Existing comment:
Writing Lincoln's Life:
Shortly after Lincoln's death, writers began competing to see who could craft the definitive biography. The first appeared late in 1865. The work of journalist Josiah Holland, the book sold over 100,000 copies. In 1872 another Lincoln friend, Ward Hill Lamon, entrusted his memories to a ghostwriter who asserted that the late President was illegitimate and an atheist.
In the 1890s, to counteract his earlier book, Lamon published another account of his friend, but it was overshadowed by the work of 37-year-old investigative journalist Ida Tarbell. By interviewing virtually every living Lincoln associate, Tarbell succeeded in creating a unique, lifelike portrait of the president.
William Herndon, circa 1880. Herndon, Lincoln's old law partner, collaborated on a biography in 1886 with Jesse Welk. It was completed the same year as a massive, ten-volume work by Lincoln's secretaries, John Hay and John Nicolay. |