Starred review from November 16, 2015
Bestselling author Harrigan’s 10th book, after 2011’s Remember Ben Clayton, is superb historical fiction focusing on the period 1832–1861, from Lincoln’s early years as a tireless circuit-riding lawyer and Illinois state legislator to his election as the 16th president. Lincoln’s fictional friend here is Cage Weatherby, a struggling poet who first meets Lincoln on a bloody battleground during the Black Hawk War of 1832. They become unlikely close friends, and Cage soon realizes that Lincoln is “a man who desperately wanted to be better than the world would ever possibly let him be.” Cage knows his friend to be a brilliant lawyer and an astute politician, as well as a homespun raconteur and a neophyte in romance who does not understand women, stumbling from one pratfall to another. The two men are close confidantes, but a surprising murder trial, a stunning development in a courtroom, an astonishing betrayal, and Cage’s painfully emphatic argument that Lincoln should not marry ambitious and vindictive Mary Todd strain their relationship. Still, Harrigan’s standout novel shows the endurance of friendship, and historical fans will find much to savor.
November 15, 2015
A novel that concentrates on Lincoln's early years in Illinois, from his friendship with the (fictional) poet Cage Weatherby to his (altogether too real) relationship with Mary Todd. Harrigan presents Lincoln warts and all. In his version, Lincoln tells ribald jokes, writes morbid poetry, and even threatens suicide when he gets engaged to Mary Todd and at some level realizes the engagement is a terrible mistake. The novel opens with the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination and then flashes back to when he was 22 and meeting Cage for the first time as they buried casualties of the Black Hawk War. Cage is presented as a skilled amateur poet whose work Lincoln much admires and a successful businessman--at least till the end of the novel, when his investments collapse. Cage becomes Lincoln's confidant as Lincoln moves from being an itinerant lawyer to a member of the state legislature. Along the way we get to know some of Lincoln's idiosyncrasies--his social ineptness, for example, especially around his fiancee--though these are balanced by a strong sense of honor and awareness of right and wrong. In one of his best moments he defends Cordelia, a runaway slave employed as a seamstress in a shop owned by Cage's mistress, who's been thrown in jail until her owner can come north to claim her. Through legal knowledge and a sense of the dramatic, he succeeds in securing her freedom. In another episode, both ludicrous and grim, Lincoln is challenged to a duel by a man who feels he's been slandered--and as the one challenged, Lincoln is allowed to choose the weapons. He chooses...broadswords. "You mean to fight this duel like a medieval knight?" a friend asks. "I mean to fight this duel with a weapon I can kill Jim Shields with if I need to," Lincoln replies. A narrative that presents keen insights into Lincoln's complex personality.
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Starred review from January 1, 2016
Harrigan's (Remember Ben Clayton, 2011) newest epic adds to his reputation as a stellar historical novelist. Set in Illinois, mostly in the 1830s and 1840s, this tale takes a powerfully astute look at the public and private sides of the young Abraham Lincoln and the agonizing struggles he endured trying to reconcile the two. Paralleling his character development is that of Springfield, the prospective state capital, where hogs roam the dirty streets and speculators and politicians muscle in, seeking to live a life of consequence. Among the most prominent is Lincoln, a lanky and popular member of the General Assembly, with a talent for telling off-color jokes and capturing a crowd's attention. Harrigan's narrator is the fictional poet Cage Weatherby, who becomes Lincoln's close friend. This works well, for Cage also has a riveting personal story. Full of wild ambition, yet awkward around women and prone to depression, Lincoln takes his time working out his approaches to the polarizing issue of slavery and to the lively and refined Mary Todd. In addition to fine personality depictions, readers get a firsthand glimpse of early Illinois politics, a physically dangerous, occasionally bloody endeavor, in this superb historical novel about ethics, morality, and the nature of courage, that feels as vital as today's news.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Bestselling, award-winning Harrigan is an A-list novelist and screenwriter; accordingly intense promotional efforts will be made to get the word out about this widely appealing title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
Starred review from January 1, 2016
This richly drawn historical novel from the award-winning Harrigan (Gates of the Alamo) begins in 1865 with Abraham Lincoln lying in state in Springfield, IL. In the somber crowd stands Micajah "Cage" Weatherby, who had been part of Lincoln's inner circle in the 1830s and 1840s, when the ambitious young lawyer was a rising member of the state assembly. Cage is approached by Wiliam Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, who wants his help in publishing a book on the real Lincoln, the man they all knew. And so begin Cage's recollections of the young, up-and-coming Lincoln, as Cage soon becomes the chronicler of the raw beginnings of greatness. Cage draws a portrait of Lincoln gathering in the crowds with his raucous storytelling but also portrays a silent, brooding man given to dark moods. He also writes about Lincoln's Springfield circle, influential men on his road to the White House. The years pass, and Cage loses an arm fighting for the union cause, winning a last brief glimpse of his old friend when he visits Cage in the amputee ward. Not until the Springfield funeral are they destined to be reunited. VERDICT In a first-rate rendering, Harrigan shows a young Lincoln in all his moods and temperaments, providing context with vividly detailed historical events. [See Prepub Alert, 8/24/15.]--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 2015
Set in 1830s and 1840s Illinois, this tale of circuit-riding lawyer Abraham Lincoln covers his powerful ambition and self-possession, his bottom-feeding depressions and marriage to the mercurial Mary Todd, as told by fictional poet Cage Weatherby. Harrigan's first major historical novel since The Gates of the Alamo (2000), which has sold nearly 200,000 copies in hardcover and paper combined.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2016
This richly drawn historical novel from the award-winning Harrigan (Gates of the Alamo) begins in 1865 with Abraham Lincoln lying in state in Springfield, IL. In the somber crowd stands Micajah "Cage" Weatherby, who had been part of Lincoln's inner circle in the 1830s and 1840s, when the ambitious young lawyer was a rising member of the state assembly. Cage is approached by Wiliam Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, who wants his help in publishing a book on the real Lincoln, the man they all knew. And so begin Cage's recollections of the young, up-and-coming Lincoln, as Cage soon becomes the chronicler of the raw beginnings of greatness. Cage draws a portrait of Lincoln gathering in the crowds with his raucous storytelling but also portrays a silent, brooding man given to dark moods. He also writes about Lincoln's Springfield circle, influential men on his road to the White House. The years pass, and Cage loses an arm fighting for the union cause, winning a last brief glimpse of his old friend when he visits Cage in the amputee ward. Not until the Springfield funeral are they destined to be reunited. VERDICT In a first-rate rendering, Harrigan shows a young Lincoln in all his moods and temperaments, providing context with vividly detailed historical events. [See Prepub Alert, 8/24/15.]--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.