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Summary
Summary
John Jakes, the acclaimed author of the #1 New York Times bestselling North and South Trilogy, returns to the Civil War era with the story of two couples divided by war and allegiance, who discover that love doesn't take sides...
A Rebel sympathizer's affection for a former Pinkerton detective turned Union agent cannot save him from the horrors of a Richmond prison. A Confederate officer sacrifices his rank to save an actress taken captive while posing as a Union soldier. Overshadowing them all is an actor's outspoken hatred of Abraham Lincoln--and a date with destiny that will shock a nation and change the course of history...
Author Notes
John Jakes was born in Chicago in 1932. He studied acting at Northwestern University, where he began writing professionally during his freshman year. Later he enrolled in a creative writing program at DePauw University and received a master's degree in American literature from Ohio State University.
Early in his career Jakes wrote copy for a pharmaceutical company and various ad agencies, and authored dozens of short stories encompassing western, mystery and science fiction themes. In March 1973, Jakes commenced work on The Kent Family Chronicles, a multi-volume set portraying American history through the lives of a fictional family. Later works include North and South (1982), California Gold (1989), Homeland (1993), and American Dreams. Six of his major novels have been filmed as television miniseries, and North and South remains one of the highest rated miniseries in the history of television. Jakes is actively involved in the adaptation of North and South for the Broadway stage.
John Jakes has been hailed as the godfather of the historical novel, and America's history teacher. He died on March 11, 2023.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The author of the bestselling North and South trilogy remains in familiar territory as his latest sweeping historical novel retells the story of the Civil War, and also examines specific aspects of espionage, the development of the Secret Service and the controversies surrounding the Lincoln presidency and assassination. The chaos and drama of romantic love, also figure in the saga, centering on two young couples: Lon Price, a fledgling member of the newly founded Pinkerton agency, encounters beautiful actress Margaret Miller while investigating the secessionist movement, and Confederate lieutenant Frederick Dasher suffers a largely unrequited love for Miller's friend Hanna Siegel, also an actress and a secessionist. The Price/Miller pairing is by far the more interesting of the two, especially as Jakes explores the evolution of Pinkerton's secret service and how it linked with and diverged from the government's efforts to infiltrate the Confederate Army. Most of the scenes take place in and around Washington, and Jakes spreads himself a bit thin by covering the entire war rather than focusing exclusively on a smaller number of clandestine campaigns. The author saves the best for last in dealing with Lincoln's assassination, bringing the drama to life by giving each of his protagonists a crucial role as the conspiracy unfolds with expert pacing and suspense. Jakes uncovers the little-known history of espionage and counterespionage during the War Between the States with his signature combination of meticulous research and epic narrative, once again proving himself the foremost historical novelist of our national conflict in a title marking his 50th year as a professional writer. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Jakes's 15th historical (American Dreams, 1998, etc.) follows the Civil War through the eyes of four idealistic gentlefolk, from both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, whose crisscrossing paths teach them that espionage is not a genteel game for amateurs but a savage battle lacking rules of engagement. Lon Price, Pinkerton Agency detective, promised his dying father he'd pursue the abolitionist cause, so he happily becomes a Union spy when Pinkerton makes his organization the North's secret service. Meanwhile, Margaret Miller, a Washington, D.C., debutante, fervently takes up the secessionist cause as an undercover courier after her unarmed father is gunned down by Union operatives. Hanna Siegal, whose father had always wished for a soldier son, binds her breasts and sneaks off to war for the Union. And Captain Fred Dasher is a West Point officer turned Confederate whose conscience chastises him for abandoning the oath he swore, in times of peace, to protect the Union. Each of these people, in his or her own way, romanticizes the war as a struggle of principle--until experience cruelly challenges their perspectives: Lon's, for example, when his partner is shot dead in a row over a toothpick. The characters are left to find their ways through times ruled not always by their own celebrated principles but by the terrors of a bloody and brutal war. Further challenges to their principles come when love--first between Union Lon and Confederate Margaret--weakens their resolve to maintain the ideological and geographical boundaries they once fought so hard to erect. An absorbing study of how human affairs stubbornly fall outside the simplistic categories of ""right"" and ""wrong,"" but probably best suited to those with a yen for Civil War and early Secret Service history. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Washington, D.C., was an exiting place during the Civil War, brimming with as much espionage as a European capital during one of that continent's frequent internecine struggles. In 1861, Washington was located on the frontier between the Union and Confederacy; despite being the Union capital, it was a hotbed of Confederate sympathizers, some of whom were actual spies and even involved in the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. Best-selling historical novelist Jakes follows, throughout the four-year war period, a handful of individuals with intertwined allegiances as they worked both aboveboard and below for their various causes. The author has put careful research to good use in this easy-to-follow drama that might well find itself turned into a television movie. Filled with colorful characters and authentic Washington atmosphere, the novel should appeal to those who like undemanding historical fiction. --Brad Hooper
Library Journal Review
Jakes's first Civil War novel in over a decade concerns the war's impact on four young people, ranging from an actress to a spy. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
