by Sandi (Illinois): A different take on the life of Abraham Lincoln. This story is told from the point of view of a young Portuguese refugee, Ana, who went to work for the Lincoln’s as a Saturday girl. She not only looked after the children, but did some housework. As she aged she become more indispensable to Mary Todd Lincoln.
The book moves through the well known life of Lincoln, almost as an after thought. It concentrates more on his private life and how that affected Ana, his home town of Springfield and his family life in the White House. Once assassinated the story moves more to Mary, but still remains on Ana and her adult life.
Taking place in the 1840’s to the 1890’s the story depicts the Underground Railroad, the Springfield race riots, and the Civil War. With Illinois being my home state, I have studied a lot about Abraham Lincoln and believe that this historical fiction book was well researched. The slant of bringing in a house girl to tell the story was ingenious and made the reading from her point of view interesting.