Book Review: The President's Wife - Tracey Enerson Wood

 

“The President’s Wife” is a historical fiction book by Tracey Enerson Wood. I’m a little bit familiar with President Woodrow Wilson - from being NJ’s governor, to President of Princeton University, and - of course - being infamous for his re-election campaign slogan “He Kept Us Out of War.” I didn’t know much about his second wife, Edith Galt, so I thought reading this book, where Edith was the main character, would be good for rounding out my knowledge of Mr. Wilson. I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, President Wilson is a rather interesting character (like him or not). He is known for forming the League of Nations (forerunner to the UN), but also, under his term, the 19th amendment was ratified (though Wilson seemed to support its passing as a way to gain votes not for equal rights). Wilson managed to both praise and also separate himself from the movie “Birth of a Nation,” which required some nice tap dancing. However, that’s all background to Edith Galt Wilson - his second wife. I felt at times that their courtship was both incredibly slow (it takes up over 25% of the book) yet also rather quick (they met, he was smitten with her, she resisted marrying him, yet also felt a spark). Wilson was known for his love letters - in fact there are online articles about his letters to Mary Peck. I think where my expectations weren’t met was that this books is really more about Edith Galt becoming President Wilson’s wife - from courtship to becoming his partner and after his presidency. I thought the book would focus a lot more on the months of her “stewardship” but it wasn’t. I think for those who don’t know a lot about this time period, this book would be an interesting read, but for me it missed the mark as it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. 3.5 stars.