This unforgettable portrait of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War effortlessly
mixes humor with Shakespearean-like tragedy to create an achingly human
portrait of the sixteenth president. Charyn conducts an orchestra of historical
figures and fictional extras centered around a profoundly moral but troubled commander
in chief whose relationship with his Ophelia-like wife and his sons-Robert,
Willie, and Tad-is explored with penetrating psychological insight and the utmost
compassion. Seized by melancholy and imbued with an unfaltering sense of human
worth, Charyn's President Lincoln comes to vibrant, three-dimensional life in a haunting
portrait we have rarely seen in historical fiction.
