Mrs. Lincoln's Rival

By: Jennifer Chiaverini

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Kate Chase Sprague was born in 1840 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the second daughter to the second wife of a devout but ambitious lawyer. Her father, Salmon P. Chase, rose to prominence in the antebellum years and was appointed secretary of the treasury in Abraham Lincoln' s cabinet, while aspiring to even greater heights.

Beautiful, intelligent, regal, and entrancing, young Kate Chase stepped into the role of establishing her thrice-widowed father in Washington society and as a future presidential candidate. Her efforts were successful enough that The Washington Star declared her "the most brilliant woman of her day. None outshone her."

None, that is, but Mary Todd Lincoln. Though Mrs. Lincoln and her young rival held much in common - political acumen, love of country, and a resolute determination to help the men they loved achieve greatness - they could never be friends, for the success of one could come only at the expense of the other. When Kate Chase married William Sprague, the wealthy young governor of Rhode Island, it was widely regarded as the pinnacle of Washington society weddings. President Lincoln was in attendance. The First Lady was not.

Jennifer Chiaverini excels at chronicling the lives of extraordinary yet little-known women through historical fiction. What she did for Elizabeth Keckley in Mrs. Lincoln' s Dressmaker and for Elizabeth Van Lew in The Spymistress she does for Kate Chase Sprague in Mrs. Lincoln' s Rival.

©2014 Jennifer Chiaverini (P)2014 Recorded Books

Fascinating story -- Strong women

Strong women have always been part of US history. Many lessons here still to learn from today and for our future.

political player kate chase

Kate's story is interesting, she was a woman ahead of her time. she did her best for her father in the Civil War time.

Re: Love It!

If you like historical American fiction you will enjoy this book. I certainly did. Kate Chase Sprague was a woman ahead of her time in political ambition & she loved the wrong man.

Good book

If you like historical fiction this book is a good one. I liked the insertion of speeches and historical events into the family dynamics of this book.

I liked it a lot

There was little rivalry and at times the story repeated itself and it is odd but still I liked it very much!