot about her life as she tries to better herself. Springfield, Illinois is an interesting town during the time period before the Civil War and after with the race riots. The reader learns a lot about the personal and political life of Abraham Lincoln, and the mood swings and deaths faced by Mary Lincoln. The post-traumatic stress from the Civil War is done very well. The events taking place during this book are portrayed with a human aspect. Great book with warm characters and important historical moments.

I very much enjoyed Ana's story. I was not aware of the large Portuguese population that immigrated to Springfield, IL so seeing such an iconic period in American history through Ana's eyes from early childhood to her matronly years presented a totally unique point of view. Horan does an exemplary job of highlighting the injustices perpetrated on immigrants, and both free and enslaved Blacks. I was also unaware of Mary Todd Lincoln's influence on Lincoln the political candidate and subsequent President and the depth of her loneliness due to his circuit riding. We often hear of her being a spend-thrift; this portrayal puts at least the rationale for her behavior in the context of her family life before and after marriage complicated by her increasing mental challenges caused by the death of her children and the assassination of her husband. I would highly recommend The House of Lincoln as a very different view of Lincoln's rise to prominence through the lens of events in Springfield (including a particularly vicious race riot), the Dred Scott decision, and generally anti-immigrant feelings. Horan's characters are not stereotypes; they are fleshed out individuals who had very different views of the American dream and how they might make it real for themselves despite the opposition of the prevailing White society.

*Thank you, Netgalley, for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*
I guess I’m what you call a “Lincolnphile.” I’ve read many books, fiction and non-fiction, about him and his family. My family and I have been to his library and taken tours of his home in Springfield, and stood at his final resting place. We’ve seen his monument and his Presidential box at Ford’s Theater in D.C.; gazed at his famous top hat with his fingerprints on the brim from doffing it.
The personal details, things usually considered insignificant, are what interest me most about Lincoln and his family in reading about them. So, “The House of Lincoln” was satisfying in that respect; the reader gets into the minds of major characters like Mary Lincoln and her sisters, but also “minor” ones such as Ana, their housemaid in Springfield. The author included wonderful details about the Lincoln’s lives before they were President and First Lady.
If you love historical fiction about the Civil War and the Lincoln family, this book is a must-read!

Memorable Quotes:
“I never owned a slave. Nor did my family. You people came down and invaded our land. I fought on the side of my father.”(Isaac, C.S.A. soldier.)

“She (Ana) knew he came from poor folks, as he had said so. She had heard other soldiers complain among themselves that it was the rich class of planters who wanted the war, and the poor who had to fight it.”

This is historical fiction at its best!
I have always enjoyed learning about Abraham Lincoln and his family and this novel has tidbits of secrets that I never knew.
Ana Ferreira- the nanny for the Lincoln family tells this story and her feelings as time goes on with the matriarch, Mary and her husband.
It is definitely and enlightening novel and if you like historical fiction, and especially Abe Lincoln, you will truly enjoy this book!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC and to allow me to read and provide my own review.


"A man is a man, whether his skin be black or white."

Beautifully written, hugely interesting, full of interesting stories of life in Springfield before, during and after the Civil War. Told through the eyes of Ana Ferreira from the time she arrives in Springfield from Madeira, as a bright young girl of 14, living in a diverse neighborhood of black and white, immigrants and of many religions. Ana’s family were religious immigrants, driven out by the Catholics when they converted. A local widow sees something in Ana, and pays for her schooling. When she completes her schooling she goes to work for Mary Lincoln, helping in the house and taking care of the Lincoln children. This gives her a first hand look into the lives and minds of the Lincoln family, who shape Ana and her views. Ana is with the Lincolns through the major times in history: Lincoln’s election to the Presidency, the Civil War and its aftermath, Lincoln’s assassination, the loss of their son Willie… The House of Lincoln is not the story of Lincoln, but of the world around him, and how he shaped Springfield and it’s citizens, and they him. A fantastic read, one that will resonate and stay with you.

I generally like books about Abraham Lincoln, and I truly loved this book. Nancy Horan showed a perspective from ordinary people who surrounded Lincoln and his family. It was a nice balance between how he influenced others, and how others influenced him.

The House of Lincoln
by Nancy Horan
Pub Date: 06 Jun 2023

Nancy Horan, author of the million-copy New York Times bestseller Loving Frank, returns with a sweeping historical novel, which tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's ascendance from rumpled lawyer to U.S. president to the Great Emancipator through the eyes of a young asylum-seeker who arrives in Lincoln's home of Springfield from Madeira, Portugal.

Showing intelligence beyond society's expectations, fourteen-year-old Ana Ferreira lands a job in the Lincoln household assisting Mary Lincoln with their boys and with the hostess duties borne by the wife of a rising political star. Ana bears witness to the evolution of Lincoln's views on equality and the Union and observes in full complexity the psyche and pain of his bold, polarizing wife, Mary.

Along with her African American friend Cal, Ana encounters the presence of the underground railroad in town and experiences personally how slavery is tearing apart her adopted country. Culminating in an eyewitness account of the little-known Springfield race riot of 1908, The House of Lincoln takes readers on a journey through the historic changes that reshaped America and that continue to reverberate today.

Was excited to dive into a well researched historical novel and House of Lincoln seemed like a perfect fit. Nancy Horan does a ton of research and it shows here. However, this one fell flat for me and I did put it aside after 200 pages.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy of The House of Lincoln in exchange for a fair review. This review appears on Goodreads.
I am always looking for Historical Fiction about topics beyond WWII - as it seems there are so many of those right now. Here is one that is beyond what we know about Lincoln and the Civil War, and includes an immigrant family, and a free black family living in Springfield Illinois during the time of Lincolns rise to the office of the President of the United States. Its also an exploration of Mary Lincoln struggling with her own grief over losing her children and her split family - half being abolitionists and half on the side of the confederacy.
This was a terrible time in our nations history and sniffed of current affairs. We are still grappling with the way our country was ripped apart and gingerly stitched back together during the Civil War. There's a warning of what happens when one group's ideas are thrust upon another's - something that a war wouldn't solve.
I liked the characterization, setting and the way the plot moved. I learned a lot about the Lincoln Family and the climate of the nation in the pre-war days. Honestly what I didn't care for was the description of the race riots in Springfield in the 1900s. I understand it is important to Springfield's history, but for the purposes of this book, I felt like the book came to an easy and logical conclusion only to launch the reader into some shocking information that took place 50 years later. I was 100% going to do this in book club but now not so sure. I think book club would enjoy discussing the origins of the civil war and the Lincoln family, and maybe even immigrants during that time, but the race riots is far too much to chew on - the ending actually kept me up last night which is not usually how books end for me.
4* for the book itself. I enjoyed it until the race riots. I do not like how the book left me feeling though.

Nancy Horan's insightful work of historical fiction takes us inside the Lincoln household in Springfield, Illinois through the eyes of a young Portuguese girl employed by the Lincolns. We experience the joys and heartbreaks of the young Lincoln family, the rise of Lincoln to the Presidency, and the turn of events after his assassination just after the Civil War has ended. The underlying element of racism permeates throughout and recalls the terrible race riot of 1908 in Springfield.

I’ll be honest - “The House of Lincoln” by Nancy Horan wasn’t the book I was expecting it to be. Based upon the Publisher’s summary, I expected this to be about Ana and her relationship with the Lincolns. While that was there, that wasn’t the main thrust of the book. I did like the inclusion of the other characters and their situations - and how their stories related to both what was going on in Springfield and, in some ways, affecting Ana. The research Ms. Horan did is very evident and those parts I also enjoyed. But as this wasn’t the book I was expecting to read, I’m a bit disappointed. For me this book is probably a 3.5 star read, but I rounded down due to a few factors. If you like historical fiction and are interested in the town of Springfield’s history, this might be a book you’d enjoy.

Nancy Horan does it again.

This book gives a look at Mary and Abraham Lincoln's lives prior to his being the 16th president. It is a beautifully written novel filled with historical information as well as some added fictional characters.
One of the main characters is Ana Ferreira a Portuguese immigrant, This novel gives some broader views from the eyes of a man heading to the presidency.
I always enjoy the historical information in Nancy Horan's books and how she is able to include long forgotten, lost or hidden history.
This author does her research and brings it to use in a way that is always an pleasure to read.
This book will appeal to historical fiction readers as well Lincoln buffs and those interested in some of America's darker histories.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read this advanced copy e-book in exchange for my review consideration. My opinions are my own

I liked this! I am a history nerd so this was up my alley. Lincoln is so fascinating and this took a take I’ve never seen before. Some parts did drag on a bit too long for my liking, but I will definitely pick up other works by this author.