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The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln
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.
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.
516 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2012
211 people are currently reading
3385 people want to read
About the author
Stephen L. Carter
27 books448 followersStephen L. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale where he has taught since 1982. He has published seven critically acclaimed nonfiction books on topics ranging from affirmative action to religion and politics. His first novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park (2002), was an immediate national best seller. His latest novel is New England White (Knopf, 2007). A recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature-Fiction, he lives near New Haven, Connecticut."
Also writes under the pen name A.L Shields.
Also writes under the pen name A.L Shields.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 489 reviews
June 14, 2012
What if the president survived the assassination attempt, only to face an impeachment trial two years later? That's the premise of this stout, absorbing tale. But Carter, with an almost mesmerizing touch, weaves more than a "what if" story here. What most engaged me is the way that Carter liberated himself from any stilted, biased or passive political ranting of his own. Instead of telegraphing his views into the characters, he allowed history to inform us, while never forgetting to hook us with an invented story within the framework of an intense and complex time in history.
In 1867, the war has been over for two years. Andrew Johnson, not Abe Lincoln, was shot and killed by Booth. And Secretary of State William Seward has been so wounded that he doesn't leave his house anymore. And the president's wife has died a year ago from a mysterious accident. This is the alternate history that Carter has meticulously woven together. Lincoln faces an impeachment trial from Congress on four counts due to his policies (or lack thereof) and intercessions (or lack thereof) during Reconstruction: 1) suspension of habeas corpus, 2) seizing of telegrams and shuttering a handful of newspapers 3) not sufficiently protecting the freedmen in the southern states 4) conspiring with the military officers to overthrow the constitutional forms of government.
This finely nuanced and well-paced novel is packed with fully realized characters and situations. Of course, with a cast this extensive, and numerous plots within plots, some characters are there to lend background and color, or to promote a larger connection. There are plots and subplots, romance, adventure, conspiracies, and even murder. How Carter tightly brings it all together in this capacious novel is superbly tight, with room for ambiguity, and he always remains a step ahead of the reader. Half of the fun was trying to catch up and tease out the disclosures before he did!
Abigail Canner is a twenty-one-year-old black graduate from Oberlin who lives with her aunt, a freed slave named Nanny Pork, in Washington City. She aspires to become a lawyer, and shrewdly procures a job as a clerk in the law office that represents Lincoln. It is a win-win, too, because the personnel know it looks good to practice what they preach. All too often, it is known that "like so many people of liberal persuasion, they value their own progressive opinions more than they value the people they hold those opinions about."
Abigail is the polestar of this book, and Carter has drawn her with an able and agile hand. Whatever a reader might fear could occur with a character like Abigail--such as too much PC, or implausibly heroic--those fears will be allayed by the subtle sharpness of Miss Canner. Yes, there's romance in the air, and it doesn't take the reader long to foresee its possibility, but Carter wins you over with his credible storyline and keen restraint. And, not all is as doubtless (or doubtful!) as it may initially seem.
The book was like a web, or a circle with vectors projecting in every direction. As the author demonstrates, there are no easy answers, and often, both sides imbibe elements of hypocrisy and criminal behaviors, as well as righteousness and nobility. At this time, during the impeachment proceedings, Lincoln states that he would be ready to step down, but doesn't feel that his work is finished until he brings the Union together. The radical Republicans--who are men of his own party who could be seen, on the one hand, as fanatical, or on the other, as dedicated and true--want to oust him now.
I was concerned that the story would be clumsy, with a ham-handed Lincoln and a heavy-handed story. It has to be difficult to portray an icon known as "Honest Abe," two years beyond his actual survival time, a president most known for freeing the slaves. But this isn't just the Lincoln we learned about in our history textbooks in high school. Here we have a troubled, complicated man, always at the ready with an amusing anecdote, a sometimes dour but witty and enigmatic presence. And a flawed human being who nevertheless understands the times he is facing.
There is nothing black and white in this racially charged novel of American history. Besides the conflict of race, there are the businessmen with greedy propositions about tariffs; egos; political ambitions; social issues of women and class; and more.
"The cost of war," says Lincoln in 1867, " is impossible to estimate in advance...wars continue long after one side surrenders. Every conflict plagues the peace that follows it."
"There is a tradition," says retired Union General Dan Sickles, one of Lincoln's staunchest supporters, "that once a great war has been won, the leader must at once be deposed. The Romans used to do it. The British, too."
In the Author's Note, a must-read at the end of the book, Carter provides important information regarding his source material, and a fascinating peek at how he braided fact and fiction together. Like his first novel, THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK, he slyly evinces the skullduggery in the chess games of politics, as well as the toll of personal loss to the cause and commitment of justice. Moreover, he doesn't forget that his story is, principally, to entertain, and seduce his readers into believers. He makes the most of his characters and their individual and shared passions, and renders a deeply felt and plausible history, back to the future.
In 1867, the war has been over for two years. Andrew Johnson, not Abe Lincoln, was shot and killed by Booth. And Secretary of State William Seward has been so wounded that he doesn't leave his house anymore. And the president's wife has died a year ago from a mysterious accident. This is the alternate history that Carter has meticulously woven together. Lincoln faces an impeachment trial from Congress on four counts due to his policies (or lack thereof) and intercessions (or lack thereof) during Reconstruction: 1) suspension of habeas corpus, 2) seizing of telegrams and shuttering a handful of newspapers 3) not sufficiently protecting the freedmen in the southern states 4) conspiring with the military officers to overthrow the constitutional forms of government.
This finely nuanced and well-paced novel is packed with fully realized characters and situations. Of course, with a cast this extensive, and numerous plots within plots, some characters are there to lend background and color, or to promote a larger connection. There are plots and subplots, romance, adventure, conspiracies, and even murder. How Carter tightly brings it all together in this capacious novel is superbly tight, with room for ambiguity, and he always remains a step ahead of the reader. Half of the fun was trying to catch up and tease out the disclosures before he did!
Abigail Canner is a twenty-one-year-old black graduate from Oberlin who lives with her aunt, a freed slave named Nanny Pork, in Washington City. She aspires to become a lawyer, and shrewdly procures a job as a clerk in the law office that represents Lincoln. It is a win-win, too, because the personnel know it looks good to practice what they preach. All too often, it is known that "like so many people of liberal persuasion, they value their own progressive opinions more than they value the people they hold those opinions about."
Abigail is the polestar of this book, and Carter has drawn her with an able and agile hand. Whatever a reader might fear could occur with a character like Abigail--such as too much PC, or implausibly heroic--those fears will be allayed by the subtle sharpness of Miss Canner. Yes, there's romance in the air, and it doesn't take the reader long to foresee its possibility, but Carter wins you over with his credible storyline and keen restraint. And, not all is as doubtless (or doubtful!) as it may initially seem.
The book was like a web, or a circle with vectors projecting in every direction. As the author demonstrates, there are no easy answers, and often, both sides imbibe elements of hypocrisy and criminal behaviors, as well as righteousness and nobility. At this time, during the impeachment proceedings, Lincoln states that he would be ready to step down, but doesn't feel that his work is finished until he brings the Union together. The radical Republicans--who are men of his own party who could be seen, on the one hand, as fanatical, or on the other, as dedicated and true--want to oust him now.
I was concerned that the story would be clumsy, with a ham-handed Lincoln and a heavy-handed story. It has to be difficult to portray an icon known as "Honest Abe," two years beyond his actual survival time, a president most known for freeing the slaves. But this isn't just the Lincoln we learned about in our history textbooks in high school. Here we have a troubled, complicated man, always at the ready with an amusing anecdote, a sometimes dour but witty and enigmatic presence. And a flawed human being who nevertheless understands the times he is facing.
There is nothing black and white in this racially charged novel of American history. Besides the conflict of race, there are the businessmen with greedy propositions about tariffs; egos; political ambitions; social issues of women and class; and more.
"The cost of war," says Lincoln in 1867, " is impossible to estimate in advance...wars continue long after one side surrenders. Every conflict plagues the peace that follows it."
"There is a tradition," says retired Union General Dan Sickles, one of Lincoln's staunchest supporters, "that once a great war has been won, the leader must at once be deposed. The Romans used to do it. The British, too."
In the Author's Note, a must-read at the end of the book, Carter provides important information regarding his source material, and a fascinating peek at how he braided fact and fiction together. Like his first novel, THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK, he slyly evinces the skullduggery in the chess games of politics, as well as the toll of personal loss to the cause and commitment of justice. Moreover, he doesn't forget that his story is, principally, to entertain, and seduce his readers into believers. He makes the most of his characters and their individual and shared passions, and renders a deeply felt and plausible history, back to the future.
January 22, 2025
Abraham Lincoln is chic right now. I'm not sure why, but everybody and their uncle has felt the need to put in their two cents' worth to the growing number of Lincoln books currently on the bookshelves and bestseller lists. Most notably (in the non-fiction entry) are Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals", Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Lincoln", and James L. Swanson's "Manhunt". In the fiction arena, Lincoln has battled vampires in Seth Grahame-Smith's "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" and, now, in Stephen L. Carter's science fictional re-imagining of history, Lincoln (who survived the gunshot wound at Ford theatre) faces an impeachment trial.
Carter, whose previous works have dealt with political conspiracies and murder mysteries, was clearly attracted to the potential fun he could have with the subject. And, he has more than succeeded. Carter, a Yale Law Professor and obvious history buff and a top-notch writer of elaborate thrillers, has written one of those books that is sure to appeal to everyone. For the sci-fi nerds, he has written an extremely plausible alternate history. For mystery lovers, he throws in a murder mystery in the first ten pages, and, for the womanfolk, he even has a love story. There is also a conspiracy plot involving secret codes and a courtroom drama. That Carter can weave all these elements together in a way that is immensely readable, entertaining, and fun is a testament to his talent as a writer.
The protagonist of the book, Abigail Canner, is a young black woman who happens to be a college graduate and a law clerk, two accomplishments for which she has had to fight, considering the time in which she lives. She is hired on by the same firm that has taken on the defense of Lincoln during his impeachment trial. While her sex and race often impede her from being a productive member of the firm, she finds ways to be useful. When one of the partners in the firm is found murdered outside a brothel with the body of a black woman, Abigail takes on the role of part-time detective, with the help of Jonathan Hilliman, one of the lawyers in the firm with whom she shares a mutual (unspoken) attraction. When she finds out that the woman, whom the police has dismissed as a mere prostitute, was involved in an underground political circle of anti-Lincoln conspirators, and that certain parties are searching frantically for a missing list of conspirators, Abigail and Jonathan quickly find themselves embroiled in a race against time (the trial against Lincoln is quickly coming to a close, and things do not look good for Lincoln) and powerful forces of the upper classes and the wealthy. Mixed in with all this, of course, is a fascinating courtroom drama in which Lincoln is held accountable for very real impeachable offenses.
As Carter states in an Afterword, Lincoln actually did do things which would have been considered grossly unconstitutional, such as shutting down newspapers, arresting opposition spokesmen, suspending habeas corpus, and refusing to recognize court orders of prisoner releases. He also did place certain cities in the North under martial law and forcibly shut down the Maryland legislature. History tends to forget that, at one point, Lincoln was the most hated man in America, even---and especially---by members of his own party. Who is to say how history would have played out if Lincoln had survived his assassination? Carter makes a compelling case. And an extremely entertaining one.
Carter, whose previous works have dealt with political conspiracies and murder mysteries, was clearly attracted to the potential fun he could have with the subject. And, he has more than succeeded. Carter, a Yale Law Professor and obvious history buff and a top-notch writer of elaborate thrillers, has written one of those books that is sure to appeal to everyone. For the sci-fi nerds, he has written an extremely plausible alternate history. For mystery lovers, he throws in a murder mystery in the first ten pages, and, for the womanfolk, he even has a love story. There is also a conspiracy plot involving secret codes and a courtroom drama. That Carter can weave all these elements together in a way that is immensely readable, entertaining, and fun is a testament to his talent as a writer.
The protagonist of the book, Abigail Canner, is a young black woman who happens to be a college graduate and a law clerk, two accomplishments for which she has had to fight, considering the time in which she lives. She is hired on by the same firm that has taken on the defense of Lincoln during his impeachment trial. While her sex and race often impede her from being a productive member of the firm, she finds ways to be useful. When one of the partners in the firm is found murdered outside a brothel with the body of a black woman, Abigail takes on the role of part-time detective, with the help of Jonathan Hilliman, one of the lawyers in the firm with whom she shares a mutual (unspoken) attraction. When she finds out that the woman, whom the police has dismissed as a mere prostitute, was involved in an underground political circle of anti-Lincoln conspirators, and that certain parties are searching frantically for a missing list of conspirators, Abigail and Jonathan quickly find themselves embroiled in a race against time (the trial against Lincoln is quickly coming to a close, and things do not look good for Lincoln) and powerful forces of the upper classes and the wealthy. Mixed in with all this, of course, is a fascinating courtroom drama in which Lincoln is held accountable for very real impeachable offenses.
As Carter states in an Afterword, Lincoln actually did do things which would have been considered grossly unconstitutional, such as shutting down newspapers, arresting opposition spokesmen, suspending habeas corpus, and refusing to recognize court orders of prisoner releases. He also did place certain cities in the North under martial law and forcibly shut down the Maryland legislature. History tends to forget that, at one point, Lincoln was the most hated man in America, even---and especially---by members of his own party. Who is to say how history would have played out if Lincoln had survived his assassination? Carter makes a compelling case. And an extremely entertaining one.
November 8, 2012
Carter is a masterful writer. I could end the review right there and I would have included all any reader needs to know about this author (and potentially about this book) and would not fall short. That said, perhaps something a little more concrete is needed for those who have an interest in reading this book, or anything penned by Stephen L. Carter. I have said it of other books by Carter and I will repeat it again here, Carter’s books can be quite dense and thick, but, if you are able to get through that, you will find how greatly multi-facetted they are and how much there is that one can take away from them, if you give them the time. (Perhaps some of the negative reviews of this book come from Carter reading virgins, who have not been able to get through the complex front and simply judge the book by its peripheral story.)
Carter layers so many topics within the book, the overarching one being the impeachment proceedings of Abraham Lincoln. Also included therein is the role and perception of ‘the darker nation’ as Carter calls them, mystery, murder, love, and even some history. Those who love a book that tells many a story will not be left unsatisfied. Carter’s ability to layer so many great themes within the one book and still drive the story forward must be applauded, though it can bring about the aforementioned denseness that scares some readers off. The story, which is a form of alternate history, presupposes that the assassination attempt on the 16th POTUS was unsuccessful and that his moves towards Reconstruction after the Civil War were grounds for impeachment. Carter lays out the arguments in a thorough and sensible fashion and brings the idea of an impeachment trial to life.
With many twists and turns throughout, those who love Carter’s writing and have a passion for politics as well will not be disappointed. Examination of the race relations in the US, which were surely much more ‘heated’ than even his Elm Harbour series of the 1950s and 60s, proves to be one of the central issues that pushes the story forward.
Enormous kudos to Mr. Carter. A thoroughly enjoyable book all around.
Carter layers so many topics within the book, the overarching one being the impeachment proceedings of Abraham Lincoln. Also included therein is the role and perception of ‘the darker nation’ as Carter calls them, mystery, murder, love, and even some history. Those who love a book that tells many a story will not be left unsatisfied. Carter’s ability to layer so many great themes within the one book and still drive the story forward must be applauded, though it can bring about the aforementioned denseness that scares some readers off. The story, which is a form of alternate history, presupposes that the assassination attempt on the 16th POTUS was unsuccessful and that his moves towards Reconstruction after the Civil War were grounds for impeachment. Carter lays out the arguments in a thorough and sensible fashion and brings the idea of an impeachment trial to life.
With many twists and turns throughout, those who love Carter’s writing and have a passion for politics as well will not be disappointed. Examination of the race relations in the US, which were surely much more ‘heated’ than even his Elm Harbour series of the 1950s and 60s, proves to be one of the central issues that pushes the story forward.
Enormous kudos to Mr. Carter. A thoroughly enjoyable book all around.
December 8, 2018
Written in 2012, this is a strange book to read today.
After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln survives his assassination. Two years later, he is accused of overstepping his constitutional authority. Somebody kills his lead counsel. Then a Black woman attorney and a White clerk try to get to the bottom of things.
Very strange in today's atmosphere.
After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln survives his assassination. Two years later, he is accused of overstepping his constitutional authority. Somebody kills his lead counsel. Then a Black woman attorney and a White clerk try to get to the bottom of things.
Very strange in today's atmosphere.
August 18, 2019
This is a fascinating alternate history based on the premise that Abraham Lincoln survives the 1865 assassination attempt and 2 years later is impeached by Congress for how he ran the Civil War and its aftermath.
The main character is Abigail Canner, a 21 year old black woman with a degree from Oberlin College and a job offer from the law firm that is representing President Lincoln. Resented for her gender and her race, she faces obstacles everywhere, yet is determined to overcome every one. The first half of the book spends a lot of time showing just how much she has to put up with, which slows the novel down. After one of the partners in the law firm is murdered, Abigail is determined to solve the crime, especially since the police aren’t terribly interested in finding out the truth.
The second half of the book is much more interesting, since it deals with the impeachment trial. There are conspiracy theories, murders, subterfuges, political shenanigans and even a little romance in the book. Actual historical people are interspersed with fictional ones. Abraham Lincoln has a few brief cameo appearances, so as not to overwhelm the story. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and at times it gets a bit confusing. There are twists that you see coming, and many more that you don’t.
This book, although set in the 1860s, is quite relevant to current times. A controversial president, political polarization, putting love of money and power over duty to country, talk of impeachment. Sound familiar? In some ways it recalls the Clinton impeachment trial, except in this case it is Lincoln’s own party who is trying to impeach him. And yes, there are a lot of foreshadowing of the current political climate in this book, although there is no comparison between Abraham Lincoln and the current occupant of the White House.
“I just don’t understand,” said Jonathan after a bit. “How can so many of those elected to office abuse that trust so badly? They don’t care about truth. They don’t care about argument. They only care about winning elections and holding on to their power.”
Abigail smiled wistfully. “Professor Finney always says that the right to govern belongs to those whose moral attributes best qualify them.”
“Moral attributes. We live in a world of ...moral pygmies. Not like the days of the Founders. They could see beyond the needs of party. Beyond the needs of interest. Beyond the needs of the next election. There are few men like that today.”
As you can see, the writing is wonderful. The writing carries you through some of the slower parts. The well portrayed characters keep you engaged in the story. The “what if” aspects of the story keep you turning pages, just to see how it all ties together and how it turns out. This is a dense, nuanced, complicated book, with a lot of historical references. The Author’s Note at the end is a must read. He explained how he rearranged history to fit his narrative. (What else was he going to do, since Lincoln died in 1865 and obviously was never impeached!) His thought processes are as fascinating as the book itself.
I definitely recommend this book, for history buffs and those who want to challenge themselves a bit.
The main character is Abigail Canner, a 21 year old black woman with a degree from Oberlin College and a job offer from the law firm that is representing President Lincoln. Resented for her gender and her race, she faces obstacles everywhere, yet is determined to overcome every one. The first half of the book spends a lot of time showing just how much she has to put up with, which slows the novel down. After one of the partners in the law firm is murdered, Abigail is determined to solve the crime, especially since the police aren’t terribly interested in finding out the truth.
The second half of the book is much more interesting, since it deals with the impeachment trial. There are conspiracy theories, murders, subterfuges, political shenanigans and even a little romance in the book. Actual historical people are interspersed with fictional ones. Abraham Lincoln has a few brief cameo appearances, so as not to overwhelm the story. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and at times it gets a bit confusing. There are twists that you see coming, and many more that you don’t.
This book, although set in the 1860s, is quite relevant to current times. A controversial president, political polarization, putting love of money and power over duty to country, talk of impeachment. Sound familiar? In some ways it recalls the Clinton impeachment trial, except in this case it is Lincoln’s own party who is trying to impeach him. And yes, there are a lot of foreshadowing of the current political climate in this book, although there is no comparison between Abraham Lincoln and the current occupant of the White House.
“I just don’t understand,” said Jonathan after a bit. “How can so many of those elected to office abuse that trust so badly? They don’t care about truth. They don’t care about argument. They only care about winning elections and holding on to their power.”
Abigail smiled wistfully. “Professor Finney always says that the right to govern belongs to those whose moral attributes best qualify them.”
“Moral attributes. We live in a world of ...moral pygmies. Not like the days of the Founders. They could see beyond the needs of party. Beyond the needs of interest. Beyond the needs of the next election. There are few men like that today.”
As you can see, the writing is wonderful. The writing carries you through some of the slower parts. The well portrayed characters keep you engaged in the story. The “what if” aspects of the story keep you turning pages, just to see how it all ties together and how it turns out. This is a dense, nuanced, complicated book, with a lot of historical references. The Author’s Note at the end is a must read. He explained how he rearranged history to fit his narrative. (What else was he going to do, since Lincoln died in 1865 and obviously was never impeached!) His thought processes are as fascinating as the book itself.
I definitely recommend this book, for history buffs and those who want to challenge themselves a bit.
December 15, 2012
Well I was hyped to read this book..so hyped I ordered it from another library because hey I have read all of Carter's books: The Emperor of Ocean Park, Jericho Falls, Palace Council and now this I believe and always find his writing intelligent, alittle verbose and wordy but extremely clean and intriguing..And the premise for this book drew me in like a moth to a flame especially after seeing the movie Lincoln starring the amazing Daniel Day Lewis and the surprising standout supporting castmate Tommy Lee..I was all into reading this book about the most improbable and fascinating of scenarios: what if Lincoln survived the assasination at Fords Theater by John Wilkes Booth, would he stil be the revered president, Negro savior or would the South come for him and his questionable Reconstruction tactics to include shutting down newspapers, limiting the support to freedmen and the diehard slavery enthusiasts and the Klan. So the book starts from there with two law clerks assisting the President's counsel defending the impeachment charges and fighting the rival Radicals..I admit in this aspect of the law and politics there were just two many names and positions to keep up with for five hundred plus pages..I must confess to being muddled up more than a few times, I pulled through and though sometimes I felt like it was a chore to read there were flashes of brillance, and a sense of suspense that made you want to finish..add to this plot the side story of one of the law clerks, the extrodinarily ambitious Abigail-a free black woman with her heart set on becoming one of the first women admitted to the bar despite the obstacles and blatant discrimination she faces at every turn..She was endearing and you root for her and feel her embarrasment and shame in fresh post slavery America before the Civil Rights movement. Abigail's determination, the consipiracy/murder plot and the curiousity of wanting to learn what would theoretically happen to Lincoln kept me reading and if you can take time to savor, write notes and reread certain parts it is worth the time..I can actually say though it was tough at times it could have been longer to allow Carter time to get more into each character, they just came at you LOL..
July 9, 2012
What might have happened if Abraham Lincoln had survived Booth’s assassination attempt? Impeachment? That’s what novelist and historian Stephen L. Carter imagines in this riveting alternate history. Abigail Canner, a young black woman recently graduated from Oberlin College, is working for the law firm defending Lincoln from accusations that he overstepped his constitutional authority during the war. Interestingly, these charges are brought by grandstanding Radical Republican members of his own party who are displeased with how the reconstruction of the South is going. Abigail hopes to become a lawyer, but being black and female there are numerous obstacles in her way and even the law firm that hired her isn’t making full use of her careful, meticulous intelligence.
Many of the historical figures of the post-Civil War era have roles in this wide-ranging drama, both the well-known like Lincoln himself, Edwin Stanton, Charles Sumner and Salmon Chase, and the new to me but fascinating lawyers, war heroes and society doyennes that set me off on more than a few internet searches. Although Abigail is one of the fictional characters she feels like flesh and blood, and the mood and conditions of the age she lives in are portrayed with captivating skill. This is a time when Washington, DC is Washington City with dirt roads and only a few of today’s landmarks, and high-end Georgetown is George Town, a mostly black neighborhood of newly freed slaves. I couldn’t put this engrossing, suspenseful book down—it held my interest to the very last page.
Many of the historical figures of the post-Civil War era have roles in this wide-ranging drama, both the well-known like Lincoln himself, Edwin Stanton, Charles Sumner and Salmon Chase, and the new to me but fascinating lawyers, war heroes and society doyennes that set me off on more than a few internet searches. Although Abigail is one of the fictional characters she feels like flesh and blood, and the mood and conditions of the age she lives in are portrayed with captivating skill. This is a time when Washington, DC is Washington City with dirt roads and only a few of today’s landmarks, and high-end Georgetown is George Town, a mostly black neighborhood of newly freed slaves. I couldn’t put this engrossing, suspenseful book down—it held my interest to the very last page.
October 3, 2012
I am a bear for interesting alternate history, and the American Civil War period seems to generate some of the best. This has a truly mind-bending premise: Lincoln survives his attempted assassination, to be brought up on impeachment charges two years later for his suspension of habeas corpus during the war and three other charges. The chief motive driving his main foes is that his "malice toward none and charity toward all" policy is a kind of treason in its kinder treatment of the South than the legislators who were notorious in real history for their waving the "bloody shirts" of the Union dead want.
The principal characters are the attorneys who are to defend Lincoln, in particular a law clerk who comes from a wealthy family and the unusual (to say the least) potential law clerk who is a recent graduate of the radical Oberlin cottage, not at all well off, possessing two siblings who are definitely criminals, and who is both female and black (or colored, as the custom of the time had it). She is determined to succeed, a worshipper of Lincoln (unlike her criminal brother), very well thought of by the Oberlin president who put her up for the job, and she is not about to let anything--pride, prejudice, romance, Lincoln's enemies, murderers, Confederate spies--stop her. By sheer doggedness and intelligence she means to convince those she meets, be they lawyers, Congressmen, or the many brilliant women who worked behind the scenes in the Washington of the time--that she can do what she sets out to do, if she dies trying.
Carter does a very good job of keeping Lincoln in the picture without letting him overshadow his main characters. He is absolutely fascinating, as is Carter's view of those would-be great men who think they are greater than Lincoln.
It is an adult book, and the time is more raw, so the language is more so. The female hero is subjected to plenty of hazing. There is sexual material, but not in excess of the period. I definitely recommend it, not just for alternate history fans, but for those who are already familiar with the issues and the personalities of Washington during and at the end of the war and would like to see another, thoughtful, examination of them.
The principal characters are the attorneys who are to defend Lincoln, in particular a law clerk who comes from a wealthy family and the unusual (to say the least) potential law clerk who is a recent graduate of the radical Oberlin cottage, not at all well off, possessing two siblings who are definitely criminals, and who is both female and black (or colored, as the custom of the time had it). She is determined to succeed, a worshipper of Lincoln (unlike her criminal brother), very well thought of by the Oberlin president who put her up for the job, and she is not about to let anything--pride, prejudice, romance, Lincoln's enemies, murderers, Confederate spies--stop her. By sheer doggedness and intelligence she means to convince those she meets, be they lawyers, Congressmen, or the many brilliant women who worked behind the scenes in the Washington of the time--that she can do what she sets out to do, if she dies trying.
Carter does a very good job of keeping Lincoln in the picture without letting him overshadow his main characters. He is absolutely fascinating, as is Carter's view of those would-be great men who think they are greater than Lincoln.
It is an adult book, and the time is more raw, so the language is more so. The female hero is subjected to plenty of hazing. There is sexual material, but not in excess of the period. I definitely recommend it, not just for alternate history fans, but for those who are already familiar with the issues and the personalities of Washington during and at the end of the war and would like to see another, thoughtful, examination of them.
February 26, 2023
More, in real time, thoughts can be found in this vlog
I have to be honest here, I'm not sure that a title can be punchier than this. There are a lot of titles that do the heavy lifting of giving you the synopsis and manage to catch you without too many extra steps, but in my recent memory this is easily my favorite. Just like the title suggests the book poses the question what happens if Lincoln survives his assassination attempt and the Congress then decides that he should be tried for Impeachment based on his actions before, during, and after the Civil War.
We get to see this play out largely through the eyes of Abigail Canner, a black woman who arrives in Washington to apprentice to one of the lawyers representing Lincoln against the House Managers int his Impeachment proceedings. I definitely went into the book expecting to see her doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to the lawyering. And that's not entirely true. We see her teaching herself, reading the law books and suggesting things tot he other people at the firm. But a large part of her role in the narrative is more akin to a secretary and private investigator, with her role finding her running down a vast conspiracy tied to a Confederacy that's not quite to give up in some ways.
In terms of a book by a new to me author, I had a good time. While I was reading the book I was engrossed. I found the balancing of all the different characters and how they tied back to the trial fascinating, the way that the characters played off each other was deeply engrossing. It was only during the times that I wasn't actively reading the book that I found myself forgetting that I was enjoying it so much, finding myself in the position to be constantly reminding myself that I was reading this and enjoying it so much. Coming to write this review so far removed from the actual date of having finished the book also feels like I'm letting it down a little because now that I've read more from Carter I know that I liked this one a little less, but I think that his mastery of this alternate history was excellently done and more authors should look to him for how to handle this kind of a storytelling method.
I have to be honest here, I'm not sure that a title can be punchier than this. There are a lot of titles that do the heavy lifting of giving you the synopsis and manage to catch you without too many extra steps, but in my recent memory this is easily my favorite. Just like the title suggests the book poses the question what happens if Lincoln survives his assassination attempt and the Congress then decides that he should be tried for Impeachment based on his actions before, during, and after the Civil War.
We get to see this play out largely through the eyes of Abigail Canner, a black woman who arrives in Washington to apprentice to one of the lawyers representing Lincoln against the House Managers int his Impeachment proceedings. I definitely went into the book expecting to see her doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to the lawyering. And that's not entirely true. We see her teaching herself, reading the law books and suggesting things tot he other people at the firm. But a large part of her role in the narrative is more akin to a secretary and private investigator, with her role finding her running down a vast conspiracy tied to a Confederacy that's not quite to give up in some ways.
In terms of a book by a new to me author, I had a good time. While I was reading the book I was engrossed. I found the balancing of all the different characters and how they tied back to the trial fascinating, the way that the characters played off each other was deeply engrossing. It was only during the times that I wasn't actively reading the book that I found myself forgetting that I was enjoying it so much, finding myself in the position to be constantly reminding myself that I was reading this and enjoying it so much. Coming to write this review so far removed from the actual date of having finished the book also feels like I'm letting it down a little because now that I've read more from Carter I know that I liked this one a little less, but I think that his mastery of this alternate history was excellently done and more authors should look to him for how to handle this kind of a storytelling method.
June 27, 2012
Top Historical Fiction
Stephen L. Carter has done a remarkable job of bringing to life a piece of historical fiction creating a scenario of what could have happened had Lincoln survived his assassination attempt, Johnson's assassination attempt been successful and the impeachment faced later by Johnson in real life been brought to bear upon Lincoln himself. Add to this a narrative plot that introduces characters both real and imagined along with a murder mystery and you have all the ingredients necessary for an entertaining novel and a compelling read.
Carter does more than just offer a narrative however. This is clearly a well researched book that brings elements from real history, existing documents and weaves things together in such a way that the reader will not only be entertained but will also come away with an appreciation and better understanding of the historical figures and events that are woven into this alternate scenario.
Throughout the book. there is a clear depiction of the elements of politics, negotiation and the use of political power to mask personal and economic ambition. There is both a clear depiction of racial tensions as well as an illustration of the advanced standing of northern freemen and their status in Northern society that stands in stark contrast to the commonly assumed stereotypes which find their roots in the post-plantation South in the midst of Jim Crow laws.
Whoever comes to this book can expect to be entertained, challenged and to leave the book with several elements of history, that which both real and imagined will leave the reader better for the experience. A compelling and educational read.
5 stars. Recommended without reservation.
bart breen
Stephen L. Carter has done a remarkable job of bringing to life a piece of historical fiction creating a scenario of what could have happened had Lincoln survived his assassination attempt, Johnson's assassination attempt been successful and the impeachment faced later by Johnson in real life been brought to bear upon Lincoln himself. Add to this a narrative plot that introduces characters both real and imagined along with a murder mystery and you have all the ingredients necessary for an entertaining novel and a compelling read.
Carter does more than just offer a narrative however. This is clearly a well researched book that brings elements from real history, existing documents and weaves things together in such a way that the reader will not only be entertained but will also come away with an appreciation and better understanding of the historical figures and events that are woven into this alternate scenario.
Throughout the book. there is a clear depiction of the elements of politics, negotiation and the use of political power to mask personal and economic ambition. There is both a clear depiction of racial tensions as well as an illustration of the advanced standing of northern freemen and their status in Northern society that stands in stark contrast to the commonly assumed stereotypes which find their roots in the post-plantation South in the midst of Jim Crow laws.
Whoever comes to this book can expect to be entertained, challenged and to leave the book with several elements of history, that which both real and imagined will leave the reader better for the experience. A compelling and educational read.
5 stars. Recommended without reservation.
bart breen
August 28, 2015
This was an interesting alternate history book in which Lincoln survives his assassination attempt. So what may have then happened as a result? In this case, the Congress tries to impeach him based upon four different charges that occurred during the war. First, his suspension of habeas corpus, second, taking control of telegrams and newspapers during the war third, charges of not enforcing the rights of freed blacks in the south, and fourth, the most serious charge of attempting to create a “Department of the Atlantic” which would take away Congress’s control of the legislative branch of the government thus giving him near dictatorial control of the country.
The story pits Lincoln’s lawyers (which includes the story's protagonist, a young, black, female, who is a recent Oberlin graduate) against the "Radicals" and their attempts to sway a handful of Senatorial votes required to acquit the president.
It’s a great “what if” legal battle with mystery and partisanship. The ending however, was one that I never anticipated and not in a good way. I have to say
The story pits Lincoln’s lawyers (which includes the story's protagonist, a young, black, female, who is a recent Oberlin graduate) against the "Radicals" and their attempts to sway a handful of Senatorial votes required to acquit the president.
It’s a great “what if” legal battle with mystery and partisanship. The ending however, was one that I never anticipated and not in a good way. I have to say
September 15, 2012
This book could have been interesting. It could have painted a picture of the subtle and drastic ways in which the world might have changed had Lincoln survived Ford's Theater. It doesn't, choosing instead to focus on an impeachment trial that doesn't really say much about Lincoln's impact on the world other than to point out that the government would still be splintered by petty factionalism. The biggest differences seem to be nothing more than a matter of narrative choice, rather than consequences of Carter's big idea.
The book could have presented interesting characters, and it's here, I think, that Carter comes closest to succeeding. His main character is not a political figure or a freed slave, as one might expect, but a middle-class black woman who was never a slave. It's an interesting perspective, given how easy it is to forget that such people actually existed. The best thing I can say about the book is that it made me want to learn more about what life was like for those African-Americans who were struggling to prosper in a white world, even before the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery.
Sadly, this good idea is wasted. Carter's characters are paper-thin caricatures. His Lincoln is embarrassing, incapable of expressing himself in anything other than barely-relevant anecdotes. Yes, Lincoln is famed for using anecdotes to get to the heart of the problem, but I'm pretty sure his conversations were not limited to anecdotal recitation. The other historical figures fare little better, as it seems Carter learned one fact about each of them and based his characterization on that alone. Stanton is angry! Chase is ambitious!
As for the invented characters, the less said the better. The romance between Jonathan and Abigail is painfully dull, in no small part due to the fact that the characters themselves are boring. Abigail, in particular, is maddening. We can see that she is determined, but aside from that ... We're constantly told that she is brilliant, but we never get to see it. Jonathan comments about how she has a wonderful way of explaining things, and at another time, he claims she has the best mind of the entire legal team. Reading this, all I could think was to wonder if I hadn't skipped several chapters in the book. When did he arrive at these judgments? She is completely prevented from playing any role in Lincoln's defense, and she seems to spend more time biting her tongue for the sake of decorum than she does demonstrating the kind of wit and intelligence that apparently has everyone in the District of Columbia talking about her. I mean, honestly, I read this book quickly, but did I seriously miss all the examples that would actually have made her interesting? Am I that poor of a reader? Jonathan is no better. His infatuation with Abigail seems to come out of nowhere and he seems like little more than a spineless puppet throughout the book.
Finally, there's the plot, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. There's a conspiracy to impeach the President, and the inner workings of the conspiracy seem to involve maintaining the secrecy of the conspirator's desire to impeach the President. Again, I might have missed something, but if the conspirators had not stooped to murdering people to maintain their secret, I don't think they would have actually done anything wrong. Even the list that serves as the book's macguffin turns out to be nothing more than a list of potential conspirators, yet for reasons I cannot fathom, it's treated as something particularly damning. In fact, whenever one of the book's many mysteries is resolved, it seems to lead to nothing of importance.
Maybe Carter is just trying to do too many things. In order to write a compelling thriller with a legitimately shocking secret at its heart, he would have had to throw away any pretense at historical accuracy. If he wanted to write about what Lincoln's second term might have actually looked like, he would have wound up with nothing more than a scholarly tome, instead of the blockbuster sensation he seems to be looking for, with murder, intrigue, and scandal. And through the whole thing, I couldn't escape the feeling that Carter was really looking to make some sort of sly commentary on modern politics, given his emphasis on the excessive influence of money and party loyalty on government.
The weird thing is that I may have gotten more worked up writing this review than I actually did at any point while reading the book (which goes a long way towards explaining the above disjointedness). The short version: poorly written characters in a book that is neither titillating, nor particularly enlightening; it doesn't do what it says on the tin.
The book could have presented interesting characters, and it's here, I think, that Carter comes closest to succeeding. His main character is not a political figure or a freed slave, as one might expect, but a middle-class black woman who was never a slave. It's an interesting perspective, given how easy it is to forget that such people actually existed. The best thing I can say about the book is that it made me want to learn more about what life was like for those African-Americans who were struggling to prosper in a white world, even before the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery.
Sadly, this good idea is wasted. Carter's characters are paper-thin caricatures. His Lincoln is embarrassing, incapable of expressing himself in anything other than barely-relevant anecdotes. Yes, Lincoln is famed for using anecdotes to get to the heart of the problem, but I'm pretty sure his conversations were not limited to anecdotal recitation. The other historical figures fare little better, as it seems Carter learned one fact about each of them and based his characterization on that alone. Stanton is angry! Chase is ambitious!
As for the invented characters, the less said the better. The romance between Jonathan and Abigail is painfully dull, in no small part due to the fact that the characters themselves are boring. Abigail, in particular, is maddening. We can see that she is determined, but aside from that ... We're constantly told that she is brilliant, but we never get to see it. Jonathan comments about how she has a wonderful way of explaining things, and at another time, he claims she has the best mind of the entire legal team. Reading this, all I could think was to wonder if I hadn't skipped several chapters in the book. When did he arrive at these judgments? She is completely prevented from playing any role in Lincoln's defense, and she seems to spend more time biting her tongue for the sake of decorum than she does demonstrating the kind of wit and intelligence that apparently has everyone in the District of Columbia talking about her. I mean, honestly, I read this book quickly, but did I seriously miss all the examples that would actually have made her interesting? Am I that poor of a reader? Jonathan is no better. His infatuation with Abigail seems to come out of nowhere and he seems like little more than a spineless puppet throughout the book.
Finally, there's the plot, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. There's a conspiracy to impeach the President, and the inner workings of the conspiracy seem to involve maintaining the secrecy of the conspirator's desire to impeach the President. Again, I might have missed something, but if the conspirators had not stooped to murdering people to maintain their secret, I don't think they would have actually done anything wrong. Even the list that serves as the book's macguffin turns out to be nothing more than a list of potential conspirators, yet for reasons I cannot fathom, it's treated as something particularly damning. In fact, whenever one of the book's many mysteries is resolved, it seems to lead to nothing of importance.
Maybe Carter is just trying to do too many things. In order to write a compelling thriller with a legitimately shocking secret at its heart, he would have had to throw away any pretense at historical accuracy. If he wanted to write about what Lincoln's second term might have actually looked like, he would have wound up with nothing more than a scholarly tome, instead of the blockbuster sensation he seems to be looking for, with murder, intrigue, and scandal. And through the whole thing, I couldn't escape the feeling that Carter was really looking to make some sort of sly commentary on modern politics, given his emphasis on the excessive influence of money and party loyalty on government.
The weird thing is that I may have gotten more worked up writing this review than I actually did at any point while reading the book (which goes a long way towards explaining the above disjointedness). The short version: poorly written characters in a book that is neither titillating, nor particularly enlightening; it doesn't do what it says on the tin.
June 18, 2022
Did you know I once worked for a museum that has Abraham Lincoln's bloody bedsheet from the assassination in its collection? Not relevant, just a very fun personal fact. :)
I love alternate history. Love, love, love it - one of my favorite types of plots! And this book executed it masterfully.
At times it was a little difficult to read because of the language used and pacing, but I really enjoyed the audiobook!
I love alternate history. Love, love, love it - one of my favorite types of plots! And this book executed it masterfully.
At times it was a little difficult to read because of the language used and pacing, but I really enjoyed the audiobook!
March 27, 2015
The premise of Stephen L. Carter’s new book, The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln is so audacious – so fascinating – that it virtually begs to be read.
In this reimaging of the Lincoln assassination, the bullet’s trajectory changes by just a fraction of an inch and Lincoln survives. After the country collectively exhales, the “fun” begins. The radical part of his own party presses for impeachment because he has chosen to not punish the south sufficiently in an effort to reunite the country. He is charged with actions that actually occurred under his presidency as a screen – suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, circumventing Congress while borrowing from the U.S. Treasury, placing portions of Maryland under martial law and trying to establish a military-run Department of the Atlantic.
Heady and rich stuff! Mr. Carter is a professor of law at Yale University and his erudition is on full display. The political maneuverings, the impeachment and trial by House Managers, the nuances of removing a sitting president – all are done beautifully by this skilled author. And the key question – can noble ends ever justify ignoble means when the U.S. is under internal threat – is one that resonates today.
However, the core of Impeachment is a mystery. Mr. Carter’s protagonist, Abigail Canner, is a brilliant and beautiful black woman and one of only a dozen black law clerks in the country at that time. Like Miss Marple or Nancy Drew, she is preternaturally able to detect conspiracies, patterns, and intrigues that reach the highest levels of government, even when far more seasoned lawyers can’t.
The result is a rather convoluted subplot (or in many cases, primary plot) in which Abigail – along with another law clerk, Jonathan, the white scion of a northern family – single-handedly crack ciphers, deal with Abigail’s gangster brother, gain Lincoln’s ear (and even meet with him alone), capture the intrigue of high society, and unveil motives of shady politicians.
Real people – such as Dan Sickles, one of Lincoln’s lawyers and a real-life scoundrel – and Salmon P. Chase, the Supreme Court Chief Justice and Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s trusted secretary of war, are all part of this novel. Lincoln himself, a man given to spun homilies and a far more adept politician than is generally acknowledged – is also portrayed very credibly. When the book delves into legal thriller and political drama, it soars to 5-stars. But the convoluted mystery and too one-dimensional Abigail and Jonathan tether it to earth.
In this reimaging of the Lincoln assassination, the bullet’s trajectory changes by just a fraction of an inch and Lincoln survives. After the country collectively exhales, the “fun” begins. The radical part of his own party presses for impeachment because he has chosen to not punish the south sufficiently in an effort to reunite the country. He is charged with actions that actually occurred under his presidency as a screen – suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, circumventing Congress while borrowing from the U.S. Treasury, placing portions of Maryland under martial law and trying to establish a military-run Department of the Atlantic.
Heady and rich stuff! Mr. Carter is a professor of law at Yale University and his erudition is on full display. The political maneuverings, the impeachment and trial by House Managers, the nuances of removing a sitting president – all are done beautifully by this skilled author. And the key question – can noble ends ever justify ignoble means when the U.S. is under internal threat – is one that resonates today.
However, the core of Impeachment is a mystery. Mr. Carter’s protagonist, Abigail Canner, is a brilliant and beautiful black woman and one of only a dozen black law clerks in the country at that time. Like Miss Marple or Nancy Drew, she is preternaturally able to detect conspiracies, patterns, and intrigues that reach the highest levels of government, even when far more seasoned lawyers can’t.
The result is a rather convoluted subplot (or in many cases, primary plot) in which Abigail – along with another law clerk, Jonathan, the white scion of a northern family – single-handedly crack ciphers, deal with Abigail’s gangster brother, gain Lincoln’s ear (and even meet with him alone), capture the intrigue of high society, and unveil motives of shady politicians.
Real people – such as Dan Sickles, one of Lincoln’s lawyers and a real-life scoundrel – and Salmon P. Chase, the Supreme Court Chief Justice and Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s trusted secretary of war, are all part of this novel. Lincoln himself, a man given to spun homilies and a far more adept politician than is generally acknowledged – is also portrayed very credibly. When the book delves into legal thriller and political drama, it soars to 5-stars. But the convoluted mystery and too one-dimensional Abigail and Jonathan tether it to earth.
February 9, 2016
The premise of The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln instantly grabbed my interest: Lincoln survives Booth’s assassination attempt in 1865, only to be impeached by congress and put on trial two years later. Abigail Canner is a young black woman, recently graduated from Oberlin with a dream of passing the bar and becoming a lawyer. She’s hired as a clerk – little more than a glorified secretary – at the law firm charged with Lincoln’s defense. But Abigail soon finds herself caught up in murder investigations, multiple conspiracies and a little romance.
I love both historical fiction and alternate history, but both genres come with their own common shortcomings. In mediocre historical fictions, authors fail to catch the “tone” of the time period, so characters speak and think like modern people transplanted in earlier eras. In mediocre alternate histories, authors fail to puzzle through the full scope of their timeline change. Stephen Carter avoids both pitfalls; Abigail especially is acutely aware of her assigned place, as a woman and as a black person, and although she bucks conventions of the day, she does so in ways the feel true to the period. And his attention to historical detail is exceptional; it helps that he had Andrew Jackson’s own impeachment trail to model characters and arguments on, but does add a unique spin on them.
This novel follows the impeachment trial in incredible depth, which isn’t surprising given that Carter clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He writes about the legal tactics, but also how political agendas and legal strategies clash with each other. For those with an interest in court procedures, this is fascinating… but I imagine for those who just want a light legal thriller, this would get tiresome.
The only thing that kept this book from receiving five stars from me was the ending.
I love both historical fiction and alternate history, but both genres come with their own common shortcomings. In mediocre historical fictions, authors fail to catch the “tone” of the time period, so characters speak and think like modern people transplanted in earlier eras. In mediocre alternate histories, authors fail to puzzle through the full scope of their timeline change. Stephen Carter avoids both pitfalls; Abigail especially is acutely aware of her assigned place, as a woman and as a black person, and although she bucks conventions of the day, she does so in ways the feel true to the period. And his attention to historical detail is exceptional; it helps that he had Andrew Jackson’s own impeachment trail to model characters and arguments on, but does add a unique spin on them.
This novel follows the impeachment trial in incredible depth, which isn’t surprising given that Carter clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He writes about the legal tactics, but also how political agendas and legal strategies clash with each other. For those with an interest in court procedures, this is fascinating… but I imagine for those who just want a light legal thriller, this would get tiresome.
The only thing that kept this book from receiving five stars from me was the ending.
May 18, 2016
This book had it all--the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln had a very interesting premise. Who doesn’t like an alternative history? The two main characters were endearing and interesting. From the Afterword, I learned that the novel is filled with accurate historical details, most of which I could not appreciate, but I’m sure that a historian would have loved.
The Bad
The problem I had with this book is the same problem that I have with many books now days. It was too long. The writing was verbose. To me, modern authors seem to have little discipline. Less is usually more, and more is usually just too much.
The Ugly
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln is a book that I can recommend, but it could have been better executed.
The Good
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln had a very interesting premise. Who doesn’t like an alternative history? The two main characters were endearing and interesting. From the Afterword, I learned that the novel is filled with accurate historical details, most of which I could not appreciate, but I’m sure that a historian would have loved.
The Bad
The problem I had with this book is the same problem that I have with many books now days. It was too long. The writing was verbose. To me, modern authors seem to have little discipline. Less is usually more, and more is usually just too much.
The Ugly
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln is a book that I can recommend, but it could have been better executed.
June 12, 2015
*edited slightly* Read this awhile ago so writing down what I can remember.
---
I remember being really excited to read this, an alternate history of Lincoln surviving the assassination, sign me up!
It started out well, I liked the female MC and the author's description of DC back then.
He went over Lincoln surviving the bullet quickly, not going into much detail at all only a couple pages. . First red flag but I decided to read on,hoping it would get better.. for me it didn't.
He killed off Mrs. Lincoln early on in the novel but the way he wrote it, it felt kind of brushed off to me
... Seward was given mention but only briefly.
Lincoln's lawyers were interesting characters but I wanted to read more about Lincoln and he wasn't in the book much and when he was,he didn't 'feel" like Lincoln, the spirit of him wasnt there. . If that makes sense.
Sone parts of the novel felt rushed, as if he wanted to get to the other parts of the plot...
The impeachment to me felt contrived, Mr. Carter writes well but I just couldn't buy what he was trying to sell me.
I wouldn't say this was a bad novel, I loved the idea but it wasn't executed very well.
And the ending from what I remember pissed me off...
Would not recommend.
---
I remember being really excited to read this, an alternate history of Lincoln surviving the assassination, sign me up!
It started out well, I liked the female MC and the author's description of DC back then.
He went over Lincoln surviving the bullet quickly, not going into much detail at all only a couple pages. . First red flag but I decided to read on,hoping it would get better.. for me it didn't.
He killed off Mrs. Lincoln early on in the novel but the way he wrote it, it felt kind of brushed off to me
... Seward was given mention but only briefly.
Lincoln's lawyers were interesting characters but I wanted to read more about Lincoln and he wasn't in the book much and when he was,he didn't 'feel" like Lincoln, the spirit of him wasnt there. . If that makes sense.
Sone parts of the novel felt rushed, as if he wanted to get to the other parts of the plot...
The impeachment to me felt contrived, Mr. Carter writes well but I just couldn't buy what he was trying to sell me.
I wouldn't say this was a bad novel, I loved the idea but it wasn't executed very well.
And the ending from what I remember pissed me off...
Would not recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2012
Bewildering Mess of a Book
Stephen Carter is a good storyteller, which is why I kept turning all 500 pages, but I was hugely disappointed in the ending. In a way, it was three endings: an ending to the mystery, to the romance, and to the impeachment, and I found each ending disappointing. The main characters, a team of lawyers, lose their case; the romance is put on indefinite hold; and the solution to the mystery turns out to meaningless. The last-minute murder may or may not have been committed by any of several people. Maybe the author was setting up a sequel?
Perhaps I was just bewildered by the abundance of characters and plots and story lines within story lines. And I never found any of the characters three-dimensional. Lincoln's folksy stories came off as lifeless groaners, and, while Carter repeatedly told us the heroine was brilliant, I for one never saw it.
Stephen Carter is a good storyteller, which is why I kept turning all 500 pages, but I was hugely disappointed in the ending. In a way, it was three endings: an ending to the mystery, to the romance, and to the impeachment, and I found each ending disappointing. The main characters, a team of lawyers, lose their case; the romance is put on indefinite hold; and the solution to the mystery turns out to meaningless. The last-minute murder may or may not have been committed by any of several people. Maybe the author was setting up a sequel?
Perhaps I was just bewildered by the abundance of characters and plots and story lines within story lines. And I never found any of the characters three-dimensional. Lincoln's folksy stories came off as lifeless groaners, and, while Carter repeatedly told us the heroine was brilliant, I for one never saw it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2018
An awesome story of how corrupt our highly selective officials are still behaving today in the White House.
November 23, 2013
The battleground of alternate history about the Civil War is so crowded there’s barely room to wield a cavalry sword, let alone a pen. Long before Mr. Lincoln started hunting vampires, we had Harry Turtledove and his army of astute novels; Ward Moore, Harry Harrison and Peter Tsouras have all fought on this field, along with Winston Churchill’s essay “If Lee Had Not Won the Battle of Gettysburg” and even James Thurber’s story “If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox.”
But rather than shifting the outcome of some crucial battle, try nudging a single bullet. Just an inch. That’s what Stephen L. Carter does in his thoughtful new thriller: Abraham Lincoln didn’t die in the hours after John Wilkes Booth shot him. Oh, the president came close to the grave, to be sure, but then his indomitable will asserted itself. “The damage to his brain appeared less severe than first thought. . . . On Easter Sunday, he rose.”
So begins “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln,” Carter’s fifth novel. The Yale law professor has enlisted real figures before in his best-selling tales of intrigue, but this is his deepest foray into the slippery world of alternate history. With an encyclopedic command of period detail and the courage to alter it whenever he wants, Carter has created an entertaining story rooted in the legal, political and racial conflicts of 19th-century America.
A brisk prologue gallops through the failed assassination in 1865 and a mysterious confrontation with a spy several months later. Then the novel opens in earnest nearly two years after the South has been dragged back into the Union. Compromise is poison, the parties can agree on nothing, and political brinksmanship has ground Washington to a halt. Things were so different back then. “If Johnson were President now,” newspapers whine, “the nation would be in considerably better shape.”
Yes, the assassins got Vice President Andrew Johnson in this version of history, but other famous characters strut through these pages fully animated, especially Lincoln, so conflicted, so deceptively rustic, with those drooping eyes that can look sleepy or piercing. Nowadays, in the shadow of that 120-ton statue and the Christ mythology that has coalesced around the Great Emancipator, it’s jarring to be reminded of what a political animal our 16th president was — and how varied were his enemies.
When alive, Lincoln faced not just the hatred of the Confederacy, but the condescension and disapproval of the abolitionist wing of his own party. By sparing his life that night at Ford’s Theatre, Carter has subjected him to a thousand cuts from assassins on all sides. The South wants revenge; radicals can’t stomach his beneficent Reconstruction; and defenders of liberty are still aghast at his imperial actions during the war: arresting political opponents, suspending habeas corpus, ignoring court orders to release prisoners, closing the Maryland legislature, shutting down newspapers. In high dudgeon, the House votes to impeach the president. The stage is set for drama.
But not nearly enough drama for Carter. Although he creates a smart, tense version of the Senate trial (based partially on the real-life impeachment of Andrew Johnson), most of the novel pursues bloodier intrigue in the darkest corners of the capital: spies, conspirators, prostitutes and disemboweled witnesses! “Mr. Lincoln’s opponents will stop at nothing” to turn him out of the White House.
In every novel he’s written, starting with his multimillion-dollar debut, “The Emperor of Ocean Park,” Carter has proposed — not subtly — that a few African Americans have always possessed more money and power than most white Americans realize. While Edward P. Jones exposed the weird exception of black slaveholders, Carter has pulled back the satin curtains on well-heeled black families who summer on Martha’s Vineyard, teach at Ivy League schools and control the White House.
“The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln” offers similar revelations. In an author’s note, Carter writes, “Our shared notion that the entire darker nation in the middle years of the nineteenth century was just out of slavery and grindingly poor is the sort of racist nonsense that continues nowadays to provide a peculiar comfort to black and white alike.” He confronts that misimpression here by placing a brilliant young black woman named Abigail Canner at the center of his story. The daughter of middle-class parents, Abigail graduated from Oberlin Institute, where she impressed a well-connected law professor. As the novel opens, she gets a job in Washington at the firm that Lincoln has engaged to represent him during his impeachment trial.
Will this highly unusual — not to mention unlikely — 21-year-old black female clerk play a crucial role in American history?
I’ll bet you a crisp new $5 bill she does.
Abigail is intellectual, tenacious and poised, which makes her all the more irresistible to a number of men in Washington, especially her fellow clerk, Jonathan Hilliman, who is thoughtful, honorable and already engaged. (Details, details.) Together this black-and-white crime-fighting duo sift through legal tomes and burned buildings, dodging assassins’ blades and social scandal.
Indeed, it’s hard to take your eyes off Abigail as she becomes a minor celebrity in Washington society. Some of her suitors are moved by genuine affection, others by lust and still others by political calculation. One of the provocative moves Carter makes in this novel is to remind us that mid-19th-century liberals could be just as cynical in their cultivation of impressive black people as their modern-day counterparts. Her suitors and enemies are difficult to tell apart in such a miasma of insincerity as Washington. Even Lincoln’s chief lawyer wants to parade Abigail around, a compromising position she negotiates as best she can. “Rejection, exclusion, condescension,” she thinks, “these were the price the nation daily exacted from the colored race, like a special tax on darkness.”
You can enjoy this as an intelligent summer lark, or you can fuss over the touches of corniness that a writer of Carter’s talent should have abandoned by now. Despite her poise, Abigail sometimes scurries around like a black Nancy Drew, collecting clues with derring-do and always noticing what everybody else missed. Melodramatic cliffhangers mar the endings of too many chapters, and the Great Reveal drags on for far too many pages only because the mystery that Abigail must solve is ridiculously — almost comically — convoluted.
But Carter’s delight in all this material is infectious. He’s a fantastic legal dramatist, and there’s the constant pleasure of seeing his creation of Washington City in 1867, alive with sounds and smells, and seven — seven! — healthy newspapers. The story moves through the viperous gossip of Fanny Eames’s salon, “the retreating forests of Tennally Town,”the Seventh Street Wharf and “on into the dangerous slums of George Town, where no sane Washingtonian ventured after dark.” (Invest, great-great-great-grandpa!) History buffs can test their mettle by trying to unwind Carter’s entangling of fact and fiction, but anyone should enjoy this rich political thriller that dares to imagine how events might have ricocheted in a different direction after the Civil War.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
But rather than shifting the outcome of some crucial battle, try nudging a single bullet. Just an inch. That’s what Stephen L. Carter does in his thoughtful new thriller: Abraham Lincoln didn’t die in the hours after John Wilkes Booth shot him. Oh, the president came close to the grave, to be sure, but then his indomitable will asserted itself. “The damage to his brain appeared less severe than first thought. . . . On Easter Sunday, he rose.”
So begins “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln,” Carter’s fifth novel. The Yale law professor has enlisted real figures before in his best-selling tales of intrigue, but this is his deepest foray into the slippery world of alternate history. With an encyclopedic command of period detail and the courage to alter it whenever he wants, Carter has created an entertaining story rooted in the legal, political and racial conflicts of 19th-century America.
A brisk prologue gallops through the failed assassination in 1865 and a mysterious confrontation with a spy several months later. Then the novel opens in earnest nearly two years after the South has been dragged back into the Union. Compromise is poison, the parties can agree on nothing, and political brinksmanship has ground Washington to a halt. Things were so different back then. “If Johnson were President now,” newspapers whine, “the nation would be in considerably better shape.”
Yes, the assassins got Vice President Andrew Johnson in this version of history, but other famous characters strut through these pages fully animated, especially Lincoln, so conflicted, so deceptively rustic, with those drooping eyes that can look sleepy or piercing. Nowadays, in the shadow of that 120-ton statue and the Christ mythology that has coalesced around the Great Emancipator, it’s jarring to be reminded of what a political animal our 16th president was — and how varied were his enemies.
When alive, Lincoln faced not just the hatred of the Confederacy, but the condescension and disapproval of the abolitionist wing of his own party. By sparing his life that night at Ford’s Theatre, Carter has subjected him to a thousand cuts from assassins on all sides. The South wants revenge; radicals can’t stomach his beneficent Reconstruction; and defenders of liberty are still aghast at his imperial actions during the war: arresting political opponents, suspending habeas corpus, ignoring court orders to release prisoners, closing the Maryland legislature, shutting down newspapers. In high dudgeon, the House votes to impeach the president. The stage is set for drama.
But not nearly enough drama for Carter. Although he creates a smart, tense version of the Senate trial (based partially on the real-life impeachment of Andrew Johnson), most of the novel pursues bloodier intrigue in the darkest corners of the capital: spies, conspirators, prostitutes and disemboweled witnesses! “Mr. Lincoln’s opponents will stop at nothing” to turn him out of the White House.
In every novel he’s written, starting with his multimillion-dollar debut, “The Emperor of Ocean Park,” Carter has proposed — not subtly — that a few African Americans have always possessed more money and power than most white Americans realize. While Edward P. Jones exposed the weird exception of black slaveholders, Carter has pulled back the satin curtains on well-heeled black families who summer on Martha’s Vineyard, teach at Ivy League schools and control the White House.
“The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln” offers similar revelations. In an author’s note, Carter writes, “Our shared notion that the entire darker nation in the middle years of the nineteenth century was just out of slavery and grindingly poor is the sort of racist nonsense that continues nowadays to provide a peculiar comfort to black and white alike.” He confronts that misimpression here by placing a brilliant young black woman named Abigail Canner at the center of his story. The daughter of middle-class parents, Abigail graduated from Oberlin Institute, where she impressed a well-connected law professor. As the novel opens, she gets a job in Washington at the firm that Lincoln has engaged to represent him during his impeachment trial.
Will this highly unusual — not to mention unlikely — 21-year-old black female clerk play a crucial role in American history?
I’ll bet you a crisp new $5 bill she does.
Abigail is intellectual, tenacious and poised, which makes her all the more irresistible to a number of men in Washington, especially her fellow clerk, Jonathan Hilliman, who is thoughtful, honorable and already engaged. (Details, details.) Together this black-and-white crime-fighting duo sift through legal tomes and burned buildings, dodging assassins’ blades and social scandal.
Indeed, it’s hard to take your eyes off Abigail as she becomes a minor celebrity in Washington society. Some of her suitors are moved by genuine affection, others by lust and still others by political calculation. One of the provocative moves Carter makes in this novel is to remind us that mid-19th-century liberals could be just as cynical in their cultivation of impressive black people as their modern-day counterparts. Her suitors and enemies are difficult to tell apart in such a miasma of insincerity as Washington. Even Lincoln’s chief lawyer wants to parade Abigail around, a compromising position she negotiates as best she can. “Rejection, exclusion, condescension,” she thinks, “these were the price the nation daily exacted from the colored race, like a special tax on darkness.”
You can enjoy this as an intelligent summer lark, or you can fuss over the touches of corniness that a writer of Carter’s talent should have abandoned by now. Despite her poise, Abigail sometimes scurries around like a black Nancy Drew, collecting clues with derring-do and always noticing what everybody else missed. Melodramatic cliffhangers mar the endings of too many chapters, and the Great Reveal drags on for far too many pages only because the mystery that Abigail must solve is ridiculously — almost comically — convoluted.
But Carter’s delight in all this material is infectious. He’s a fantastic legal dramatist, and there’s the constant pleasure of seeing his creation of Washington City in 1867, alive with sounds and smells, and seven — seven! — healthy newspapers. The story moves through the viperous gossip of Fanny Eames’s salon, “the retreating forests of Tennally Town,”the Seventh Street Wharf and “on into the dangerous slums of George Town, where no sane Washingtonian ventured after dark.” (Invest, great-great-great-grandpa!) History buffs can test their mettle by trying to unwind Carter’s entangling of fact and fiction, but anyone should enjoy this rich political thriller that dares to imagine how events might have ricocheted in a different direction after the Civil War.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
August 15, 2013
My actual rating is 4.5 stars. 5 stars for the inventive premise, which the other reviews have eloquently summarized ... it's mind-bending and thought-provoking. 5 stars, too, for the great characters, who really came to life and challenged our assumptions about American history.
The 4 stars are perhaps a reflection of my lack of care in reading. This is a mystery and clues are to be found throughout the book. Sloppy or rushed or tired reading proves problematic and I think I fell into this trap with a few chapters, and paid for it down the road. This is obviously not a reflection on the author, but on the reader, but it nonetheless affected my experience at the end of the book when everything came together. Perhaps a few more "let us summarize what we know so far" type paragraphs here and there would have helped the reader like me.
Still, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's perfect to read right after Team of Rivals. In fact, I started it the very next day to quell my despair regarding the assassination! Many of the characters that the reader gets to know well through Doris Kearns Goodwin are featured by Stephen Carter, albeit with the same personalities but fictionalized events.
Stephen Carter is an outstanding writer and an outstanding thinker ... both of which are great qualities when it comes to creating fiction that will stay with the reader, long after the last page is read. I am very glad to have read this book.
The 4 stars are perhaps a reflection of my lack of care in reading. This is a mystery and clues are to be found throughout the book. Sloppy or rushed or tired reading proves problematic and I think I fell into this trap with a few chapters, and paid for it down the road. This is obviously not a reflection on the author, but on the reader, but it nonetheless affected my experience at the end of the book when everything came together. Perhaps a few more "let us summarize what we know so far" type paragraphs here and there would have helped the reader like me.
Still, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's perfect to read right after Team of Rivals. In fact, I started it the very next day to quell my despair regarding the assassination! Many of the characters that the reader gets to know well through Doris Kearns Goodwin are featured by Stephen Carter, albeit with the same personalities but fictionalized events.
Stephen Carter is an outstanding writer and an outstanding thinker ... both of which are great qualities when it comes to creating fiction that will stay with the reader, long after the last page is read. I am very glad to have read this book.
November 3, 2021
The author “rewrites” history as President Abraham Lincoln survives the April 14,1865 assassination and Vice President Johnson did not propelling our 16th President into a political battle over Reconstruction with congressional leaders which ultimately leads to impeachment. The author describes the trial from the President’s defenders point of view from preparation to execution by throwing in a young, brilliant and ambitious woman of color who dazzles everyone as the central character in this drama and resurrecting the notorious Union General Dan Sickles as the glue that holds all the characters and plots together. Conspiracy seems to be everywhere in post Civil War Washington, DC and creates a suspenseful background to Stephen Carter’s story. Reading this “revisionist” historical novel was fun and it was my impression that Mr. Carter had fun imagining and writing it!
May 25, 2020
Arguably one of the most important works of fiction published this century. Yeah, so that's how I start this review.
I didn't time finally reading this to the impending impeachment trial of another president. I've had a copy on my reading list for a while, picked it up in a dollar store (there really is, sometimes, great stuff to find in those places) after noting its original release. I have a long reading list, which is to say literally a whole IKEA bookcase full of unread books. I pulled out a few books late last year that I wanted to jump ahead of schedule (I think Impeachment was actually somewhere on the back side, so I wasn't going to get to it for some time still, probably not even before December of this year, much less last year), and this was one of them. And then, of course, the sitting president was impeached by congress, joining a distinguished class of rogues by the names of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.
Now, Johnson's impeachment was clearly politically motivated, the impatience and tumult of the post-Civil War period finding a patsy in the guy who happened to be holding the bag when Lincoln was assassinated. A different Johnson would've been impeached a century later after another assassination if the Vietnam War had already been up and running. Impeachments, regardless of the reasons, tend to be politically motivated. This will sound needlessly baiting at a time when it's happening again, and there are once again fierce proponents on both sides as to what should happen.
But the thing is, Stephen L. Carter had the right idea, when he wrote this book. Lincoln would've faced the same fate, had Booth not shot him in the head. And so he creates a scenario in which Lincoln survives, and suffers the fate of his successor.
What history tends to gloss over, to our detriment, is how much Lincoln was hated. Nobody liked him, not even in the Union. Everything he did was wrong. And then of course he won the war and was assassinated. And then everyone loved him, and he now stands generally regarded as the greatest president in US history.
But even his death didn't quell all discontent. I read a book a few years back that compiled various testimonials that followed in the wake of the assassination. Frederick Douglass, MLK before MLK, spoke highly of Lincoln at first, but at a remove of a few decades, revived what everyone used to say about Lincoln while he was still alive, that while he did accomplish things, he didn't do enough, and was basically forced into making history.
That's the absolute crazy thing. In 2020, Lincoln is indisputably the president who ended slavery in America, which before he did it was impossible. The Confederacy literally happened because he was elected, and everyone thought he was going to do it instantly. The Spielberg movie released the same year as this book continued the tradition of depicting him as a saint among men. (I think Spielberg is a treasure. But I have never seen this movie, and I really don't intend to.) What Carter did, then, is all the more astounding. This was a time when the country was celebrating the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the Civil War, and as a result reviving the cult of Lincoln, a phrasing I use not because I don't agree that Lincoln was a great man, because he was, but because, even when you consider that the most famous biography of Lincoln in the modern era, Team of Rivals, celebrated his political brilliance, never seems to admit how tough he really had it.
And that doesn't do justice to Lincoln, the country, or his continuing legacy.
Carter stages his imaginary impeachment as a trial that plays out as a backdrop to the kind of popular fiction that used to be the fashion, before everything became police procedurals of some extraction, or romance novels, the kind of story Hollywood used to build itself around, before blockbusters required huge budgets for special effects. He tells a halting love story about a plucky young woman and the man who doesn't realize until too late how he really feels about her. The plucky young woman, like Carter, happens to be black, and so the story is as much about the black experience, both in the time of Lincoln and, really, in 2012, in 2020, as the real politics that existed then, and now.
I turned a lot of corners to denote pages where Carter holds brilliant insight that we pretend, today, isn't applicable, but of course it is. A lot of the outrage we see around us is completely manufactured, just as it's been since at least the day Burr shot Hamilton, or even the so-called Boston Massacre. Stories meant to stir emotion, achieve some goal, and not even necessarily what appears on the surface.
Carter asks the reader, in a postscript, if they believe Lincoln might've warranted impeachment, based on things he did in the real world, during the Civil War. Honest readers would have to think about it. A lot of them, if capable of transposing actions from a another time to their own, would be forced to admit they'd think of Lincoln as they do the sitting president. That's just a fact. And instantly, Lincoln goes from the most beloved president to the reputation he himself lived with.
The book isn't perfect. Carter's basic outline can be found, better, in the Harry Potter books. The editing, even in the paperback edition, inexplicably contains errors. I would've tightened a few things, gotten rid of some needless red herrings, the stuff that's just there to keep up a reader's interest. I mean, isn't this already fascinating enough subject matter??? But Carter must have assumed readers would expect the results too predictable, that he couldn't bring himself to impeach Lincoln in the Senate. So he dances around a few plot points. And actually, as if inspired by The Twilight Zone, Lincoln meets the same fate anyway. (I would love to see a movie made from this book.) And the plucky young girl and the boy who doesn't realize until too late...Carter leaves things surprisingly open-ended, as if to challenge the reader all over again, to ask them all over again, what if this were happening today? He was addressing, as much as Lincoln, the increasingly charged political arena of his day, which is to say, ours, even today. Yeah. He didn't see anymore good coming from selfish political maneuvering, however dressed up for public viewing, as benefiting anyone, really, then as now, Lincoln or anyone else. There's a reason why impeachment has come up so rarely, that it's always been when political tensions were at their highest, and why we've inexplicably done it three times, now, in the past forty years, when Carter rightly points out our predecessors thought constantly about it, but only did it once. And yet the system itself survives, not because the Founders were better than us (remember Hamilton/Burr, and not just because of some trendy musical), but because they designed a system that has built into it checks and balances that have withstood everything. The joke is that nothing gets done in Washington (Carter points out that even the Washington Monument was taking its sweet time coming into existence in Lincoln's day), and perhaps...sometimes, it's better that way. In the final analysis, the big things we achieve aren't the things we will forever condemn, but forever celebrate. Like what Lincoln did.
I didn't time finally reading this to the impending impeachment trial of another president. I've had a copy on my reading list for a while, picked it up in a dollar store (there really is, sometimes, great stuff to find in those places) after noting its original release. I have a long reading list, which is to say literally a whole IKEA bookcase full of unread books. I pulled out a few books late last year that I wanted to jump ahead of schedule (I think Impeachment was actually somewhere on the back side, so I wasn't going to get to it for some time still, probably not even before December of this year, much less last year), and this was one of them. And then, of course, the sitting president was impeached by congress, joining a distinguished class of rogues by the names of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.
Now, Johnson's impeachment was clearly politically motivated, the impatience and tumult of the post-Civil War period finding a patsy in the guy who happened to be holding the bag when Lincoln was assassinated. A different Johnson would've been impeached a century later after another assassination if the Vietnam War had already been up and running. Impeachments, regardless of the reasons, tend to be politically motivated. This will sound needlessly baiting at a time when it's happening again, and there are once again fierce proponents on both sides as to what should happen.
But the thing is, Stephen L. Carter had the right idea, when he wrote this book. Lincoln would've faced the same fate, had Booth not shot him in the head. And so he creates a scenario in which Lincoln survives, and suffers the fate of his successor.
What history tends to gloss over, to our detriment, is how much Lincoln was hated. Nobody liked him, not even in the Union. Everything he did was wrong. And then of course he won the war and was assassinated. And then everyone loved him, and he now stands generally regarded as the greatest president in US history.
But even his death didn't quell all discontent. I read a book a few years back that compiled various testimonials that followed in the wake of the assassination. Frederick Douglass, MLK before MLK, spoke highly of Lincoln at first, but at a remove of a few decades, revived what everyone used to say about Lincoln while he was still alive, that while he did accomplish things, he didn't do enough, and was basically forced into making history.
That's the absolute crazy thing. In 2020, Lincoln is indisputably the president who ended slavery in America, which before he did it was impossible. The Confederacy literally happened because he was elected, and everyone thought he was going to do it instantly. The Spielberg movie released the same year as this book continued the tradition of depicting him as a saint among men. (I think Spielberg is a treasure. But I have never seen this movie, and I really don't intend to.) What Carter did, then, is all the more astounding. This was a time when the country was celebrating the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the Civil War, and as a result reviving the cult of Lincoln, a phrasing I use not because I don't agree that Lincoln was a great man, because he was, but because, even when you consider that the most famous biography of Lincoln in the modern era, Team of Rivals, celebrated his political brilliance, never seems to admit how tough he really had it.
And that doesn't do justice to Lincoln, the country, or his continuing legacy.
Carter stages his imaginary impeachment as a trial that plays out as a backdrop to the kind of popular fiction that used to be the fashion, before everything became police procedurals of some extraction, or romance novels, the kind of story Hollywood used to build itself around, before blockbusters required huge budgets for special effects. He tells a halting love story about a plucky young woman and the man who doesn't realize until too late how he really feels about her. The plucky young woman, like Carter, happens to be black, and so the story is as much about the black experience, both in the time of Lincoln and, really, in 2012, in 2020, as the real politics that existed then, and now.
I turned a lot of corners to denote pages where Carter holds brilliant insight that we pretend, today, isn't applicable, but of course it is. A lot of the outrage we see around us is completely manufactured, just as it's been since at least the day Burr shot Hamilton, or even the so-called Boston Massacre. Stories meant to stir emotion, achieve some goal, and not even necessarily what appears on the surface.
Carter asks the reader, in a postscript, if they believe Lincoln might've warranted impeachment, based on things he did in the real world, during the Civil War. Honest readers would have to think about it. A lot of them, if capable of transposing actions from a another time to their own, would be forced to admit they'd think of Lincoln as they do the sitting president. That's just a fact. And instantly, Lincoln goes from the most beloved president to the reputation he himself lived with.
The book isn't perfect. Carter's basic outline can be found, better, in the Harry Potter books. The editing, even in the paperback edition, inexplicably contains errors. I would've tightened a few things, gotten rid of some needless red herrings, the stuff that's just there to keep up a reader's interest. I mean, isn't this already fascinating enough subject matter??? But Carter must have assumed readers would expect the results too predictable, that he couldn't bring himself to impeach Lincoln in the Senate. So he dances around a few plot points. And actually, as if inspired by The Twilight Zone, Lincoln meets the same fate anyway. (I would love to see a movie made from this book.) And the plucky young girl and the boy who doesn't realize until too late...Carter leaves things surprisingly open-ended, as if to challenge the reader all over again, to ask them all over again, what if this were happening today? He was addressing, as much as Lincoln, the increasingly charged political arena of his day, which is to say, ours, even today. Yeah. He didn't see anymore good coming from selfish political maneuvering, however dressed up for public viewing, as benefiting anyone, really, then as now, Lincoln or anyone else. There's a reason why impeachment has come up so rarely, that it's always been when political tensions were at their highest, and why we've inexplicably done it three times, now, in the past forty years, when Carter rightly points out our predecessors thought constantly about it, but only did it once. And yet the system itself survives, not because the Founders were better than us (remember Hamilton/Burr, and not just because of some trendy musical), but because they designed a system that has built into it checks and balances that have withstood everything. The joke is that nothing gets done in Washington (Carter points out that even the Washington Monument was taking its sweet time coming into existence in Lincoln's day), and perhaps...sometimes, it's better that way. In the final analysis, the big things we achieve aren't the things we will forever condemn, but forever celebrate. Like what Lincoln did.
August 2, 2012
After reading Stephen L. Carter's novel The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, you'll be thankful President Lincoln was assassinated. Yes, you heard that right. Abraham Lincoln was a hero and the brightest beacon of goodness the world could offer. But that's precisely the point. His assassination helped enshrine his greatest qualities. He became a martyr of a noble cause, a symbol of freedom so large it swallowed all the likely flaws and bad behaviors of the President whole.
Lincoln was human, after all, and Carter uncomfortably explores his mortality by asking a simple question: What if President Lincoln didn't get assassinated? What if he lived on, only to be impeached by an incumbent Congress offended by his heavy-handed use of executive power?
As difficult as it is to see Lincoln nearly dethroned by the American public, it's equally as fascinating. The premise takes off when John Wilkes Booth misses his intended target in Ford's Theater in 1865. Instead, VP Andrew Johnson falls to the floor, dead. Honest Abe, still alive and kicking, continues to sweep up the mess left by the Civil War to foster a sense of camaraderie among a broken nation.
Meanwhile, opposition factions plot to impeach him. Even in Lincoln's own Republican Party there are dissenters, a sizeable group of folks upset with Lincoln for choosing to fill his Cabinet with conquered Southern politicians merely to placate their pride. As he suffers the spite of a tired and ungrateful country, Carter's novel begins to elicit the same emotions you felt when Mom sat you on her lap and explained away your belief in Santa Claus.
But the President must defend himself against impeachment, and this is when the man, the myth, and the legend are all rolled back into one. He's fiery, reflective, pithy, and irresistibly inspiring. He hires the law firm Dennard & McShane, of which one Abigail Canner -- an educated African American from Oberlin -- is the clerk and eventual confidante of the President's counsel. As the case continues, murder, scandal, framers, and schemers abound. You are layers deep in counter-factual brilliance when you finally wonder how all this was left out of your history textbooks. Isn't this real?
It isn't, of course; you're just a tourist in a time machine belonging to the fantastical imagination of Stephen L. Carter. A world so deeply believable you'll find yourself years from now quoting Senator Charles Sumner -- "Like so many people of liberal persuasion, they value their own progressive opinions more than they value the people they hold those opinions about" -- only to realize you're actually quoting Carter himself. While Lincoln will always deservedly be the archetype of good in America's collective conscience, reimagining him mired in the sandbox of everyday politics is at once a sobering and unforgettable experience.
Head to www.EverydayeBook.com for more eBook reviews
Lincoln was human, after all, and Carter uncomfortably explores his mortality by asking a simple question: What if President Lincoln didn't get assassinated? What if he lived on, only to be impeached by an incumbent Congress offended by his heavy-handed use of executive power?
As difficult as it is to see Lincoln nearly dethroned by the American public, it's equally as fascinating. The premise takes off when John Wilkes Booth misses his intended target in Ford's Theater in 1865. Instead, VP Andrew Johnson falls to the floor, dead. Honest Abe, still alive and kicking, continues to sweep up the mess left by the Civil War to foster a sense of camaraderie among a broken nation.
Meanwhile, opposition factions plot to impeach him. Even in Lincoln's own Republican Party there are dissenters, a sizeable group of folks upset with Lincoln for choosing to fill his Cabinet with conquered Southern politicians merely to placate their pride. As he suffers the spite of a tired and ungrateful country, Carter's novel begins to elicit the same emotions you felt when Mom sat you on her lap and explained away your belief in Santa Claus.
But the President must defend himself against impeachment, and this is when the man, the myth, and the legend are all rolled back into one. He's fiery, reflective, pithy, and irresistibly inspiring. He hires the law firm Dennard & McShane, of which one Abigail Canner -- an educated African American from Oberlin -- is the clerk and eventual confidante of the President's counsel. As the case continues, murder, scandal, framers, and schemers abound. You are layers deep in counter-factual brilliance when you finally wonder how all this was left out of your history textbooks. Isn't this real?
It isn't, of course; you're just a tourist in a time machine belonging to the fantastical imagination of Stephen L. Carter. A world so deeply believable you'll find yourself years from now quoting Senator Charles Sumner -- "Like so many people of liberal persuasion, they value their own progressive opinions more than they value the people they hold those opinions about" -- only to realize you're actually quoting Carter himself. While Lincoln will always deservedly be the archetype of good in America's collective conscience, reimagining him mired in the sandbox of everyday politics is at once a sobering and unforgettable experience.
Head to www.EverydayeBook.com for more eBook reviews
August 11, 2013
(One -smallish-spoiler included in the review)
Meh, I was so excited about this book. I love Lincoln books, political conspiracy books, and alternative histories. So I was very excited to pick this up. Although I was initially also intrigued by Carter's decision to tell the story from the perspective of a young educated black woman. The major problem is that that Carter doesn't actually seem to be that good at creating fully realized fictional characters. The result is that Abigail Canner comes off as a "Mary Sue" (sort of , an extension of the author, who is perfect and talented and endlessly intriguing/attractive to everyone around her. The other main character and fictional creation of Carter's, a young white man who functions at varying times as Abigail's friend, foil and possible love interest, is similarly flat. He gets to be dense and fairly naive through most of the novel in order to act as a counterpoint to Abigail's brilliance.
A lesser, but still serious flaw, is the conspiracy narrative which Carter runs through the book. Apparently, in addition to the Radicals in Congress, there is a second, shadowy conspiracy that is working behind the scenes to take down Lincoln. As I suggested above, I love a conspiracy thriller as much as the next person. But here, it felt like an insanely convoluted and tortured inclusion. In the end, (here comes the minor spoiler) once the conspirators are unmasked, Carter seems to backtrack by arguing that the conspiracy is ultimately insignificant, enough political momentum has been built up for the impeachment that unmasking the conspirators wouldn't affect the outcome of the impeachment trial one way or another. It's a fair point. So the question to the author becomes, why would you include the conspiracy in the first place? There is certainly more than enough story here without it.
Its certainly not all bad. Carter shines when he allows the reader quick glimpses into the worlds of actual historical figures like Kate Chase, Staunton, and of course, Lincoln. The moral and political ideas that he plays in order to construct his fictional impeachment trial, were totally fascinating to me. I just wish that as author he was able to get out of his own way and trust in the strength of his basic story,.
Meh, I was so excited about this book. I love Lincoln books, political conspiracy books, and alternative histories. So I was very excited to pick this up. Although I was initially also intrigued by Carter's decision to tell the story from the perspective of a young educated black woman. The major problem is that that Carter doesn't actually seem to be that good at creating fully realized fictional characters. The result is that Abigail Canner comes off as a "Mary Sue" (sort of , an extension of the author, who is perfect and talented and endlessly intriguing/attractive to everyone around her. The other main character and fictional creation of Carter's, a young white man who functions at varying times as Abigail's friend, foil and possible love interest, is similarly flat. He gets to be dense and fairly naive through most of the novel in order to act as a counterpoint to Abigail's brilliance.
A lesser, but still serious flaw, is the conspiracy narrative which Carter runs through the book. Apparently, in addition to the Radicals in Congress, there is a second, shadowy conspiracy that is working behind the scenes to take down Lincoln. As I suggested above, I love a conspiracy thriller as much as the next person. But here, it felt like an insanely convoluted and tortured inclusion. In the end, (here comes the minor spoiler) once the conspirators are unmasked, Carter seems to backtrack by arguing that the conspiracy is ultimately insignificant, enough political momentum has been built up for the impeachment that unmasking the conspirators wouldn't affect the outcome of the impeachment trial one way or another. It's a fair point. So the question to the author becomes, why would you include the conspiracy in the first place? There is certainly more than enough story here without it.
Its certainly not all bad. Carter shines when he allows the reader quick glimpses into the worlds of actual historical figures like Kate Chase, Staunton, and of course, Lincoln. The moral and political ideas that he plays in order to construct his fictional impeachment trial, were totally fascinating to me. I just wish that as author he was able to get out of his own way and trust in the strength of his basic story,.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2012
I truly enjoyed this book despite its flaws. he characters really didn't seem like 19th century characters- they give lip service to the societal strictures of the day but then those get thrown to the wind very quickly. I also could tell this book was written by a man- it lacked a certain richness of description and emotion that might have come more easily to a woman's pen. One thing that bugged me is that the heroine's beauty is a really important factor that affects how she is received, but Carter doesn't really describe her much, and when he does, he's all over the map- she's mahogany, or cocoa, or her cheeks are "sandy". Really, aren't those three different skin tones? She has grey eyes and seem to have white ancestry but is that a factor in how white men look at her, or black men for that matter? We simply don't know, as her physical presence never really comes clear. But Carter is an intellectual, and the book is an intellectual book, so I take it as it was written and say I enjoyed it all although I kind of wish he had ended it differently. The resolution was, in my opinion, a cop-out. You'll see what you think when you get to the end.
Overall a good book and a good read, but it could have been better.
Overall a good book and a good read, but it could have been better.
August 21, 2012
This is a story about what might have happened had Abraham Lincoln survived the assassination attempt of John Wilkes Booth. What an interesting concept! Abraham Lincoln is not the hero that his world and ours look up to, but instead he is a President with many flaws. (I personally prefer to think of him as a hero.)
Although the focus of this novel is on Lincoln and his Impeachment trial, I found that I was more interested in the storyline that revolved around Abigail Canner. Abigail is a young black women hired as a clerk by the lawyers defending Lincoln. It was Abigail that I was drawn to when I started the book and she kept my interest throughout.
She's an intelligent, strong and motivated black women who lives in a time when racial prejudice focuses on both blacks and women. Throw into the mix a few murders, a conspiracy, nasty politics and Abraham Lincoln's impeachment and you've got quite a story. I liked it, I liked the ending and I also liked Stephen Carter's author's notes explaining which characters were based on real people and which were made up. When I put the book down, I wasn't finished thinking about it. I love when that happens!
November 3, 2012
Stephen L. Carter's latest novel is an alternate history thriller that posits Lincoln surviving Booth's assassination attempt, only to face impeachment two years later at the hands of the Radicals of his own party. With the Senate moving towards a trial, a young African American woman, Abigail Canner, arrives in Washington to serve as a clerk for the law firm preparing to defend the president. Soon she finds herself tackling a series of mysteries all tied to the effort to bring down Lincoln. The question is, can she solve them in time to save the president -- and perhaps even the nation itself?
Fans of historical mysteries and alternate history novels will find much to like in Carter's enjoyable prose and fast-paced plotting, all of which builds to a satisfyingly enjoyable conclusion. Its theme of plutocrats and extremist Republicans conspiring to destroy a presidency is one that will resonate for many readers today, but Carter's writing ensures that his book will endure as one of the best of the alternate history genre.
Fans of historical mysteries and alternate history novels will find much to like in Carter's enjoyable prose and fast-paced plotting, all of which builds to a satisfyingly enjoyable conclusion. Its theme of plutocrats and extremist Republicans conspiring to destroy a presidency is one that will resonate for many readers today, but Carter's writing ensures that his book will endure as one of the best of the alternate history genre.
November 26, 2016
What would have happened if John Wilkes Booth's assassin's bullet had not been fatal? Stephen L. Carter takes on that question as he presents a thrilling mystery in The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln. Set two years after the assassination attempt, President Lincoln is facing an impeachment trial. The law firm defending him has hired a bright young black woman, Abigail Canner, as a law clerk. Canner arrives at her new offices and almost immediately the partner in the law firm, McShane, is murdered alongside a woman outside a brothel. Canner becomes central in solving the mystery that is connected with the impeachment trial.
I greatly enjoyed this page-turner. It was clear the Carter, a professor of Law at Yale University, was well-versed in the legal background that was necessary to make this book believable and interesting. A very fun read.
I greatly enjoyed this page-turner. It was clear the Carter, a professor of Law at Yale University, was well-versed in the legal background that was necessary to make this book believable and interesting. A very fun read.
October 4, 2012
Most interesting for the picture it paints of the political and racial tensions in Washington (and America at large) after the Civil War. The legal bits got a bit tedious for me, but the character of Abigail was very persuasive, though in the end a little too fortuitous maybe. But that's the nature of a thriller, even a alternate-historical legal thriller.
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