IMMORTAL WIFE

by Irving Stone ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1944

Stone has chosen out of the groove characters for his fictionized biographies; this is the first time he has chosen a woman. But the woman he has chosen was the perfect mate for one of the most dramatic and controversial figures in our history, John C. Fremont. Stone has done better books, perhaps, but I don't think he has ever had a more holding subject. Jessie Benton was born for the headlines, with her father, Thomas Kart Benton, another firebrand, and Jessie her father's own daughter. Lieutenant Fremont was already making his mark as an explorer and cartographer when they fell in love at first sight. Their marriage not opposition -- he had no social standing; she was too young. But they took that hurdle, and went gaily into 50 years of storm and stress, sunshine and shadow -- peaks of achievement and recognition, depths of poverty and obliquy. Jessie was back of several moves he made which earned him the reputation of being a mutineer, and undisciplined. She stood by him through the court martial, with its belated exoneration. She fought for his right to prove himself -- and lost. She urged him on to take a high stand when the presidential nomination, on the wrong platform, was his for the taking; she fought with him through a campaign that taxed them both sorely. She believed in him, when he was down and almost out; she kept faith when the world believed him deed; she was the ideal mate for a career that demanded faith and love -- and had both. Stone has tempered slightly with history at unimportant points; he has put his own interpretation on certain incidents of which the backgrounds are not known; but in the main he has hoved to the line. And he has told a grand love story -- grand adventure story -- and told it it well.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1944

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday, Doran

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1944

Categories: NONFICTION