Stephen Harrigan Ordre des livres (chronologique)
Stephen Harrigan est un auteur acclamé dont l'œuvre plonge avec maestria dans l'Ouest américain et sa riche histoire. Sa prose se caractérise par un aperçu pénétrant de la condition humaine et un style captivant qui entraîne profondément les lecteurs dans ses récits. Harrigan explore les complexités du caractère et du paysage américains avec un profond sens du lieu et une compréhension intuitive de ses sujets. Son écriture capture souvent l'essence de l'expérience américaine, ses aspirations et ses défis, l'établissant comme une voix significative dans la littérature américaine.
A Friend of Mr. Lincoln
- 415pages
- 15 heures de lecture
The novel begins in 1832 during the Black Hawk War, where Micajah (Cage) Weatherby meets Lincoln. Afterward, Cage moves to Springfield, Illinois, joining a group of ambitious young men, including Lincoln, in this burgeoning frontier town. Through Cage, we learn about Lincoln in his twenties and thirties, a circuit-riding lawyer and state legislator driven by immense ambition. To Cage and his peers—Joshua Speed, Billy Herndon, Ninian Edwards, Stephen Douglas, and Jim Reed—Lincoln is a beloved figure, both powerful and charmingly awkward, a gifted storyteller whose potential they all recognize. Cage, a poet, admires Lincoln but often clashes with him, particularly over Lincoln’s legal ethics, as he takes on controversial cases, including a murderer's defense and clients on both sides of the slavery debate. While navigating his own tumultuous affair with an independent widow, Cage observes Lincoln's journey through high spirits and deep sadness, marked by bouts of depression. The narrative also explores Lincoln's challenging courtship of another Mary and his eventual marriage to the politically astute Mary Todd. By 1847, Mary has given Lincoln a son and some stability, though this creates conflict with Cage, steering them onto diverging paths.