Includes Readers Guide containing Inside an enigma: an essay by Louis Bayard; an interview with Louis Bayard; questions for discussion (pages 383-396).

When Mary Todd meets Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in the spring of 1840, he is on no one's short list to be president. A country lawyer living above a dry goods shop, he is lacking both money and manners, and his gift for oratory surprises those who meet him. Mary, a quick, self-possessed debutante with an interest in debates and elections, at first finds him an enigma ... It's not long, though, before she sees the Lincoln that [Joshua] Speed knows: an amiable, profound man who, despite his awkwardness, has a gentle wit to match his genius, and who respects her keen political mind. But as her relationship with Lincoln deepens, she must confront his inseparable friendship with Speed.