American Queen: The Rise and Fall of Kate Chase Sprague -- Civil War "Belle of the North" and Gilded Age Woman of Scandal

by John Oller

Overview

Had People magazine been around during the Civil War and after, Kate Chase would have made its “Most Beautiful” and “Most Intriguing” lists every year.

Kate Chase, the charismatic daughter of Abraham Lincoln's treasury secretary, enjoyed unprecedented political power for a woman. As her widowed father's hostess, she set up a rival “court” against Mary Lincoln in hopes of making her father president and herself his First Lady. To facilitate that goal, she married one of the richest men in the country, the handsome “boy governor” of Rhode Island, in the social event of the Civil War. But when William Sprague turned out to be less of a prince as a husband, she found comfort in the arms of a powerful married senator. The ensuing scandal ended her virtual royalty, leaving her a social outcast who died in poverty. Yet in her final years she would find both greater authenticity and the inner peace that had always eluded her.

Set against the seductive allure of the Civil War and Gilded Age, Kate Chase Sprague's dramatic story is one of ambition and tragedy involving some of the most famous personalities in American history. In this beautifully written and meticulously researched biography, drawing on much unpublished material, John Oller captures the tumultuous and passionate life of a woman who was a century ahead of her time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306822810
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	10/28/2014
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	269,563
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

John Oller, a lawyer and journalist, is the author of the critically acclaimed biographies of actress Jean Arthur and Kate Chase Sprague, Mary Todd Lincoln's great rival. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Prologue: A Woman in the Arena ix

Part 1 Miss Chase

1 "Qualified to Ornament Any Society" 3

2 "I Shall Strive to Be First Wherever I May Be" 12

3 "How Short Then Is This Life!" 20

4 The Belle of Columbus 28

5 The Belle of Washington 39

6 The Boy Governor 45

7 Mrs. Lincoln's Rival 60

8 Wedding of the Decade 74

Part 2 Mrs. Sprague

9 "Imagine My Disappointment" 87

10 "Our Accomplished Countrywoman" 96

11 "More Unfitness Day by Day" 101

12 "I Am Told That She Actually Controls the Entire Affair" 108

13 "You Have Been Most Cruelly Deceived" 120

14 "I Almost Hate This Man" 128

15 "She's Capable of Hitting Him" 134

16 Some Dared Call It Treason 142

17 End of an Era 148

18 End of an Empire 156

19 "Intended by Their Creator for Each Other" 163

20 "Mrs. Conkling Is Not Here This Winter" 172

21 "The Now Notorious Outbreak" 182

22 "The Bird Has Flown" 201

Part 3 Kate Chase Again

23 "A Dinner with the Queen" 211

24 "As Much Alone as Cleopatra" 216

25 Gilded Age Woman 228

26 Stalwart Woman 235

27 An Unmarried Woman 239

28 An Independent Woman 243

29 "What We Have Is Good" 252

30 "None Outshone Her" 260

Epilogue 267

Acknowledgments 271

Notes 275

Selected Bibliography 355

Index 365

Photographs following page 184

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/15/2014
In the wake of the recent resurgence of interest in the Civil War era comes a biography of a once-formidable figure in the world of Washington whose fame is finally being rekindled. Oller (lawyer and journalist; Jean Arthur) writes sympathetically of Kate Chase Sprague (1840–99), the daughter of Treasury Secretary and Chief Justice Salmon Chase. The author takes us through his subject's life as she moves from a high-class social butterfly who rubs elbows with political elite, has designs on becoming first lady via her father's ascent to the presidency, and butts heads with Mary Todd Lincoln, to a poverty-stricken divorcee whose scandalous affair with a senator helped end her unhappy marriage to a volatile governor. Though some may view this as a sad tale, Oller depicts Chase as a headstrong, resilient, and ultimately content woman. VERDICT Well written, fast paced, and with a compelling attention to detail, this work should be a fascinating read for Civil War buffs, fans of Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals (in which Salmon Chase is a main character), and Jennifer Chiaverini's Mrs. Lincoln's Rival.—Laura Marcus, Odenton, MD

Library Journal

09/29/2014
“Behind every great man, there’s a great woman,” goes the saying, and Kate Chase Sprague, the “American Queen” of the Gilded Age, was just such a woman. Daughter of Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury, Sprague was a politically savvy and fiercely ambitious woman at a time women were expected to remain in the background. Despite never actually being first lady, Sprague was almost a de facto one: she was host of some of the best parties and salons in D.C., a frequent subject of the news, and was at the edge of most of the scandals of the time (she was suspected of having an affair with Sen. Roscoe Conkling). After her marriage to textile tycoon and politician William Sprague collapsed, she went bankrupt, ending her life peddling eggs and milk. Oller (Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew) details Sprague’s fascinating life, introducing readers to an inspiring woman in spite of her faults: haughtiness; personal, rather than ideological, politics; financial profligacy. The book’s analysis may not be well enough grounded in fact, verging on the speculative at times, but otherwise, Oller offers an accessible, attention-grabbing work. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

“A fascinating portrait of a strong, accomplished, and resilient woman, who was ahead of her time—and happens to be my great-great grandmother!”—Kris Carr, New York Times bestselling author and motivational speaker

“The story of Kate Chase literally jumps off the page in John Oller's brilliant evocation of her tumultuous life. She is the Northern Scarlett O'Hara, whose political and social ambitions—and machinations worthy of Machiavelli—ultimately consume her. Oller's skilled and even-handed treatment of his subject allows the reader to empathize with this fascinating and complex woman despite her flaws.”—Heath Hardage Lee, author of Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause

“John Oller's book adds many new dimensions to one of the most famous women in the United States in the nineteenth century.”—Richard Vangermeersch, Professor Emeritus, University of Rhode Island

Kirkus, 10/15/14
“A well-researched, thoughtful biography of a woman who ‘became entirely her own person, a rare feat for women of her day.'”

Library Journal starred review, 10/15/14
“Well written, fast paced, and with a compelling attention to detail, this work should be a fascinating read for Civil War buffs, fans of Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals (in which Salmon Chase is a main character), and Jennifer Chiaverini's Mrs. Lincoln's Rival.”

Publishers Weekly, 10/1/14
“Oller details Sprague's fascinating life, introducing readers to an inspiring woman in spite of her faults: haughtiness; personal, rather than ideological, politics; financial profligacy…Oller offers an accessible, attention-grabbing work”

Chicago Tribune, 11/6/14
“Nuanced and finely balanced.”

WhatWouldTheFoundersThink.com, 11/1/14
“John Oller has written an absorbing book…[he] brings into focus a master of political intrigue and a beautiful, ambitious, resourceful woman who was determined to live life on her own terms. Oller's book evokes an era and the American Queen who, for a time, ruled it.”

Providence Journal, 12/14/14
“[An] immensely readable and grippingly sumptuous biography…Fascinating.”

Hudson Valley News, 11/26/14
“[A] lively book…It's a joy to say that a biography, even of someone you hadn't heard of before, can be good fun all the way through.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune, 12/28/14
“[Kate Chase Sprague] is a fit subject for a biography because of her commanding presence in an era when women were not expected to have any say in public affairs…Oller commands his sources in a riveting narrative that is all the more persuasive because he does not make large claims for his subject. It is enough, he realizes, for a biography to portray and assess a remarkable human being—one who struggled with and overcame many of the confining conventions of her age—in her own terms.”

Adventures with Words, 10/28/14
“A surprising biography…American Queen should be required reading for anyone taking a class in American history, anyone interested in this period of American history, and any woman who wants to know what ignoring societal limitations looks like.”

Fangirl Nation, 10/27/14
“Kate Chase is probably the most tragic story you've never heard from American History…Oller's book is sympathetic and kind to a woman that men wanted and women wanted to be for most of her days in Washington DC…If you've never heard of Kate Chase or her contributions to American politics, now is the time to hear her story.”

Portland Book Review, 1/16/15
“Oller, who has worked closely with Sprague's granddaughter, attempts to dispel the typical opinions that her life was tragic by instead focusing on her strength of spirit and accomplishments for a woman of that era.”

Civil War Book Review, Winter 2015
“Kate Chase was an interesting woman in an age when women were not supposed to be interesting…Oller has created an immensely readable book.”

San Francisco Book Review, 2/25
“A ripped-from-the-headlines romp through the 1800s…A fascinating look at Kate Chase Sprague…A careful and vivid biography worthy of a read.”

Civil War Monitor, 4/21/15
“Full of engaging detail and captivating characters…Yet this vivid portrait of a vivacious and complex woman who defied the dictates of her day is no mere biography. Oller weaves in fascinating details of rivalries and alliances launched in Civil War Washington which influenced political agendas during Reconstruction and what followed, the so-called Gilded Age…He also powerfully invokes the way in which the press reflected and stimulated political intrigue and downfall.”

2015 Ohioana Book Award, finalist

Advance praise for American Queen

“Beautiful, brilliant, and wildly ambitious, Kate Chase was a master of political intrigue and behind-the-scenes power in an era when women were told to be seen and not heard. A terrific work of historical research and reconstruction, American Queen follows her fascinating but forgotten life to tell the story of the Civil War and its scandalous aftermath—its assassinations, impeachments, and sexual hijinks—from an entirely fresh perspective.”—Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher

“No woman of her time walked as close to the power of the land as Kate Chase Sprague. None of the men in her life exceeded her in ambition and drive, or in intriguing for success. John Oller's American Queen eloquently traces her rise and fall, bringing out new material that gives context to an already rich life. Proud at her heights, unbroken by tragedy, this almost American Queen's story is as fascinating as it is improbable. In many respects this thoroughly nineteenth century woman sounds very modern, indeed.”—William C. Davis, prize-winning author

From the Publisher

2014-09-28
Biography of the 19th-century socialite who made her way to or near "the center of more major events…than any woman and most men of her time." Born at a time in American history when females could neither vote nor hold office, Kate Chase Sprague (1840-1899) came to wield more political influence than any American woman ever had before. Her father and first political teacher was Salmon Chase. After he won the governorship of Ohio in 1855, Chase made his beautiful and accomplished daughter into his hostess and political confidante. When he accepted Lincoln's appointment as treasury secretary on the eve of the Civil War in March 1861, Kate immediately established a social "court" in Washington that outshone that of Lincoln's far-less-glamorous wife, Mary. Both father and daughter became known for the brilliance of their gatherings as well as the ruthlessness of their communal desire to eventually occupy the White House. In an effort to secure the money they needed to fund their political dream, Kate married the wealthy but erratic Rhode Island businessman-turned-politician William Sprague. While her staunchly anti-slavery father eventually broke with the Republican Party he helped found and made an unsuccessful run for the presidency as a Democrat, Kate's marriage to Sprague foundered. She became the mistress of the charismatic, and married, New York state senator and Republican Party boss Roscoe Conkling. Their scandalous affair shared the headlines with other major events of the day, including the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881. Divorce the following year "dethroned" Kate from her unofficial status as American political "Queen" and made her a social outcast who would die in poverty at the age of 58. Oller's work is less the story of a woman's political rise and fall and more one that reveals how the social limitations of the past created tragic outcomes for talented females. A well-researched, thoughtful biography of a woman who "became entirely her own person, a rare feat for women of her day."

Kirkus Reviews