May 2, 2016
In the summer of 1850, Herman Melville met Nathaniel Hawthorne at a Massachusetts picnic, and the lives of both man were changed forever. In his debut novel, Beauregard weaves a tale based on the real-life relationship of two of America's most renowned novelists, following the interactions they shared while living as neighbors in the Berkshires. During this period, Hawthorne wrote The House of the Seven Gables and Melville completed Moby-Dick, which he dedicated to Hawthorne. This fictional biography is the story behind that dedication and the love affair that some believe the two men sharedâa stormy romance that would scarcely be believable if not for the use of Melville's real letters to Hawthorne, many of which are reprinted in the book. The emotion of the affair can occasionally feel abrupt, but readers will come to reconsider what they know about the lives of the two authors, and those who approach with an open mind may find their views on the writings of Melville and Hawthorne permanently changed.
April 15, 2016
The years 1850-1851 are pivotal for Herman Melville, as his newborn relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne has a crucial influence on Moby-Dick, according to this historical novel. Set in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, where Oliver Wendell Holmes and other 19th-century literary figures reside, this first novel begins with a hike and a picnic during which Melville meets and becomes smitten with Hawthorne. The author of A Scarlet Letter is somewhat restrained from reciprocating by his deep feelings for his wife and his morality. Within a plot whose action is confined largely to trips between and visits at the writers' homes, Beauregard sustains a fine tension with the turbulent friendship, Melville's troubled marriage, his lack of money, and an amusing bluestocking who plants rumors of another affair. In what is otherwise a well-written debut, however, Melville's passion and frustration produce some unfortunately overheated language: "the soft ravishments of his beauty"; "a maelstrom of joy and confusion"; "the most beautiful creature that had ever existed." Fortunately, Hawthorne, amid the most productive period of his writing career, also inspires rich conversation and offers crucial suggestions for transmuting what had been a "grand farce" about whaling into one of the greatest American novels. The real tension and treat here is watching how a distraught, impecunious romantic finds a way to set aside all distractions in pursuit of his artistic grail. An afterword confirms the extensive research behind the people, events, dialogue, and letters depicted while noting that the letter in which Hawthorne advises on Moby-Dick is fictional. Whether Beauregard's research supports the inference of a near affair is almost beside the point. As an element in the present novel, it is decidedly for better and only a bit for worse. Rich in historical detail, this novel explores its themes of creativity and friendship with an unusual intensity that kindles some excesses but goes far to overshadowing them.
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June 1, 2016
Fleeing heat, malaria, and creditors in Manhattan, Herman Melville hardly expects his sojourn in the Berkshires to not only bring respite but also herald the most energizing and tumultuous period in his turbulent life. This debut novel opens, inauspiciously enough, with a rained-out picnic saved by an introduction to the reclusive, magnetic Nathaniel Hawthorne, who, without even trying, seems to understand Melville's every thought and emotion before Herman is conscious of them himself. Thus begins an intense creative connection that ignites the imaginations of two passionately visionary men and threatens their peace of mind. Former journalist Beauregard explores the awakening of the American literary scene via the complicated psyches of two of its stars while brilliantly depicting the uncertainty, joy, and terror of discovering a soul mate. Readers who can overlook the first few dry expository pages will be rewarded by a luminous narrative and a compelling psychological drama. VERDICT For those who like their historical fiction literary.--Cynthia Johnson, formerly with Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA
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