The President’s Wife

Wood’s (The Engineer’s Wife) latest provides a window into the life of President Woodrow Wilson’s second wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. Woodrow, who took office in 1912, was devastated when his first wife died in 1914. He later meets Edith, a widowed socialite; though she has no formal education, she is sharply intelligent, and he is quite taken by her. The two marry in December 1915, and Edith immediately becomes Woodrow’s trusted adviser. Together, they confront big issues—war and peace, Prohibition, and women’s suffrage. In 1919, Woodrow and Edith journey to France, where he signs the Treaty of Versailles; later that same year, he suffers a debilitating stroke. Edith, his doctor, and his closest advisers keep his condition secret, and Edith ably handles his many presidential duties until he recovers. Narrator Libby McKnight provides a clear and measured performance, drawing listeners into Wood’s engrossing descriptions of the difficulty of being First Lady during turbulent times.