“A story of the youth and early manhood of Lincoln. Opening in Vermont In 1831, the story carries a typical pioneer family across the country to Illinois, the land of plenty. The Traylors settle In New Salem where they meet the lean, gaunt youth known as Abe Lincoln. They become friends and the friendship stands the test of shared joys and sorrows in the primitive frontier community. The conditions of the time are pictured and the growth of the anti-slavery sentiment, although the narrative, ending with Lincoln’s departure to take his seat in congress in 1847, does not take in the active conflict. The “underground railroad” too has a part in the story. A concluding chapter in the form of a memoir sketches the later years of Lincoln’s life.”
“The Abraham Lincoln of Irving Bacheller’s new novel is not the half legendary figure of popular imagination or even of some biographers. It is a re-creation of Lincoln, the fellow human being.”
– The Book Review Digest