UNTOLD POWER The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson

Saskia Maarleveld's intense yet restrained performance of this excellent biography offers a formidable portrait of Edith Bolling Wilson, second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. A widowed businesswoman when she married the recently widowed president, she helped conceal his 1919 stroke by serving as his "shadow steward," overseeing his communications and, some said, making presidential decisions. Following Wilson's 1924 death, she burnished his legacy until her own death decades later. Maarleveld's warm voice and precise enunciation reflect Bolling Wilson's mix of charm and unremitting determination. Her engaged tone and even pace also enable listeners to absorb a wealth of thought-provoking information in this well-crafted biography, including Bolling Wilson's opposition to women's suffrage and the president's habit of courting her by reviewing secret government documents à deux. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2023]