Suppose Abraham Lincoln survived the assassination attempt. That's the premise of this book. The Civil War is over but the country is still in chaos. And Lincoln is facing a political war to rival the Civil War. Weaving history and imagination, Carter creates a legal thriller featuring African American law clerk, Abigail, a graduate of Oberlin College. Through Abigail, Carter is able to show the difficulties blacks faced in a post-war society. It is not often that middle-class African Americans are portrayed as well as in this book, or even portrayed at all. Abigail is on Lincoln's defense team even though the book does not spend a lot of time dissecting whether or not Lincoln's impeachment is warranted, the courtroom scenes are fascinating.
I can't wait for my friends to read this book. It's easily one of my favorites of the year. It's a thrilling, twisty, political, mysterious tale. The history geek in me couldn't put it down.
2 comments:
I've requested this book from my library, and hope it will arrive soon. Would love to talk about it!
You, The Gal and I (and others) should set up an online book club. :)
I just requested it from mine, too!
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