Fanny Seward: A Life (New York State Series)

I always wanted to know more about Fanny Seward, William H. Seward's shy, gifted daughter who died young. Fanny is described in many histories and biographies as an aspiring writer and perceptive diarist who had a close-up view of her father's political surroundings and intimate circle of friends during a critical time in American history.Much of what we know about Fanny’s family and exceptional mother, Frances, derives from Fanny's diaries. Her account of the attempt on her father's life on the night of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination is a national treasure. She was at her father's bedside when Lewis Powell entered Seward's bedroom armed with a knife.Trudy Krisher's biography of Fanny is beautifully written. Not only does the book focus on young Fanny's developing literary talents and emergence into 19th century standards of proper womanhood, it frames her experiences in the context of her time and upbringing in the remarkable, progressive Seward household.Enlarging on Fanny's diary entries, Krisher profiles many colorful, influential people who were a part of the Seward circle, from heroic Harriet Tubman to humanitarian Dorothea Dix. We learn from Krisher that John Wilkes Booth's brother, Edwin Booth, was a friend of the Sewards. She gives us background on Lewis Powell, the would-be assassin. We also learn of what the home front was like for a Civil War-era woman waiting to hear news about husband, son, or brother serving in a war of staggeringly high casualties.Walter Stahr, author of "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man", describes Krisher's book as "warm and literate and engaging." I couldn’t agree more with his words of praise.

I was very pleased with the very good condition of the book that I received from Better World Books.

Fanny Seward, a young woman of privilege, witnessed much of the history of the Civil War. Her diary and life are related by Trudy Krisher in such a way that, as a reader, you feel you are a witness to these momentous historical events. This is a loving biography of an extraordinary woman.

The book is quite poorly written, slightly above high school level in grammar and flow. The subject matter is interesting from a historical perspective. It is based on a young girl's diary which might be more interesting to read without the author's commentary.

I've been a fan since Trudy Krisher wrote some wonderful pieces for the Dayton Daily News some 30 or so years. This book does not disappoint.

Great book by a great author! Finally a book about Fanny!

Trudy Krisher acknowledges that her father, who had a passion for the Civil War, prepared her for the task of writing about Fanny Seward. As a child, Krisher visited many Civil War battlefields and monuments with her family. She learned anecdotes and details about generals, their troops, and their battles. But it wasn't until she read Team of Rivals by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin that she began to learn about Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, and his daughter, Fanny (Frances Adeline Seward).Now better known for his visionary efforts to complete the United States' purchase of the Alaska Territory (which was loudly criticized as "Seward's Folly"), William Seward had run hard against Lincoln for the Republican nomination in 1860. But when Seward lost the nomination to Lincoln, he campaigned hard on behalf of his former opponent, despite his deep disappointment. For his part, Lincoln recognized in Seward a man of integrity, and his appointment to Lincoln's cabinet proved to be a solid and important choice.Like Lincoln, Seward was a doting father as well as a canny politician. He had three good sons, but his daughter was the apple of his eye, so he took teenaged Fanny and her friend along when he made a month-long campaign tour on Lincoln's behalf. This was just part of Fanny's remarkable exposure to important people and events, which she carefully noted in the diaries she kept from the age of fourteen until her untimely death just eight years later in 1866.As Krisher studied the Seward family, she saw that bits of information about Fanny kept "peeping out" of other people's stories. She soon found she had a question that would not let her go. "What was it like to be the daughter of Lincoln's Secretary of State, so close to the anxieties—and dangers—of Civil War America?"When Krisher read the microfilmed diaries, which have never been published in their entirety, she was captivated by Fanny and began to dig deeper to understand the girl and her experiences. Among those experiences, the most dramatic is surely Fanny's presence at the assassination attempt on her father, which was part of the plot that dealt Lincoln a fatal wound in Ford's Theater. But there is much more, including friendships with the Underground Railroad's Harriet Tubman and the humanitarian and activist Dorothea Dix. Fanny was well acquainted with the Union players in the unfolding drama of the Civil War, and as she grew into a young woman, developed a remarkably personal connection with many of them.Fanny Seward camped on battlefields and worked in military hospitals. She saw terrible suffering and great heroism, and did her part to help. Yet she was a shy, sensitive, and awkward girl who rather slowly developed a more sophisticated understanding of the world around her. She was also a girl who loved to read and write, and though it would have been quite unusual in her time, Krisher believes that if she had lived she might well have gone on to a writing career. Certainly her diaries provide significant information, and though more of her writings might have been included in this biography, the quotations do give us hints of her intelligence, wit, and devotion to her family.In telling Fanny's story, Trudy Krisher reveals the growth of a young American woman and puts it into a fascinating personal and historical context. The style reflects her experience as an author for young adults, yet she has created an engaging work for any reader interested in a fresh view of dramatic events in our national history. Fannie Seward: A Life deserves to be widely read, and Fanny Seward deserves to be remembered.by Susan Schochfor Story Circle Book Reviewsreviewing books by, for, and about women