Lincoln writes to John Marshall of Shawneetown, Illinois, regarding some books that Marshall sent to Springfield. The previous day, Lincoln distributed copies of a novel, written by Marshall's daughter Sarah Marshall, to various booksellers and to two of the local newspapers. Lincoln confides, "I am not much of a reader of this sort of literature; but my wife got hold of the volume I took home, read it half through last night, and is greatly interested in it." Lincoln adds, "My attention to this matter has been rather a pleasure than a trouble." Abraham Lincoln to John Marshall, 8 February 1854, CW, 2:210-11.