Jackson

by Max Byrd

In this sweeping, marvelously written novel, Max Byrd, the celebrated author of Jefferson and Grant, presents a superb portrait of Andrew Jackson, a President remembered for his strong will and tempestuous nature—and regarded as “the most dangerous man in America” by none other than Thomas Jefferson.
 
He became a legend during the War of 1812. He was a slave owner, land speculator, and Indian fighter. He stole another man’s wife, murdered men in duels, and ordered military executions. But Andrew Jackson was also an impassioned supporter of universal suffrage and an ardent believer in the will of the people. Here the story of our controversial seventh President is told from a variety of viewpoints, including that of a young writer named David Chase who discovers, on the eve of the presidential election, a secret that could change the future of the nation. Along the way, readers encounter such notable figures as John Quincy Adams, Aaron Burr, and Sam Houston, and bear witness to an America in transition—and a man as unpredictable as democracy itself.
 
“Max Byrd’s historical novels about the third and seventh presidents bring both men alive in ways that only a literary imagination can.”—George F. Will, The Washington Post
 
“With Jackson, [Max] Byrd has vaulted . . . into the front rank of American historical novelists.”— The Wall Street Journal
 
“Vivid and compelling . . . a convincing and intriguing portrait of Jackson as he might have been.”— The Plain Dealer
 
“Full of action, emotion, and insight, Max Byrd’s Jackson deserves to stand with the finest works of historical fiction.”— San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Grounded in excellent, detailed historical research, Byrd paints a rich, multilayered portrait.”— Chicago Tribune

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Presidents, American History

448 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 1997

About the author

May Byrd is the author of a number of scholarly books on 18th century English literature, including Visits to Bedlam and London Transformed. Winner of the Shamus Award for best paperback private detective novel, his oeuvre of detective novels include the Book-of-the-Month Club selection Target of Opportunity. Byrd is also the author of four historical novels: Grant: A Novel, Jefferson: A Novel, Jackson: A Novel, and Shooting the Sun. He currently serves as the president of the board of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers.

Max Byrd has taught English at Yale and UC Davis, has been a visiting professor at Stanford, and has lectured at UC Berkeley, Warwick University, the Sorbonne, and Monticello. Among the many publications featuring Byrd’s articles and book reviews are the Yale Review, New York Times Book Review, New Republic, and Woodrow Wilson Quarterly. He has served as editor of the scholarly journal Eighteenth-Century Studies.

Reviews

[JD Waggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I expected much more from this book than I should have, somehow. With as rich a subject as Andrew Jackson, it should be almost easy to write something captivating and imaginative and full of fire and movement. Byrd...did not, really. He gets in his own way a lot, with odd and entirely unnecessarily obscure word choices (he spends the better part of a chapter having a mild affair with variances on the word "cthonic"), as well as repetitive phrasing--not to the point of being a nuisance, but just often enough to be noticeable, to recognize something and be not ready to read it again. And I think having the jumps between book about Jackson, book about the guy writing about Jackson, book about the book about Jackson and so on is almost clumsy and the switches are ill-handled. All in all, I would look elsewhere for a Jackson biography--this one doesn't quite have its hat on its head to go riding.

[Glen Stott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a historical novel. It is a bit more historical than novel, meaning Byrd leaves the story of Jackson’s life and his 1828 campaign for President so much that it is difficult to follow the story. Andrew Jackson rarely appears in the story in person, though his is talked and written about. David Chase, the main character, has been commissioned by Sarah Hale (author of the poem, “Mary had a little lamb and editor of “Ladies Magazine”) to do a biography about Jackson with the intent to expose scandals about his life that will cause him to lose the election to John Q. Adams, who is running for reelection. Chase is to pick up where a writer, Hogwood, left off because Hogwood’s work was substandard. Emma, Hogwood’s daughter who is a writer/editor, is to oversee and edit Chase’s work. Chase, Emma, Hogwood, and Emma’s fiancé, Senator Seller are all fictional characters. Alexander Hamilton Jr. and John Coffee are Jackson supporters who try to influence Chase’s work to be pro-Jackson. These characters constantly take the reader off the main story plot into situations that reveal interesting information about how the people lived and thought in those early days of the country. It not only highlights the differences between North and South, but East and West.

Some reviewers were put off by the constant wandering from the story, but for me, this seemed appropriate in a historical account. Bryd’s ramblings reveal such things as two possible sources of the term, “OK,” the various types of feather quills for writing, how they were made and used, and how they stacked up against the newer steel-pointed pens and other interesting (to me) facts about how people in various parts of the country lived, ate, dressed, and interacted.

Through Chase’s book, Byrd provides a detailed account of the lead up to the Battle of New Orleans, the battle itself, and the aftermath. His characters delve into the events leading to Jackson’s marriage to Rachel. He was accused of stealing another man’s wife because she was married at the time Jackson and Rachel first married. There was much confusion about that story. It was hoped that Chase would be able to find proof a scandal in this relationship. The anti-Jackson people were so intent upon sinking his bid that they were willing to reach back before Rachel ever met Jackson to impugn her character. Ultimately, Chase will have decide if he will go that far to help defeat Jackson.

As I read, I felt like I was back in the time frame when there were many people still living who had vivid memories of the founding fathers. I enjoyed the book, along with its many wanderings.

[Joni Fischenich]

This seemed tedious and long--didn't flow well. Portions were interesting and since I never give up on a book, I got through it--but not one I would recommend as a quick read or keeps the pages turning.

[Dan O'Meara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good indeed.
Max Byrd's series of novels on 19th Century Americans are some of the best historical fiction I know. Of American writers in this genre, only Gore Vidal comes close. Byrd lack's Vidal's biting irony, but ends up probing just as deeply.

[Mercedes Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised and intrigued to find that this book was more about the times and the politics than about Jackson himself. In fact, you don't see Jackson at all for much of the story. When you do get to see him, the exposure is so light and tantalizing that you don't soak in enough information to form a solid opinion, except through the eyes of his biographer who seems to worship him from afar without really knowing why. The biographer David Chase, who was hired to write a "quick and dirty" and not so nice biography during the Presidential campaign of 1828, took the job under a cloud of innuendo and deception, and found that he had to make the ethical choice between the people he was working for and betraying his own values. No one comes out looking particularly perfect in the end, but we do get a very good idea about the messy, dirty and difficult era when Washington D.C. was little more than a muddy cow town. I found it all quite refreshing.

[Janice Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable historical novel of the life of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States of America, American general and politician. The author delves into Jackson’s life before he became president.

I found it fascinating to learn more about this enigmatic man. He was known to be a legend during the War of 1812, he murdered men in duels and ordered military executions and stole his wife away from her first husband. In spite of all of this the people loved him and so did his men who followed him into Hell during the War. He was voted to be president by the people, not something he even wanted to be.


Though Jackson had a rough side to him there was also a tender side as displayed when he talked about his wife, the love of his life. Also, during the Creek War where he adopted an Indian baby who was left homeless after the slaughter of his family. When the squaws who survived didn’t want the baby Jackson took the baby in and cared for it and sent it home to his wife, Rachel, to raise.

This was an amazing story of the strength, resilience and determination of a controversial man who did what he thought for right for his country. The author did a commendable job of creating a novel with much of the background he gleaned from other books and added four fictional characters to make for an interesting read.

[Hayley Shaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a man people call just Chase that sets out to make a book about Andrew Jackson during election year. He meets Emma Colden and falls in love. He meets General Coffee, Jackson's friend, and Jackson himself. He learns many things. This book also holds stories from Coffee's and Jackson's points of view. As Chase begins to know Jackson more and more, he must choose between love, self respect, and fame when he readies to publish his book. I loved this book. Many books do not work with various povs but this one did. Read it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Grant but still a fine historical novel, as much about the time, with some interesting trivia about, for example, the origin of “ok”, and those around Jackson as the President himself. David Chase is the fictitious cultured young Boston-Paris man commissioned to write a biography of Jackson prior to the 1828 election. Jackson’s wife, Rachel, and her first marriage is central as is the Battle of New Orleans as the portrait of the “dangerous” (or is he?) frontier general emerges from the gradually unveiled detail

[Jennifer Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second time I tried to read this novel. I hadn't realized that I had checked it out from the library before. Clearly, the idea of the novel is something that caught my interest, yet it didn't hold my interest enough to finish it before I had to turn it back into the library. I hate not finishing a book, but my time has become more important than finishing a book I am not enjoying.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 rating. It was a. It if a slog in parts, but a palatable way to learn something about Andrew Jackson. And the election of 1828. Scary parallels to our time. Elections have been sent to the House of Representatives going back to Jefferson and Burr. Unfortunate we haven’t come up with a better system.

[Ashley Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story tells of Jackson leading up to his presidency. It was interesting with lots of historical details. Confusing at times until you get to know the characters. I enjoyed not only the political details, but the accounts of daily life. And the side story used to move things along keeps you hooked when you already know the outcome.

[Marilyn Kavanaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about a book

In which the main character does not appear to any great degree until about 26% of the way. It is an almost gossipy depiction of Jackson,his times, and his contradictions.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome historical fiction novel. Just like in "Grant" and "Jefferson", Byrd does a great job telling an interesting story while including tons of history. I learned a ton about Jackson and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Cindy Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson seems like the Donald Trump of his time. There are lots of parallels.

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long and detailed novel. Thomas Jefferson said Jackson was the most dangerous man in America. Jackson fought many duels, killed numerous men, was an Indian fighter, he was strong willed and had a temper that was easy to set off. He is best known for the war in 1812. This novel focused on the campaign of 1828 with politics involved. There were some history about Jackson and Rachel that was interesting.

David Chase was commissioned to write a book about Andrew Jackson. The first half of the novel was about Chase gathering information for his book which was interesting because he had conversations with some important people. There were some flashbacks though out the novel. I enjoyed the novel and the history, a good book to read.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has the advantages and disadvantages of historical fiction; easy reading with the nagging doubt of “Did this really happen?”.

The primary focus of the novel is the campaign of 1828, though there are plenty of flashbacks to the events of the American Colonial Rebellion, the War of 1812, and the Corrupt Bargain of 1824. The book sadly ends with Jackson’s inauguration and does not cover the events of his presidency.

This novel provides a painless way of learning a bit more about Andrew Jackson. It is recommended to those who need a quick update on this president.

[Shirley Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a exellent historical novel about the most dangerous man in America. Max Byrd is top-notch author and I loved his writing style as much as I loved the story. My favorite line in the whole book is found on page 196 - "History licked her finger and turned the page." Byrd's writing is straight-forward with hidden meaning on almost every page. I would also call it one of America's best love stories, Andrew Jackson and his Rachel.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting because I knew next to nothing about Andrew Jackson and getting to know him through historical fiction (based on the real man, with real events) was fascinating. I could have done without the side story of the writer who got to know him, but it was interesting to read about the bias in the press even back then.

[Mark Cheathem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining. Byrd, unfortunately, passes on some of the myths about Jackson that have been debunked for decades, such as the one about him reading the Declaration aloud to the residents of the Waxhaws.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent historical novel. Based upon Andrew Jackson's presidential run, it is captivating and moving. While defining Jackson, the man, it incorporates his relationships both personal and political. It is also a love story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Doug Eymer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read, especially in the political times that we are currently living in. In the midst of reading the book, I also took my two sons to Washington DC, where we strolled through streets that were mentioned. I am definitely planning on reading more of Max Byrd's work.

[CAROL · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful book. I learned a lot of history, humor too.

Jackson was deprived of the Presidency the 1st time he ran by the electoral college. I didn't know that happened then.

Great writing.

BYRD PLAYS THE UKULELE TOO!!!

[David Simonetti · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not that good and I found the writing to be distracting. This guy is no Gore Viodal when it comes to histrical fiction.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

historical fiction

[Ajcc]

F 813.54 Byrd

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you a re an Andrew Jackson fan this is a must read.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting period piece, but didn't flow well.