Let me preface by saying that I don’t know much about the history of Abraham Lincoln other than the very basic biodata. Hence, I enjoyed reading this story because it opened my eyes to research the topic further.

The author starts off the story brilliantly as we see Lucy on the run. As the story progresses, the author introduces us to additional characters that lead to a bigger picture. The characters are also nicely drawn. I particularly liked Clarence and thought he stood out in his conversations with Lincoln and Abby. Similarly, even Annabelle was electrifying in the scenes with Polly and Hostetler. Another highlight of the story was the trial. I love novels where we have a riveting court case, and this book did not disappoint on that account. It was fascinating to see how Lincoln and Lizar conducted Abby’s trial.

However, after reading the story, I researched the topic further and found that the events in the tale are altered and not what happened in reality. While I understand that this is historical fiction and the author has the right to spin the story, I felt disappointed after finding this out as someone with limited knowledge about the Presidency. Moreover, the story felt disjointed towards the end, as the trial events get over pretty early on the story, and the rest of the book follows Lincoln’s Presidency and the politics with the vote. Also, I felt that there were too many characters on the canvas, and some of the scenes were unnecessary.

Nevertheless, I found this to be a very captivating novel. Overall, “The Day Lincoln Lost” is a decent historical novel, which I recommend reading but not benchmark against the actual events that transpired.

THE DAY LINCOLN LOST has a great premise and all the components to be an amazing read. However, this one just didn't resonate with me. It was tough to get through and I had to put it down several times.

Typically when stating that a book features an alternate time line, you are reading a scifi book. Charles Rosenberg has given us an alternate reality book that is more thriller/ historical fiction with a twist. It will definitely make you wonder "what if" and not just about Lincoln's presidency and the Civil War but many more elections that would have led the US on a different path.

Set in the 1860's during the time just before the elections, this book has a more contemporary feel to it. The Lincoln debates are very much an important part of his election history, but what if a young woman journalist, an abolitionist, decides that the best way to advance her cause is to become an active member of the debates. It's a unique approach written with skill by an author who knows how to capture reader's attention. Add in a very divisive party line and this could very well be written about an election in more recent history. I was very surprised how Charles Rosenberg managed to take a well known period in history and add enough twists to keep the story moving swiftly towards a result we are all familiar with but keep the mystery element in place. This took some very skilled writing. This is a really good book for anyone interested in the period.

I’ve been an admirer of Abraham Lincoln and his family since I first learned of him in grade school. I’m always up for reading anything about him, be it fiction or fact. I admit, however, that I was a tad skeptical of the premise of this novel, that Lincoln lost the 1860 election (that premise was born strictly from reading the title). Alternative history isn’t my thing.

I wasn’t sure how this story would start, but I was hooked from the very beginning. It’s Kentucky in 1860. Twelve-year-old Lucy Battelle, a slave, is about to be sold. It’s probably a good thing given that Riverview’s current master, Ezekiel Goshorn, is quite cruel and quite inept to run a plantation. However, Lucy has heard what happens to slaves who are sold “Down South.” So she runs away.

She runs and runs. She is discovered in one of her hiding place, but her discoverer was an abolitionist. He takes her to Springfield, Illinois, where she is to be placed on the Underground Railroad. Goshorn also makes his way to Springfield. Unfortunately she is captured.

Across town, Abby Kelly Foster, a fiery abolitionist, is making a speech about the evils of slavery. Seems everyone, almost, who was any one is Springfield was there. After the speech, the crowd bursts out into the square and create a small riot, and Lucy escapes again.

Foster is arrested on inciting a riot and is jailed. She manages to convince Lincoln to represent her, although the damage that may be caused to the upcoming presidential election and the Republican Party is high.

It’s quite interesting to watch/hear Lincoln decide what to do. He takes the case and hope for the best. The trial becomes a circus, with the election coming closer and closer. Then the story goes into an in-depth look that Constitution’s Twelfth Amendment, which was quiet apropos given that the United States, when I was reading this, was undergoing a crisis of leadership. The Twelfth Amendment is about the Electoral College, which I don’t really understand. Therefore given all that about the Twelfth Amendment and that Lincoln didn’t lose anything as far as the title is concerned, The Day Lincoln Lost receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

i really love alternate history novels, this one was a really good read, the characters were great and I could see this actually playing out.

The Review
A truly unique and fascinating story that comes along during a time where our world is facing more injustice and painful experiences in the fight to bring equality and recognition to all people, not just a select few, author Charles Rosenberg’s “The Day Lincoln Lost” is a much needed political thriller with a historical fiction bend.

The author does a great job of utilizing historical figures into the narrative while also giving ample room for new characters to come along for the narrative and bring about a new depth to the theme of racial equality. The horrors that the Black Community faced during this time period of slavery are showcased greatly within this narrative, and show that although slavery has ended, discrimination and hatred are still very much alive in this day and age, and only by learning from the past can we change.

The Verdict
A good mixture of meaningful lessons and an intriguing political thriller that highlights the complex fight to end slavery and how the more prominent figures of that time rose to the level people now know them for, the author does an amazing job of introducing enough new material to keep readers invested in the narrative. Fans of the Historical Fiction genre and political thrillers will not be able to put this book down, so be sure to grab your copy today!

The Day Lincoln Lost is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. However, if you're a person who likes historically accurate historical fiction, this is not the book for you. There are several liberties taken that aren't absurdly out there, but I wanted a bit more from this book.

This was a unique take on Abraham Lincoln's life at the time of the impending Civil War. I found the characters to be quirky and the story interesting.

Lucy is a runaway slave. She has a goal of reaching Canada. However, she is captured in Springfield. This is the town of Abraham Lincoln. It is also a town divided with abolitionist and people who capture slaves for a living. A riot breaks out just as she is about to be sent back to her plantation in Kentucky.

This story started really well. I was captivated by Lucy and her plight, escaping slavery. But, the story changed and moved to Lincoln’s bid for the White House and his decisions that affect a runaway slave. That’s when the story just fell apart for me. The characters just did not keep my interest and the alternative history was a miss.

But, some people enjoy alternative history and this could be right up your alley. Check it out!

I started this book with a completely different expectation from what I ended up getting and I am totally okay with that. This could not have been a timelier, or more fascinating, read.

Set against the backdrop of the run-up to the pivotal 1860 election, the author tackles just about every topic at issue. From slavery and abolition to the scorn of media against certain politicians, all is covered with informative detail.

I particularly liked the way the author mixed real historical figures with his fictional characters. I have studied the Civil War at great length and am familiar with several of the names mentioned in this book. But the author wrote his fictional characters so vividly, that I found myself Googling just about every one of them to find out if the person was imaginary or was real and I just hadn’t heard of them. It made the book almost interactive, which I really enjoyed.

(Yes, I realize I could have just read the end notes, but where is the fun in that?)

I also liked how the author used an escaped slave girl to set the scene and allowed the characters’ positions to be clear through their actions instead of just through exposition. I think that this helped the story come more to life.

What I didn’t like, and I’m not exactly sure of why the author chose this path, was to change something that seems rather insignificant in the bigger picture. It has to do with the election itself, and that’s all I am going to say in terms of the overall plot.

What occurred to me, however, is that the author might have been using one of the most contentious elections in American History as a commentary for our current election. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but to me there were clear parallels that could have been drawn.

I found myself saying, “well that sounds familiar” more than a few times. This was especially true when it came to Buchanan’s attitudes (and those of the people surrounding him) towards Lincoln. The similarities to the past few years of history were too great to ignore.

I think that when it comes to alternate history, it’s important go big and show how different history could have been. I didn’t get that with this one. But I still enjoyed it because of the characters and the closer look at another time that our country was in crisis.

This is definitely alternate history, but not necessarily high quality in its execution.
I think that the description needs to be clearer that this is a re-imagining of the situation, but I don't think that the narrative goes far enough at all to try to accomplish its goal.
The parts with Lucy seemed both insensitive and possibly inaccurate, it's difficult to know. But in today's culture, I'm not sure that this is the right book to be releasing right now.
I didn't really connect with the story at all.

THE DAY LINCOLN LOST

An inventive historical thriller that re-imagines the tumultuous presidential election of 1860, capturing the people desperately trying to hold the nation together—and those trying to crack it apart.

Abby Kelley Foster arrived in Springfield, Illinois, with the fate of the nation on her mind. Her fame as an abolitionist speaker had spread west and she knew that her first speech in the city would make headlines. One of the residents reading those headlines would be none other than the likely next president of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln, lawyer and presidential candidate, knew his chances of winning were good. All he had to do was stay above the fray of the slavery debate and appear the voice of reason until the people cast their votes. The last thing he needed was a fiery abolitionist appearing in town. When her speech sparks violence, leading to her arrest and a high-profile trial, he suspects that his political rivals have conspired against him.

President James Buchanan is one such rival. As his term ends and his political power crumbles, he gathers his advisers at the White House to make one last move that might derail Lincoln’s campaign, steal the election and throw America into chaos.

A fascinating historical novel and fast-paced political thriller of a nation on the cusp of civil war, The Day Lincoln Lost offers an unexpected window into one of the most consequential elections in our country’s history.

Goodreads description





I received a review copy of The Day Lincoln Lost from the publisher via Net Galley when I signed up for this blog tour. The Day Lincoln Lost is the second alternate history I've read by Charles Rosenberg. The first was The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington which I reviewed here . Both books have titles which set up expectations of truly terrible events that happened in their respective alternate timelines. I feel that The Day Lincoln Lost didn't depart as much from established history as Rosenberg's earlier book. Yet it's still definitely alternate history. As an aficionado of alternate history, I was delighted to find another example of the genre that is well-researched and plausible.

Another aspect of this novel that I really liked is the strong female characters. My favorite was the real Quaker abolitionist speaker Abby Kelley Foster. See her Wikipedia article for some information about her actual life at Abby Kelley .

The forthrightness and alternative lifestyle of this Quaker woman activist as portrayed in The Day Lincoln Lost, reminded me of the 18th century Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay who pioneered the tactics of radical abolitionists in colonial America. See my review of Marcus Rediker's biography, The Fearless Benjamin Lay here. If Benjamin Lay could have time traveled to the 19th century, he probably would have considered Abby Kelley Foster a kindred spirit.

My readers will want to know about the characterization of Abraham Lincoln in Rosenberg's book. You should know that I'm not a huge fan of Lincoln. It seems to me that he was a pragmatic politician, and that he didn't intend to be the President who emancipated the slaves. See my review of the alternate history novel The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln here . I think that Charles Rosenberg shows us a Lincoln who could be pragmatic, but he also cared about justice and about the United States of America remaining intact. In this novel, Lincoln was a complex figure who was neither a saint nor a cynic, but somewhere in between.

A nuanced protagonist like this Lincoln is what makes The Day That Lincoln Lost an intriguing book. I recommend it to other readers who enjoy wandering into the rabbit holes of what if in alternate history. I also found it quite relevant to be immersed in reading about a crucial turning point for democracy in America while living through another such crisis.

Lincoln Tries an Abolitionist Case

Lucy, a twelve-year-old slave girl, is desperate to escape the plantation where she was born. On the way to being sold, she escapes and heads for the underground railroad where she hopes to get help. Unfortunately, she’s captured in Springfield, Missouri, where Lincoln practices law. He’s running for president and trying to keep a low profile while waiting for the vote count.

Abby Kelley Foster, a fiery abolitionist speaker, is in Springfield and eager to give a speech. She thinks Lincoln’s approach to ending slavery is too gradual, and she wants to make the point in his city.

Lucy is scheduled to be returned to her owner because of the Fugitive Slave Law. In her speech, Abby incites a crowd to keep Lucy from being taken. This ends in her being charged with inciting a riot. She wants the best lawyer in Springfield to represent her, so she goes to Lincoln. He reluctantly agrees although he worries that it will cost him the election.

This is an interesting novel about the time just before Lincoln became President. The emotions are well portrayed, but the plot is not particularly historically accurate. For me, this made the book rather choppy. The author did explain the historical discrepancies in a note at the end, but that didn’t work well for me.

The book had a great many characters. This made the character development for most of them rather sketchy. I thought the author tried to tell too many stories in detail within the confines of a single book which made it difficult to get interested in any one character.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Day Lincoln Lost

Author: Charles Rosenberg

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: Historical fiction, Lincoln fans

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

Publisher: Hanover Square Press

Pages: 432

Recommended Age: 15+ (politics, slavery TW, slight violence)

Synopsis: An inventive historical thriller that reimagines the tumultuous presidential election of 1860, capturing the people desperately trying to hold the nation together—and those trying to crack it apart.

Abby Kelley Foster arrived in Springfield, Illinois, with the fate of the nation on her mind. Her fame as an abolitionist speaker had spread west and she knew that her first speech in the city would make headlines. One of the residents reading those headlines would be none other than the likely next president of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln, lawyer and presidential candidate, knew his chances of winning were good. All he had to do was stay above the fray of the slavery debate and appear the voice of reason until the people cast their votes. The last thing he needed was a fiery abolitionist appearing in town. When her speech sparks violence, leading to her arrest and a high-profile trial, he suspects that his political rivals have conspired against him.

President James Buchanan is one such rival. As his term ends and his political power crumbles, he gathers his advisers at the White House to make one last move that might derail Lincoln’s campaign, steal the election and throw America into chaos.

A fascinating historical novel and fast-paced political thriller of a nation on the cusp of civil war, The Day Lincoln Lost offers an unexpected window into one of the most consequential elections in our country’s history.

Review: For the most part this book was ok. I liked the character dynamic between Lincoln and Lucy and I liked the character development. The book also had well done world building.

However, this was a really weird book. The book was kinda disjointed in the writing and the book had some confusing plot points. I also felt very uneasy with how Lucy was wrote and I'd love to read a Black reviewer's perspective on her. The book is also not historically accurate which is my problem with historical fiction books. If you're going to write historical fiction books please try to be accurate.

Verdict: It was good, just not what I expected.

If you are someone who thinks that this time in our political history is unprecedented, Charles Rosenberg's alternate history political thriller, The Day Lincoln Lost, may disabuse you of that notion.

Abraham Lincoln is laying low, waiting out his time as the Republican nominee for President in 1860 at his home in Springfield. Abby Kelley Foster, a famous abolitionist speaker, was asked to give a talk at a local church about the need to end slavery now. She was not a fan of Lincoln's gradual approach to end slavery, and let everyone know that, even in his hometown of Springfield.

Lucy, a twelve year-old girl who had escaped slavery, was captured and jailed in Springfield, awaiting her return to Goshorn, the man who "owned" her. Foster encouraged the crowd to "do something about this", and the crowd surrounded the carriage she was being taken away in. Lucy and Goshorn disappeared into the night.

Foster was arrested for inciting the riot and placed in the Springfield jail. Abraham Lincoln and his law partner Billy Herndon reluctantly agree to represent Foster at her trial, after much discussion about how this will politically affect Lincoln's run for president.

They strategize that the best outcome would be to find Lucy and Goshorn, so they turn to the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Pinkerton puts one of his best agents on the job- a woman by the name of Annabelle, who just so happens to have grown up on a plantation neighboring the missing slave owner.

I liked that the novel had two women who were in roles not usually occupied by females- lecture speakers and detective. The inclusion of actual people in the story, both famous- Lincoln, Allan Pinkerton, and Frederick Douglass- and less well known made for a more interesting story.

President James Buchanan, widely considered one of our worst presidents, is seen here as someone who cares little of the serious problems facing his country, and more concerned with the machinations to defeat Lincoln. That section may have some resonance for readers today.

One paragraph that particularly struck me is this:
"There is such bitterness in our politics now that people want to avoid arguments with their neighbors, their families, and the people they work with. Or, if they are merchants, with the people they sell goods to."
I guess the rancor we see today didn't start with Twitter; it has been with us a long time.

In this novel, the election of 1860 was not decided immediately by popular vote. No candidate received enough electoral votes to claim victory, which sends the vote to the House of Representatives. (Political junkies will truly enjoy this section of the novel.) I only hope our upcoming election is easier.

The Day Lincoln Lost will appeal to people who like historical fiction as well as political thrillers. The writing is crisp and the characters well drawn. And it reminds us that this union has survived difficult times in the past, and will do so in the future.

Thanks to Harlequin/Hanover Square Press for putting me on Charles Rosenberg's tour.

A very interesting angle on a non-fiction matter, made into fiction. I have read many books on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, both fiction and non-fiction, and this an interesting addition to my list.

I like alternate history and I liked this one.
Good world building and character development, it's an engrossing and entertaining read.
I'm not an expert of the specific historical timeframe so I can't say it if's accurate or not but being an alternate history there is no requirement to contain the real historical facts.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Alternative retellings are a staple of my reading habits, usually in the form of Austenesque fiction. In the case of the novel The Day Lincoln Lost by Charles Rosenberg, I was drawn to the notion of a new history of the election of 1860, the fate of Abraham Lincoln, and by association, the fate of the United States. The inclusion of abolitionist Abby Kelley Foster was also a strong draw.

The Day Lincoln Lost opens strongly, if not heart wrenchingly, as is evidenced in Chapter One, offered in the same blog post as this review. With modern American society once again in the midst of social upheaval over race issues, the injustices that have been perpetuated over the generations are at the forefront of my mind. This made the plight of twelve year-old escaped slave Lucy Battelle that much more riveting, as I was rooting for her liberation and for the failure of her vile pursuers. I very much enjoyed the characters that Rosenberg brings to the story, in particular the aforementioned Lincoln and Foster, but also investigator Annabelle Carter and newspaper journalist Clarence Artemis. Annabelle is on a quest to find Lucy in order to help her, and Clarence searches for the girl as well, in order to gain exclusive information to bolster his fledgling newspaper. I loved Abby Kelley Foster’s spirit, with her unquenchable desire to promote the Abolitionist cause. Abraham Lincoln’s perspective was interesting, as he did not approve of slavery, but as a presidential candidate, did not want to come out too strongly against it, lest he alienate a large portion of the electorate and lose their votes. The balancing act that he was required to achieve must have been so difficult. Assuming that the general facts Rosenberg shares with his readers are true (aside from the reworked narrative), it makes me appreciate our former president even more.

Approximately halfway into the novel, the story shifts to the courtroom. Foster is on trial, accused to inciting a mob that not only allowed Lucy Battelle to escape, but also led to the death of her so-called owner. Mrs. Foster had merely been giving a motivational speech one evening, but the charges against her indicated that her words encouraged the mob’s illegal actions (a charge I found to be dubious at best). A large portion of the book then remained in the courtroom, and my interest level began to drop precipitously. Rosenberg clearly knows the ins and outs of the legal world (his pedigree is very impressive), and his readers are given quite a bit of the procedures and the strategies involved in trying a case such as this one in the 19th century. While I know that much of what was covered in the courtroom was necessary to show why the jury came to the decision that they did, I found this large portion of the book to be tedious and dry. Any time the text returned to actions outside the courtroom (such as with Annabelle and/or Clarence), my interest perked up again. The same can also be said for the story after conclusion of the trial. Not long after the verdict was rendered, the election of 1860 is held. I will withhold the particulars of what happens during that period, but I felt that the plot was mired down in electoral law, vote counting and Constitutional procedures. By the conclusion of the book, I was relieved that it was over.

Author Charles Rosenberg is very talented, and has the capacity to keep this reader interested. When focused on narrative and not legal/electoral procedures, he writes very well. He could stand some improvement in the area of romantic storytelling, but that was not the main focus of this work. I give my hearty approval to the first half of The Day Lincoln Lost. It was very enjoyable. The book as a whole has little to no colorful language, any romantic content is very chaste, and the most difficult material is in the area of the slave trade, which was at times hard to read, but I feel was important to include. Unfortunately, the second half of the novel lost my interest. I wouldn’t call my review a “non-endorsement”, but would say that those who enjoy large amounts of legal content would certainly find The Day Lincoln Lost interesting. If legal procedure is not to your taste, you may want to look elsewhere for literary diversion.

Lincoln finds himself the Republican nominee for President at a very contentious time in history. The country is divided on slavery and while Lincoln is against it, he needs to be careful not to state his opinion either way to avoid upsetting any voters. Abby Foster comes to Lincoln's hometown of Springfield, IL to give a speech about abolition of slavery. The same day as Abby's speech, a young fugitive slave, Lucy, is brought to court and ordered to be returned to her owner. As the owner and slave attempt to leave the courthouse, they are met by an angry mob who does want Lucy forced back into slavery. The owner returns to the courthouse and plans to leave at night when the mob has gone away. After Abby gives her passionate speech, the owner attempts to take Lucy and is again met by the mob, who separate Lucy and the owner. Abby is charged with influencing the mob violence by the government in an effort to hurt Lincoln's chances at the Presidency. Lincoln is being pressured to day if he would pardon Abby if she is found guilty. Lincoln wants to stay above the fray but can he in his hometown?

I like to read historical fiction books but this is my first about this time period. I enjoyed the real historical facts and learning about this time in our history. I also enjoyed the writing style as the author tells the story from a few different characters views. Most of all I liked the portrayal of Lincoln. He is a man who wants to stay the course and do what is right. He is against corruption even when presented a change to guarantee himself the presidency.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction or this time period in particular. The only downside to the book was it was almost two books in one with one book focused on Lincoln's election and one focused on Abby and her trial.

I love historical fiction. However, there also must be some attempt to follow history in some fashion. There should also be a reliable timeline.

I wanted to like this but it just felt flat and uninteresting. I didn't feel anything for the characters.




NetGalley Review/August 11th, 2020 by Hanover Square Press