"In this fine epistolary novel, Sappéy skillfully blends history and fiction. … Eager readers will wonder why it has taken so long for us to know Ream’s name."
     —Booklist

"Sappéy gracefully blends fact and fiction in her chronicle of Vinnie Ream, the first sculptress to win a Government commission and the creator of the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln that graces the Capitol building. Using the fictional device of letters to a friend, Sappéy tells Vinnie’s story in textured language, interweaving historical and personal details about her life as she grows from a passionate but raw adolescent to an accomplished lady in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War and its aftermath. Vinnie begins to study sculpture at 16, and takes to it immediately, describing the clay as ‘bending and moving under my fingers as though it understood my intention and desired to please my creative touch.’"
     —Kirkus Reviews

"Welcome historical fiction about the sculptress. …Through [Vinnie’s] eyes, readers gain knowledge of the Civil War, Lincoln, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson."
     —Booklist