Elegantly written, tirelessly researched, full of shocking revelations, Edith and Woodrow offers the definitive examination of the controversial role Woodrow Wilson's second wife played in running the country. "The story of Wilson's second marriage, and of the large events on which its shadow was cast, is darker and more devious, and more astonishing, than previously recorded." -- from the Preface Constructing a thrilling, tightly contained narrative around a trove of previously undisclosed documents, medical diagnoses, White House memoranda, and internal documents, acclaimed journalist and historian Phyllis Lee Levin sheds new light on the central role of Edith Bolling Galt in Woodrow Wilson's administration. Shortly after Ellen Wilson's death on the eve of World War I in 1914, President Wilson was swept off his feet by Edith Bolling Galt. They were married in December 1915, and, Levin shows, Edith Wilson set out immediately to consolidate her influence on him and tried to destroy his relationships with Colonel House, his closest friend and adviser, and with Joe Tumulty, his longtime secretary. Wilson resisted these efforts, but Edith was persistent and eventually succeeded. With the quick ending of World War I following America's entry in 1918, Wilson left for the Paris Peace Conference, where he pushed for the establishment of the League of Nations. Congress, led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, resisted the idea of an international body that would require one country to go to the defense of another and blocked ratification. Defiant, Wilson set out on a cross-country tour to convince the American people to support him. It was during the middle of this tour, in the fall of 1919, that he suffered a devastating stroke and was rushed back to Washington. Although there has always been controversy regarding Edith Wilson's role in the eighteen months remaining of Wilson's second term, it is clear now from newly released medical records that the stroke had totally incapacitated him. Citing this information and numerous specific memoranda, journals, and diaries, Levin makes a powerfully persuasive case that Mrs. Wilson all but singlehandedly ran the country during this time. Ten years in the making, Edith and Woodrow is a magnificent, dramatic, and deeply rewarding work of history.

A book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!

An authoritative dual biography of the two wives of Woodrow Wilson. Presents a rich and complex portrait of Wilson's marriages, first to the demure Ellen Axon Wilson and then to the controversial Edith Bolling Wilson, as well as his relationship with a "dearest friend," Mary Allen Hulbert Peck.

The love letters of Woodrow Wilson and the woman would become his wife Edith Bolling Galt.

Edith envisioned her role in marriage to Woodrow Wilson as a helpmate to her husband. Thus her second marriage to Woodrow, following the untimely deaths of both of their first spouses, proceeded quite expectantly. His comfort and interests were paramount to her own. This was never more evident than in her actions following his debilitating stroke in 1919. For six weeks, she closely guarded his privacy and determined which issues demanded his attention and which could wait. She lobbied for certain legislation and soundly criticised others. Later, Edith contended that she was uniquely qualified for this role since she knew her husband's feelings on most issues. And as to those who labelled her the first female president, Edith refuted such pronouncements, claiming she merely acted as Woodrow's helpmate, but that he made every decision personally. But to historians and students of history, Edith's role, especially during her husband's incapacitation, marked a unique time in United States' history when a woman exerted direct control over matters of state. Therefore, it might be argued that Eleanor Roosevelt, in fact, built upon Edith's precedent in becoming the influential first lady that she did.

A biography of the First Lady who gave vital support to her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, and to the nation during and after World War I.