A Friend of Mr. Lincoln, Stephen Harrigan
A Friend of Mr. Lincoln, Stephen Harrigan
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A Friend of Mr. Lincoln

Author: Stephen Harrigan

Narrator: George Guidall

Unabridged: 14 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 02/02/2016


Synopsis

THE GATES OF THE ALAMO author Stephen Harrigan returns to his historical fiction roots, reimagining Abraham Lincoln's early life when he was a young lawyer and rising politician in Springfield, Illinois. Told from the point-of-view of Lincoln's best friend, it starts during the Blackhawk War (in which Lincoln served) and ends in the mid-1840's, when Lincoln goes off to Washington after being elected to Congress and his friend heads west with the Donner Party. The novel is about a crucially formative period in Lincoln's life, when he was ruled by an almost ungovernable ambition, beset by bouts of depression, sometimes ruthlessly trying to advance himself while tortured with self-doubt and questions of personal honor. It tracks his strange on-and-off relationship with Mary Todd, his sudden and puzzling marriage to her, the duel he almost fought with a political opponent, his pragmatic and sometimes contradictory stands on slavery, his desire to be a poet, and his true-to-life flirtation with suicide--all in all, a portrait of a young politician on the make, deeply principled but also deeply flawed.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jeffrey

”Why did he not drink? Surely no sense of refinement or decorum prevented it, since he was neither refined nor decorous and kept in his head an extensive archive of the filthiest stories and jests human beings had ever uttered. For all of Lincoln’s instinct for hearty comradeship, his was a private......more

Goodreads review by Simon

This kind of fiction, the blending in of real and not, historical figures and events with add-in's for tweeking the fact to include what-if's and should this... well in this case it's ol' honest Abe and chums in their formative prairie years with many a chuckle an grin! Dint't realize I had this aut......more

Goodreads review by Luthien

Also on my blog, Luthien Reviews 2.5/5 If you’re like me, you would pick up this book because it’s (ostensibly) about Abraham Lincoln. And while he certainly frequents the pages, it’s the stiff, unlikable titular–and very fictional–character who is, unfortunately, the protagonist. Cage as dull and uni......more

Goodreads review by Candace

Stephen Harrigan is one of the most compelling authors writing today. "Remember Ben Clayton" is one of my very favorite novels (and the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon backme up on its quality) and I have returned to "Gates of the Alamo" twice. His ability to create instantly interesting characters......more