Madam President

The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson

By: William Hazelgrove

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

An up-close look at Edith Wilson, a first lady with unequaled responsibilities during her husband's presidency.

After President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the chief executive. Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years, yet in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, she dedicated herself to managing the office of the president, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband. Though her Oval Office authority was acknowledged in Washington circles at the time - one senator called her "the presidentress who had fulfilled the dream of suffragettes by changing her title from First Lady to Acting First Man" - her legacy as the first woman president is now largely forgotten.

William Hazelgrove's Madam President is a vivid, engaging portrait of the woman who became the acting president of the United States in 1919, months before women officially won the right to vote.

©2016 William Hazelgrove (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A wonderful book about the first woman president.

William Hazelgrove does a extraordinary job of placing Woodrow Wilson and Edith Wilson within the context of their times. He also brings out their personalities as well as their devotion to each other. It was Edith’s devotion to Woodrow which caused her to conceal the full extent of his disability from the public and allowed her to assume the ”stewardship” of the presidency while she waited for his recovery. Likewise Burnadette Dunne’s narration was masterful.

Great Untold History

I felt disappointed the story ended up being repetitive pretty much the same story with slight variations to the point I skipped chapters to hear the end, which it’s self was repetitive.

Who Knew?

Thoroughly enjoyed this detailed elaboration of Edith Wilson's time serving as the President of the US even though unacknowledged. The presentation is dramatic and the facts astonishing. The general public knows so little of what went on in the White House after Woodrow Wilson's stroke. This is a historically valuable piece of work.

But she wasn’t elected by the people

I found the book and narration to be very good and interesting. Edith was a very strong and able person but she was not the president. The book should also have detailed the ineptitude of the government fir those two years fir not doing its job and taking hold of the operation if the government. I found that part appalling as well as the subterfuge in keeping Wilson’s true health a secret. If the Vice President and Congress had done theirs in world leaders would have been assured that the United States’ government was still in full operation and control. It was not Edith’s prerogative.

Interesting

Interesting, but the premise is false. The book is quite objective until the final minutes when the author basically praises Edith Wilson as the 1st woman president, which was an unlawful act. She did it for the love of her husband, NOT for any altruistic national or legal reason!

confusing

the way the author bounced around with timelines and references of people outside the story, made this book confusing. The conversations in first person seemed made up.

Some good information, very poorly organized

Contains some good information, but is extremely poorly organized and jumps around in a nonsensical manner. Author contradicts themselves in a couple of cubical points.

so informative

I loved this book, I learned so much about the Wilson Whitehouse. great book!

A story worth knowing.

Embedded within this well told, highly readable story are unnecessary inclusions of sexist language. Also, "Suffragette", although used in the UK, is a derogatory term about American Suffragists. Author's error -or bias?

Interesting detail on the role of Edith Wilson

I had always heard that Edith Bolling Wilson had taken over after her husband’s stroke but this illuminated just how much she did and for how long. Amazing story. There is no deep acknowledgment of the unconstitutional aspect of this situation. The book is somewhat repetitive- several times I actually thought I’d mistakenly gone back to a prior chapter.