Present Books In Favor Of Jefferson

Original Title:	Jefferson
ISBN:	0553379372 (ISBN13: 9780553379372)
Edition Language:	English

Jefferson Paperback | Pages: 448 pages

Identify About Books Jefferson

Title	:	Jefferson
Author	:	Max Byrd
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 448 pages
Published	:	February 2nd 1998 by Bantam (first published October 1st 1993)
Categories	:	Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Cultural. France

Rendition During Books Jefferson

As he did with Presidents Jackson and Grant in those magnificent novels, Max Byrd now reveals Thomas Jefferson as we’ve never seen before. Byrd transports us to 1784, as Jefferson, the newly appointed American ambassador to the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, arrives in Paris—a city adrift in intrigue, upheaval, and temptation that will challenge his principles, incite his passions, and change him forever.
 
Through the eyes of his impressionable young secretary, William Short, readers watch as the future president builds his dream of America with fellow patriots John Adams and Ben Franklin, while struggling between political ambition and an unexpected crisis of the heart with a woman who has the power to destroy him. Behind the face this complex Virginian shows the world, Thomas Jefferson is an enigmatic statesman who fights for individual liberty even as he keeps slaves, who champions free will even as he denies it to his daughters, and who holds men to the highest standards of honor—even as he embarks on a shadowy double life of his own.
 
“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
 
“Jefferson has the organic intimacy of a novel that has sprung full-blown from the imagination of its creator.”—The New York Times
 
“Superb . . . fascinating in the psychological insight it provides to one of the greatest Americans . . . a truly memorable book.”—W. Jackson Bate, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Samuel Johnson and John Keats
 
“Absolutely splendid historical fiction that resonates with international, provincial, and individual passion and drama.”—Booklist
 
“A real tour de force.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Rating About Books Jefferson

Ratings: 3.52 From 102 Users | 8 Reviews

Notice About Books Jefferson

I thought this would an interesting way to learn more about Jefferson's personality and private life. It was not. The focus is more on people on the fringe of Jefferson's life. This takes place before the French Revolution and before Jefferson's presidency. It is not a very compelling story and some of the fringe storylines are just thrown in to put some sex into the story...stupid!

I didn't actually finish this, which is unusual for me. I like historic fiction, I like this era of history, I find Thomas Jefferson interesting ... this should have been perfect. Sadly, it wasn't. I just couldn't get into it, nothing was /happening/. Whole chapters gone by and all I've gotten is character description, and very little of that even about Jefferson. Not worth what little reading time I have.

historical fiction

Written from the point of view of Ambassador Jefferson's assistant, William Short, his daughter, Patsy, and others, it captures well the ambiguity and contradiction of the man.

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,In the late 1780s, William Short put pen to paper to create a biography of his boss and mentor, Thomas Jefferson. Then serving as ambassador to France, Jefferson was already a seasoned American politician, having previously been in the Congress that declared independence, and shortly thereafter held office as Virginias governor. That biography is a novel going in two directions; the main thread follows Jeffersons social life in France during the 1780s, with interruptions by Short to tell

Pretty good insight to how Americans operated in Europe at the beginning of our nation.