‘Succession’ meets ‘Downton Abbey': First book on Thomas Edison's wife hits shelves May 1

History books know Thomas Edison as the American father of research and development, inventing everything from the light bulb to the film camera.

But to his wife Mina Miller Edison, who was 19 years his junior, and mother and stepmother of his six children, he wasn’t much of a father at all.

“Mina isn’t a #MeToo character, but she’s a ‘Me First’ character,” said Alexandra Rimer, whose book about Mina comes out on Monday, May 1. It is the first biography of Mina.

“She knew she had to put herself first, and she was also like the first PR person. She kept that Edison reputation to what the public knows,” added Rimer, an assistant editor at the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University. “I knew when I started reading her letters that she had a larger role in his story, but no one knew about it."

Rimer will host a book launch and signing of “Seduced by the Light: The Mina Miller Edison Story” (Lyons Press, $30) at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, at the Edison Laboratory at Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange.

The event will include an interview, reading and signings. There will also be free tours of Glenmont, Edison's historical home.

“Edison was this lone figure who constantly invented — think Steve Jobs — who was unilaterally focused and was over-involved with patents, work, legal battles, bankers and traveling,” Rimer said. “He wasn’t a warm character and he left everything to Mina. He would give all of his time and energy to journalists and people interested in his patents, but he wouldn’t give time to his own family.”

For her job, Rimer annotates Thomas Edison-related documents like patents, diaries and letters. But in doing so, she became interested in Mina’s untold story.

“I’ve been here for 20 years and I work mostly with men, and they’re mostly interested in the history of technology and engineering,” Rimer said. “But the social anthropological history just jumped out to me — it’s like ‘Succession’ meets ‘Downton Abbey.’ Every story and dynamic just pulled me in. I couldn’t just walk away from it.”

To write the 368-page “Seduced by the Light,” Rimer spent a decade researching Mina and her family. This was complicated in itself — over 6,000 letters exist just from Mina, who was from Ohio and had 10 siblings in a close-knit family. Letters, some which lacked dates, were spread throughout archives in New York, New Jersey and Ohio.

When Mina, a 20-year-old socialite, met Edison, it was an unusual time for he was not working. He was looking for a new wife after his previous spouse died and left him with three children.

Revolutionary War restaurants: Follow Washington’s footsteps at these NJ spots

But as soon as Mina left her loving Methodist family in Ohio to move to New Jersey into Edison’s mansion, she quickly found herself left alone.

“He looked at their courtship as another invention,” Rimer said. "He thought, ‘She seems right, she’s pretty enough and she checks all the boxes.’ But as soon as he got her, he went back to work and his old habits. He didn’t care about his looks or being charming anymore.”

That started immediately on Mina and Edison’s honeymoon, which included stops when Edison met with young inventors and journalists. Once the newlyweds arrived at Edison’s summer home in Fort Myers, Florida, Mina spent less than an hour a day with Edison — entertaining herself for the rest of the time with her new stepdaughter and another couple.

Three Fields: Mansion in May homeowner inspired by lifesaving hospital stay

The situation only worsened once the pair arrived in West Orange.

“She spent days alone in the house and soon, Edison put a bed in his lab and he spent nights there,” Rimer said. “She tried all of these things to entice him to come back and he was never interested. Even when she had three more kids, he’s still in the lab.”

Mina wrote to her family that she was second-guessing their marriage and that Edison was neglectful, but the public never knew — until now.

“She could write to her sister that Edison forgot their anniversary but the next day, she’s on the cover of Cosmopolitan talking about how warm and loving Edison is,” Rimer said. “She learned how to whitewash everything and cover the scandals. She put a face on to the public because she didn’t want to sully the Edison name.”

Go: “Seduced by the Light: The Mina Miller Edison Story” book launch and signing, 2 p.m. Sunday, June 4, Edison Laboratory, Thomas Edison National Historical Park, 211 Main St., West Orange; amazon.com/Seduced-Light-Miller-Edison-Story/dp/1493069411.

Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Seduced by the Light: Wife of Thomas Edison is subject of new book