Lincoln in New England – Page 4

Back in May I announced that I submitted the final manuscript for my new book about Lincoln’s two tours of New England. As the production process proceeds, I’ve been working with the editors to fine-tune the book. Most of that sausage-making is behind the scenes and won’t be noticeable to the public, but one change is rather obvious. I have a new title!

The title of the book in print will be…(imagine a drum roll here)…Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours.

My original working title, Unable to Escape This Toil, came from a letter Abraham Lincoln had written to his wife Mary. He was in Exeter, New Hampshire at the time visiting his son Robert, who was at Phillips Exeter Academy studying to retake the Harvard entrance exams he had failed the previous summer. Lincoln had given a big (really big) speech at Cooper Union in New York, then planned a relaxing few days visiting his son. By the time he got there he had already given one additional speech and committed to at least five more. Another four were waiting for him when he arrived at the Exeter train station. In his letter home, Lincoln wrote: “I am unable to escape this toil,” he said, adding “If I had foreseen it, I think I would not have come East at all.” He was being a bit whiny and disingenuous, which I discuss in a paper that I just submitted to the Lincoln Forum Bulletin for publication this fall. In any case, the title seemed a big opaque to the general public, so we changed it to a much more descriptive Lincoln in New England. The subtitle is tweaked slightly to go with the new title.

As of this writing, Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours is scheduled for release on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. You can even pre-order the book via the publisher website and other booksellers:

Globe Pequot (with links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and Bookshop)

Amazon

[The other links weren’t updated yet, so I’ll add them when they work]

Meanwhile, formatting of the book continues. It will include fifty black-and-white photos from my travels and of historical places, plus two maps to show Lincoln’s speaking tour routes.

Stay tuned for the cover reveal to come soon!

[Photos by David J. Kent, 2025]

Fire of Genius

Coming in March 2026: Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours

Also see – Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America.

Join me on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook. Also follow me on Instagram.

David J. Kent is Immediate Past President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

It’s been submitted!

UPDATE: The book has been retitled: Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours

I’m happy to say that I just submitted the manuscript for my newest book: Unable to Escape This Toil: In Search of Abraham Lincoln’s Forgotten New England Tours. The book is being published by Globe Pequot, the trade arm of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. Unable to Escape This Toil is scheduled for release in February 2026.

Here is the Publisher’s Marketplace Announcement for the book:

Unable to Escape This Toil Publishers Marketplace Announcement

As the announcement notes, the book is written in a “ride-along” style narrative, which means it blends coverage of my modern road trips of all the sites where Lincoln gave speeches during his two tours with the history of Lincoln’s times and issues. Readers get to visit the locations, check out what memorials remain of the sites, hear from local and regional experts, and get a sense of what the travel was like for Lincoln. Interwoven within the ride-along is the history of his time. Why was Lincoln there, and what did he accomplish?

In 1848, Lincoln’s first trip took him to Massachusetts between sessions of his single term as U.S. congressman. Zachary Taylor had been chosen as the Whig nominee for president, and the Whigs were finding he was not an ideal candidate. Lincoln spoke in Worcester to fend off a wayward Whig faction known as the Free Soilers, who were fielding their own nominee. In New Bedford he was expose to the growing abolitionist movement. He found himself dealing with another split in the Whig ranks between the Conscience and Cotton Whigs. The renowned writers of Concord were stirring up the transcendentalist pot against slavery. And Lincoln was discovering his Massachusetts ancestors. Lincoln went to Massachusetts “with hayseed in his hair” and came away vastly educated in the realities of the world

In 1860, Lincoln was back in New England, this time in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The twelve years since his last visit was one of life-altering chaos for him and for the nation. As tensions between North and South rose, Lincoln found himself taking his influential Cooper Union speech on the road trying to keep the new Republican Party from imploding while at the same time working hard to split the Democratic Party, now torn between its northern pro-slavery but pro-Union contingent led by Stephen A. Douglas and its southern pro-slavey but pro-secession faction looking for an alternative.

Lincoln’s first trip changed him. His second trip changed the country and sent us into the Civil War.

Now that the manuscript is in the hands of my editor, I’ll be giving more information on the forthcoming book as the cover and bookseller links become available. I hope you’ll bookmark this website and join my Facebook and Instagram pages. Keep on the lookout for free giveaways and other incentives as the release date gets closer. And as always, thanks for all your support.

If you haven’t already, check out my previous book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, and leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon to help get the word out.

Fire of Genius

Coming in February 2026: Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours

Also see – Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America.

Join me on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook. Also follow me on Instagram.