Synopses & Reviews
In this sweeping, marvelously written novel, Max Byrd, the celebrated author of
Jefferson and
Grant, presents a superb portrait of Andrew Jackson, a President remembered for his strong will and tempestuous nature—and regarded as “the most dangerous man in America” by none other than Thomas Jefferson.
He became a legend during the War of 1812. He was a slave owner, land speculator, and Indian fighter. He stole another man’s wife, murdered men in duels, and ordered military executions. But Andrew Jackson was also an impassioned supporter of universal suffrage and an ardent believer in the will of the people. Here the story of our controversial seventh President is told from a variety of viewpoints, including that of a young writer named David Chase who discovers, on the eve of the presidential election, a secret that could change the future of the nation. Along the way, readers encounter such notable figures as John Quincy Adams, Aaron Burr, and Sam Houston, and bear witness to an America in transition—and a man as unpredictable as democracy itself.
“Max Byrd’s historical novels about the third and seventh presidents bring both men alive in ways that only a literary imagination can.”—George F. Will, The Washington Post
“With Jackson, [Max] Byrd has vaulted . . . into the front rank of American historical novelists.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Vivid and compelling . . . a convincing and intriguing portrait of Jackson as he might have been.”—The Plain Dealer
“Full of action, emotion, and insight, Max Byrd’s Jackson deserves to stand with the finest works of historical fiction.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Grounded in excellent, detailed historical research, Byrd paints a rich, multilayered portrait.”—Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
He became a legend at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. Before that he was a fiercely passionate senator who could barely finish a speech without becoming choked with rage. He was called coarse and illiterate. A slave owner, land speculator, and Indian fighter, he stole another man's wife, murdered men in duels, and ordered military executions. But Andrew Jackson--or Old Hickory as his soldiers dubbed him--was an impassioned supporter of universal suffrage, an ardent believer in the will of the people, and the seventh president of the United States.
In Jackson, Max Byrd has recreated the life and times of this powerful, controversial, and contradictory man told from a variety of viewpoints, including an unfinished and uncomplimentary biography of the General, a remembrance by his closest personal aide and confidant, and the research of a young writer named David Chase. Chase knows very well that his biography could ruin Jackson's chances in the upcoming presidential election. Still, he is determined to write the first unbiased account of the General's life. Was Jackson really a charismatic demagogue, a crude backwoods barbarian, a representative of the decline of American democracy? Or was there something more behind the public image of war hero, campaign buttons, and emotionally-charged rhetoric? What is revealed is a man even more contradictory than the rumors told about him. Here is a Jackson both savagely honest and politically cunning, a self-made man who always longed to belong, an orphaned boy who grew up with an untamed fury for respect and honor, a man as tough as the Tennessee wilderness from which he came.
With sharply drawn vignettes of such notable figures as John Quincy Adams, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Houston, and others, Jackson is an unforgettable portrait of an America in transition and a man as dangerous as democracy itself.
About the Author
Max Byrd is the acclaimed author of Jefferson, Jackson, Grant, Shooting the Sun, and many other novels. An authority on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American history, Byrd lives in Davis, California.