The House of Lincoln

An unprecedented view of Lincoln's Springfield from the acclaimed and bestselling author of Loving Frank.

Nancy Horan, author of the million-copy New York Times bestseller Loving Frank, returns with a sweeping historical novel, which tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s ascendance from rumpled lawyer to U.S. president to the Great Emancipator through the eyes of a young asylum-seeker who arrives in Lincoln’s home of Springfield from Madeira, Portugal.

Showing intelligence beyond society’s expectations, fourteen-year-old Ana Ferreira lands a job in the Lincoln household assisting Mary Lincoln with their boys and with the hostess duties borne by the wife of a rising political star. Ana bears witness to the evolution of Lincoln’s views on equality and the Union and observes in full complexity the psyche and pain of his bold, polarizing wife, Mary.

Along with her African American friend Cal, Ana encounters the presence of the underground railroad in town and experiences personally how slavery is tearing apart her adopted country. Culminating in an eyewitness account of the little-known Springfield race riot of 1908, The House of Lincoln takes readers on a journey through the historic changes that reshaped America and that continue to reverberate today.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Sourcebooks.

Book club questions for The House of Lincoln by Nancy Horan

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Ana and her family immigrated from Portugal. Once in Illinois, her father seems determined to assimilate while her mother clings to her Portuguese roots (p. 7-8). Do you think Genoveva would have been happier if she’d tried to adapt to her new circumstances, as her husband insists? Do you have first-hand experience with people who’ve permanently moved to a new country, and if so, how did they adjust?

Spencer and his brother William consider moving to Chicago (p.52), where Blacks have greater freedom, but ultimately, they decide to return to Springfield. What would you have done in their place, and why?

Ana thinks to herself “That was what you did in America. You started at low wages toiling for somebody else, but with hard work, in a year or two, you could have employees working for you.” (p 52) How possible was this part of the American Dream for most people in the mid-19th century? Do you think it’s any more or less achievable today? Why or why not?

Did you learn anything new about the historical figures in the book (Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, et.al.)? Did your opinion of them change? Were any new to you? Were there real-life individuals presented who you would like to know more about?

Many of the Republicans who opposed Abraham Lincoln, particularly Stephan A. Douglas, preferred allowing federal territories to decide whether slavery would be legal within their borders. What do you believe would have happened if this policy, known as popular sovereignty, had become law? In your opinion, what types of issues should be decided within each state, and which at the federal level?

Robert Lincoln is 18 when his father is elected to the presidency. How do you imagine he viewed Abraham as a father and as a politician?

Cal and Ana discuss their futures (p. 110), and Ana concludes, “The future depended on marriage. Marriage meant you had a plan.” What do you think of this statement? Do you agree it was true at the time? How much has this changed in today’s United States?

Ana finds a note Lincoln wrote outlining his thoughts on slavery (p.86): “If A can prove…that he may of right enslave B, why may not B snatch the same argument and prove equally that he may enslave A?” Why do you think his logic failed to sway more of the population?

In discussing the Lincoln-Douglas debate, Owen opines that the debates are like boxing matches (p. 147). Do you feel the comparison is apt? Are today’s presidential and vice-presidential debates similarly combative, or do you feel they’re more reasoned? Do you believe they add value to the public’s understanding of the candidates, or are they an outdated tradition?

Mary Lincoln refers to a tradition that “once a man is chosen as the presidential candidate, he no longer gives speeches” (p. 158). How do you think that helped or hurt a candidate in the 1850s? Do you feel it would help or hurt today’s candidates if this tradition returned?

As Lincoln leaves Springfield for Washington, he tells his audience, “I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington.” Do you agree with him?

Spencer tells Cal that Lincoln “had brought about what no one else could do” (p. 260). Do you believe this was true? What would have happened, do you think, if Lincoln hadn’t been elected president? How would the United States be different if he hadn’t been assassinated?

Ana thinks to herself that Lincoln “was born in a time and place where race prejudice was learned early on” (p.322) yet he overcame his biases. How do you think we can identify our own prejudices, and how do we become more tolerant?

Ana worries that the race riot of 1908 will become a “condemned memory that will be unknown in fifty years” (p. 332). Do you think her fears are justified? Do you believe shameful historical incidents do get permanently forgotten, or are they only suppressed temporarily? Is our response to such incidents different today than it was a century ago?

Reverend Magee tells his congregation, “In another hundred years…I believe that prejudice shall have been banished as a myth and relegated to the dark days of Salem witchcraft.” In what ways do you think his prediction has come true, and in what ways has it not? Do you think his vision will ever be completely realized? Are there steps we can take to help make it a reality?

At the end of the book, Ana tries again to contact Cal but is ignored. Why do you suppose Cal decides against corresponding with Ana?

What about the novel surprised you? Did you learn anything new about the time period?

The House of Lincoln Book Club Questions PDF

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"What a gift Nancy Horan has for conjuring the past and bringing it vividly to life! Here, she turns her considerable talents to Lincoln's strange road to the White House and the turbulence of his presidency, illuminating lesser-known perspectives and details that resonate eerily with our contemporary times. This is top-quality literary time-travel, and the trip is well worth taking."—Therese Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Behaved Woman

“Nancy Horan’s nuanced portrait of Abraham Lincoln as his thoughts on emancipation evolve and her deft, revelatory use of narrators from marginalized communities enhance this compelling, beautifully crafted novel. The House of Lincoln evokes the past to illuminate the present as only the very best historical fiction can.”—Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters

“The gifted Nancy Horan once again brings readers into a story -- inspired by real events -- that will forever change the way they perceive famous historical figures and their times. In the captivating and important The House of Lincoln, the young Portuguese immigrant Ana is hired to help in the Springfield, Illinois home of Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator is on the rise. Through Ana's relationship with Lincoln's wife Mary and her close friendship with Cal, a free Black girl, the novel explores a lesser-known aspect of a crucial historical period.”—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room

“Here, happily, is Nancy Horan doing once again what Nancy Horan does best – telling us the part of the story we don’t yet know. Strong on fine detail yet cognizant of the expansive historical context, Horan’s newest is wonderfully immersive, memorable, important, and pertinent. An ambitious and accomplished work.” —Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves