Lincoln’s Hat
As a Brit I only have a limited, usually American Civil War, view of Lincoln, and a vaguely remembered play that I saw (many years ago) at school. It was with interest, therefore, that I selected this novel for review.
I did get a little lost with the American politics, and sorting out who was who, and who was on which side, particularly for the first few chapters, but by the second half of the book I found myself engrossed. Whether the narrative is accurate to historical research I cannot say, but it does appear that the author has done his homework enough to satisfy readers of this turbulent period of American history.
I would suggest a more appealing cover, as the present one is somewhat dowdy and the back-cover blurb particularly difficult to read. Nor is it enormously inspiring, as I felt it resembles a political rally statement rather than an enticement to read an entertaining novel. Wording such as ‘Ironically, had the Amendments been enforced, a strident movement like the Tea Party of today might have arisen back then among the Democrats, when the country was even more divided than it is now,’ would perhaps be better placed as an author’s note. That said, readers who enjoy this period of United States history would enjoy the novel.
