The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
From the best-selling author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White, a daring reimagining of one of the most tumultuous moments in our nation’s past
Stephen L. Carter’s thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial . . .
Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman with a degree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firm that has undertaken Lincoln’s defense, and the iron-strong conviction, learned from her late mother, that “whatever limitations society might place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply to her.” And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms of every stratum of Washington society: working side by side with a white clerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, including the president himself. But when Lincoln’s lead counsel is found brutally murdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged into a treacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the divided government.
Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of post–Civil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense.
This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Entering a season heavy with Lincolniana (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter hits movie theaters in June, followed by a Spielberg biopic starring Daniel Day-Lewis in December), Stephen L. Carter delivers a doorstop of alternate history speculating whether Congress would have impeached Lincoln for abuses of power during the Civil War if only he had survived Booth's bullet. Alas, The Plot Against America this ain't. This is Lincoln by way of Dan Brown, complete with ciphers and conspiracies and breathless escapes, only not so breathless, since Carter lacks Brown's talent for narrative momentum. It takes nearly 60 pages for the first dead body to show up, and then nothing much happens for the next 60. The pace picks up in the much better second half, when Lincoln is finally on trial and the author (a Yale Law professor) gets to trot out some enjoyable courtroom shenanigans.
Customer Reviews
Missing pages
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The impeachment of Lincoln
My review can be summed up with one word, brilliant .
It did however lead to a major disappointment. I purchased Jericho's Fall. At a point half way through I am about ready to give it up. It is a boring, ponderous (almost gothic in nature) mystery. None of the characters, even faintly, appear real. Sorry to say Mr. Carter, you missed the mark badly with Jericho. R. E. Cook
Good but...
I couldn't finish reading the book because several chapters were missing pages. I hope that this fixed and we can download again without being charged.