The Case of Abraham Lincoln
A Story of Adultery, Murder and the Making of a Great President
Fenster, Julie M.
Brinkley, Doug (FRW)
Hardcover
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BOOK SUMMARY
The year 1856 was a pivotal one for this country, witnessing the birth of the Republican Party as we know it. But it was also a critical year in the troubled political life of Abraham Lincoln. As a lawyer, he tried his most scandalous murder case.
Submit a book reviewBOOK SYNOPSIS
The year 1856 was a pivotal one for this country, witnessing the birth of the Republican Party as we know it. But it was also a critical year in the troubled political life of Abraham Lincoln. As a lawyer, he tried his most scandalous murder case. At the same time, he made a decision which unleashed his soaring abilities for the first time, a decision which reverberates to this day: whether or not to join the new Republican Party. The Case of Abraham Lincoln offers the first-ever account of the suspenseful Anderson Murder Case, and Lincolns role in it. Bestselling historian Fenster not only examines the case that changed Lincolns fate, but portrays his day-to-day life as a circuit lawyer and how it shaped him as a politician. In a book that draws a picture of Lincoln in court and at home during that memorable season of 1856, Fenster also offers a close-up look at Lincolns political work, much of it masterful, some of it adventurous, in building the party that would change his fate and that of the nation.
AUTHOR BIO
Julie M. Fenster is the co-author (with Douglas Brinkley) of The New York Times bestseller Parish Priest. Her books include the award-winning Ether Day and Race of the Century. A regular contributor to American Heritage, Fenster has also written for The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. She lives in Syracuse, New York.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Maps of Illinois and Springfield
Foreword - Lincoln in His Element
by Dr. Douglas Brinkley
Chapter 1 - March, 1856
Like a Cathedral
Chapter 2 - April
At the Anvil
Chapter 3 - The Beginning of May
Stranger in the Yard
Chapter 4 - Early May
Something About Strychnine
Chapter 5 - May 15
The Old Man Went Out
Chapter 6 - Mid-May
Excitement in the City
Chapter 7 - Late May
An Old Battered Stovepipe Hat
Chapter 8 - May 29
Major¿s Hall
Chapter 9 - June
Summer Days
Chapter 10 - July and August
The March of the What-y'a-call-ems
Chapter 11 - September
Boarding Men
Chapter 12 - October and November
A Motive Equal to Murder
Chapter 13 - November and Early December, 1856
The Best Hope of the Nation
Afterword
Endnotes
Selected Bibliography
Index
BOOK REVIEWS
"Fensters rhythms have Twain-like timing. . . . Grandiloquent statements, dark adumbrations of the president-to-be or the tragedies with which his name is now inescapably entwined, are not necessary. Fenster knows that."--Library Journal (Starred review, editors pick)
"An unexpected, odd-angle approach to Lincoln that proves marvelously insightful."Kirkus (Starred review)
Fensters absorbing chronicle follows two tracks: Lincolns reentry into the tumultuous political wars in Illinois, as Democrats, Know-Nothings, and the newly formed Republican Party vied for power; and how the death of a Springfield blacksmith evolved into a sensational murder trial. When the two tracks merge, Fenster illustrates Lincolns emergence as a cagey politician and eloquent antislavery voice with an enhanced national reputation. This is a worthy addition to our ever-expanding knowledge concerning Americas secular saint. Booklist
"As a leading lawyer and an architect of the new Republican party in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln rarely felt the twin demands of electoral politics and the law more forcefully than in 1856, or met them with more purpose. Julie Fenster tells the interwoven story of that year's election campaign and the lurid case of a murdered Springfield blacksmith with compelling verve."--Richard Carwardine, award-winning author of Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power
 "A real page-turner, bringing alive Lincolns world before his national fame. Fenster transports us to 1856 Illinois, describing the colorful life of Lincoln and his fraternity of circuit riding lawyers as they try cases and help birth the Republican Party.  The suspense and storytelling are remarkable. Interwoven is a murder mystery -- the story of an adulterous wife, the murder of her blacksmith husband and Lincolns defense. Looking for the emergence of Lincoln? Look here."-- Richard E. Hart, President, Abraham Lincoln Association
FOR RELATED BOOKS
Biography & Autobiography Books :: Presidents & Heads Of State Books
History Books :: United States Books :: General Books
History Books :: United States Books :: 19Th Century Books
Law Books :: General Books
Law Books :: Criminal Law Books
Law Books :: Criminal Law Books :: General Books
MORE BOOK INFO
ISBN: 140397635X
ISBN(13-digit): 9781403976352
Dewey Decimal: 973.7092
Library of Congress: 2007011364
Book Publisher: St Martins Pr
Language: ENG
No. of Pages: 255
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