I really enjoyed this story about Woodrow Wilson's second wife, Edith Bolling Wilson. I never really knew anything about her before reading this book and I am so glad I did. She was a widow and not really looking for a husband, but Woodrow charmed her into marrying him. She was a quiet trailblazer during this time as she played golf with Wilson, loved baseball, drove her own car all over DC and East Coast, and was the sounding board for the President and his policies and decisions. Edith got along with Wilson's daughters from his first marriage (first wife passed away). Surprising though she was not a support of the Suffragette Movement. The President's health was not great and without her support and strength, his presidency would have turned out differently, I think. This is an historical fiction novel, with the central focus being the love story between Edith and Woodrow. I enjoyed the behind the scenes imagining of life at the White House and how Edith wasn't afraid to make decisions based on her beliefs. The book's timeline includes World War I, but this it is the background, and not a war-themed story. As a resident of Maryland and frequent visitor to DC, I enjoyed the local references to Hains Point and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, among others. If you are looking for an interesting HF story about this era, I highly recommend this book. I give it 4.5 stars.

Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. The views expressed are my own.

I enjoyed Wood’s previous books The Engineer’s Wife and The War Nurse, so I was thrilled to get an advanced audio from RB Media. Of course I ordered the physical book which arrives on Pub Day August 14th. The narrator Libby McKnight did a fantastic job with this wonderful book.

This is the story of President Woodrow Wilson meeting a new woman Edith Bolling after hew was widowed. Sparks fly immediately and a proposal is made by Woodrow. He appreciates not only her beauty but her mind.
She becomes crucial during his presidency and he confides in her on a daily basis. After the Great War during peace talks and other meetings she realizes Woodrow is not well. With his health failing Edith shares the details only with his most trusted advisors. She works tirelessly behind the scenes “running the show”.

I sat in one sitting on Sunday to listen to this amazing novel. Wood nailed the characters and her research was evident throughout the novel.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for this advanced copy due out August 15th.

This novel was well written and informative. I did not know anything about Edith and President Wilson before going into this novel, this gave me a crisp picture of this time period. I enjoyed getting to know Edith and Woodrow through their courtship and then their marriage and time in office. Very informative and well done. 4 stars Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a copy of this e-arc.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for what was an outstanding and well-researched book. I truly got, what I believe to be the best of reading historical fiction, from this book. I learned and I enjoyed.

I’d heard the story of Edith Wilson assuming the presidency after the President had a stroke. What I didn’t know was so much more and what I found in this book. How Edith had been raised and shaped by a small southern environment, that she was not in favor of women’s right to vote, that she decrypted/encrypted wartime messages for her husband and gave him advice on a plethora of issues. All this and more put her in a position to carry out the policies of her husband or influence policy with her own considerations. It seemed she was plagued with that doubt even onto her own death, but she preserved her husband’s legacy.

This was a throughly researched piece of work. Aside from that, it was a compelling read that not only focused on history, but on relationships. The romance of the Wilson’s, their family and extended relatives, political loyalties and lack thereof. How all of those may have impacted decisions and actions taken.

Outstanding book!

I absolutely love reading about First Ladies, so I was thrilled to see this book highlighting the extraordinary life of Edith Bolling Wilson. Living in Virginia and having visited Edith’s birthplace, I was aware of her story before reading but loved seeing her brought to life on the page.

Starting with Edith’s life as a widow who catches the interest of the President of the United States, the author does a great job at bringing us behind closed doors to watch the sweet love story unfold. President Wilson was surprisingly romantic, and I enjoyed reading about Edith being swept off her feet by drives around the capital city or sailing on the Presidential yacht. It’s clear there was a deep, underlying love between them and that they understood each other on an intellectual, emotional, and physical level.

My favorite part of the book was the war years, as the United States becomes part of the horrific death scenes being played out on battlefields all around Europe. I was especially interested in learning more about Wilson’s negotiating skills during the peace treaty and his deathly stroke that led to Edith becoming the de facto decision maker. The what-ifs of history always speak to me - what if he had stayed healthy and could have gotten the League of Nations passed? Would that have affected the threat of war in Europe that led to the horrors of WWII? What if Edith had told the public about his stroke and allowed the vice-president to take over? Would decisions have been made differently that would still reverberate today?

I loved learning more about this fascinating woman and thought the author did a great job at conveying her personality and reasoning behind her decisions. I am glad Edith is finally getting her time in the spotlight!

Edith Bolling married President Woodrow Wilson in December 1915 and became the First Lady of the United States. The Great War was escalating in Europe, and although the President was striving to keep the United States neutral, German submarine attacks on cargo ships and then ocean liners, were making it increasingly challenging. When the States finally joined the war, Edith found her new role difficult, but with time embraced it fully and assisted her husband with the immense work load with devotion and dedication, becoming his trusted advisor on both foreign and domestic policies. At the end of the war, she was at his side in Europe during the peace talks to ratify the treaty and to create the League of Nations. After the President’s stroke in December 1919, she quietly worked behind the scenes covering his presidential duties to the best of her ability, determined that his hard work of the last four years not come undone.

This is a well written, descriptive and informative novel. I felt history unfold as I turned the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it, especially to those who enjoy historical fiction.

“The President's Wife” by Tracey Enerson Wood
Great Story, A Worthy Read
Just finished reading this story, and the author’s note, and checked out the reading group guide, and then a conversation with the author. I am very glad I read this story plus the bonus material. I am unable to come up with the words to express why I thing everyone should want to read this story. Being a member of the family of someone holding an elected office must be even more difficult now than it was a hundred years ago. The stress of that life must be extraordinary. I mean even young men age extremely fast in just 4 years in office. If nothing else this story may encourage the reader to try harder to truly educate themselves about the issues and the candidates before choosing a candidate to support for any and every elected office from dog catcher to the President of a country. Being a competent elected office holder is not an easy job. Being a member of their family is not exactly easy either. Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest thoughts.
I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley.

One of my favorite reads involves The First Ladies and since I had not read the story of Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, I thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC; the review that follows is my honest opinion. The marriage of the wealthy socialite widow and Woodward Wilson whose wife had died after he won the election of President is an interesting one. They had never met until they met over tea at the White House and President Wilson is instantly smitten. He spends an incredible amount of time composing daily love letters to her to the point that his close associates and family was encouraging Edith to make a decision regarding marriage. Prior to this marriage, Edith had been instrumental in restoring Mr. Galt’s jewelry store and becoming a successful business. After the marriage, her personality became stifled but it wasn’t long before she was interacting with some of his political foes and adding fuel to the opposition. She become the person the President relied on for her opinion of matters of state and he had her with him in all meetings (reminiscent of Rosalyn Carter regardless of security clearances). His health was in question from the start with high blood pressure and small strokes. With a heavy workload in orchestrating the basis of The League of Nations, visiting overseas to several nations as well as campaigning for a second term it took a toll on his health which culminated in a severe stroke. Edith made a pivotal decision: she wouldn’t allow anyone to enter his bedroom and she intercepted all correspondence and made decisions as she thought Woodward would have done which wasn’t always clear because his strokes had him changing his mind on issues so these thoughts had her reassessing her actions in years to come long after his death. A pivotal point in the history of the USA and the effects of decisions eventually played a role in WWII. From leading a leisure life of travel to becoming such a force in events had to affect this woman who did it all for the love of her husband.

Interesting historical fiction and a story I did not know! Edith and Woodrow Wilson were both widowed and not young when they met at the White House- and married shortly after. This is the story of their lives (really Edith's life) between 1915 and 1921. Edith is no shrinking violet and she finds herself more and more involved in decision and policy making, beyond what anyone knows. And then Woodrow has a stroke. Sure, it's not a big deal for her to take over- she knows what he wants, doesn't she? Well, it is and it was but that's water under the bridge now. This was a big period of history but Wood has a light touch on world events (which works) and a stronger one for the relationship between Edith and Woodrow. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Informative and engaging.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I’ve learned a lot about Woodrow Wilson and his wife Edith recently, thanks to History YouTube, and not a lot of it, pertaining to him at least, has been particularly good, although people spoke more favorably of her. It was with this in mind that I was drawn to The President’s Wife, although I was also interested in reading more from Tracey Enerson Wood, after enjoying the last book I read from her.
I loved the deeply personal look at the romance between Edith and Woodrow, especially in the early days. While Edith is reluctant at first, being very much aware of what being the president’s wife would mean, I liked that Woodrow saw something in her that suited him, not just as a romantic partner, but a partner as a politician, and I think that’s sweet, even if I don’t agree with his decisions and political positions, and hers too at times. And while there’s this question that haunts Edith years later about whether her decisions where his stroke was concerned, I respect that she did have some semblance of savvy that made her competent in the role of unofficial president, prior to there being official policies in place providing for the incapacity of the president, covered in the 25th Amendment.
Narratively, the bulk of the story focuses on the years of Edith and Woodrow’s marriage that coincide with his tenure as president, and I appreciate how all the major beats of those years are covered, capturing both the personal and political highs and lows. With Edith having lived decades after Woodrow passed, I respect the inclusion of a framing narrative to discuss their impact, for better or worse, in the 1940s, but I was a bit thrown off by there also being an epilogue in the 1960s. I felt like it would have been punchier to pick one or the other, from a literary standpoint, as while she didn’t die until the 1960s, I found the epilogue a bit superfluous to the complete story.
This is a great political love story, and I love how it explores not just their story, but the broader implications for American politics going forward, such as how cases like Woodrow’s stroke would influence the passing of the aforementioned 25th Amendment or how Edith is being looked back on now that a female president is a more realistic possibility. I’d recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, especially if you’re interested in the history of the US Presidents and First Ladies.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an ARC copy in exchange of an honest review. This book follows Edith Bolling as she meets and eventually married Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States. Edith was in no hurry to remarry after the death of her husband but a chance meeting with Woodrow threw those plans by the wayside. Through an enchanting courtship the two eventually marry and she becomes engrained in his administration, giving him advice about worldly events day to day. Until a debilitating stroke sidelines him, Edith must step up and act (behind the scenes) as the President of the United States while Woodrow recovers.

I did not know much about Edith or Woodrow before reading this book but I loved learning about them. I found it fascinating that Edith would decode top-secret messages for Woodrow before long discussions about them. She was ingrained into his administration, going as far as to replace staff within the administration. She became a top advisor with very little formal education or training.

I highly recommend this book for a little know woman who had such an important impact on politics during between 1916 and 1921.

I found myself struggling to get through the first few chapters. While interesting, I felt it was taking too long to get into the story wanting to be told.

My honest review is freely provided in return for the kindness by NetGalley and the author/publisher in providing me with this book to review.

It’s not often that I give up on a book, and it’s a shame I didn’t like this more. Not knowing anything about Edith Wilson I was very interested to learn more, but I struggled to connect with the characters, and found not only the dialogue a bit strange but also their behavior to be at odds with the time.

This is the story of Edith Wilson, President Woodrow Wilson’s second wife. It tells of life as a wife in the shadow of the President. How she makes her mark in the world. Honestly, it started off a bit slow for me. While it’s an interesting story, it’s very factual, a little wordy at times. I almost didn’t finish about halfway through but I’m glad I did because the ending was beautiful and emotional.

Decent historical fiction of a not so overly advertised president. Not sure what to think about Edith..... but the story flowed well. Ended abruptly.

Woodrow Wilson is often a forgotten president. Even though he helped keep the US out of WWI and then when we were forced to enter he saw us through. This is a beautiful story of second chance love and of the most powerful man in the world admitting his need for help-in which he turns to his wife.

This historical fiction story of Edith Wilson was well written and I enjoyed it very much.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for my copy of The President's Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood in exchange for an honest review. It publishes August 15, 2023.
If you're interested in the history around WWI this is an important story to read! Also, to learn more about Woodrow Wilson and his enduring wife, Edith! Clearly well-researched, no detail is overlooked, this story is choc-full of so much history, but told well, to keep it interesting!

Loved this book! This is the story of Edith Wilson, the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. As the story begins, Edith is a wealthy widow living in Washington, enjoying her life and her freedom. Then she's asked to meet the President, who has just lost his beloved first wife and is inconsolably lonely. Edith is wary of the situation and not sure she wants to give up her blissfully uncomplicated life to, in effect, serve her country. The book chronicles the Wilsons' courtship and married life in the White House. Very interesting, great historical fiction!

As a student of history, Woodrow Wilson’s “disappearance from the public was known to me. This book shed light on the unscrupulous woman who was his second wife. She obviously thought her position as that of the President’s wife was above the law. A much too familiar theme in current events. I found no compassion for her deliberate hiding of the truth. It certainly did not paint a picture of someone who was innocently swept up in history.

Edith Bolling was living a contented life. Turning a failing business around was a huge achievement for the time and she had good friends. She did not plan on the relentless romancing of a recently widowed President, who fell in love deeply just months after his wife passed away.

Their courtship restrained by Edith, eventually they did marry but what followed was different. Woodrow Wilson began to depend on the judgement and views of his wife, and she began to have enormous sway over all matters of state as well. This was in the midst of America being drawn into WWII. Edith was against the suffrage movement (which in view of her other views was different) but when Wilson became incapacitated, she excluded all but the very minimum number needed to attend to the President, decoded messages, summoned people, gave decisions and was literally the force of the Presidency.

Utterly devoted to the man she loved, Edith’s entire focus was to protect him and her country. A powerful, emotional story but would have liked to read how she adapted after leaving the WhiteHouse and when she was widowed again.