JEFFERSON: A NOVEL

JEFFERSON: A NOVEL

In the magnificent tradition if Gore Vidal's  Lincoln and Burr, Max Byrd reveals a Thomas Jefferson  we've never met before... It is 1784, and  Jefferson, the newly appointed American ambassador to the  court of Louis Xvi and  Marie-Antoinette had just arrived in Paris-a city adrift  in intrigue, upheaval, and temptation that will  challenge his principles, incite his passions, and  change Thomas Jefferson forever... Through the eyes  of his impressionable young secretary, William  Short, we watch as the future president builds his  dream of an America with fellow patriots John Adams  and Ben Franklin, and as he struggles between  political ambition and an unexpected crisis of the  heart with a woman who has the power to destroy him.  And we discover-behind the face the complex  Virginian show the world-an enigmatic statesman who  fights for individual liberty even as he keeps the  slave, who champions freewill even a he denies it to  his daughters, and who fights for individual  liberty even as he keeps slaves, who champions free  will even as he denied 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... From the Paperback edition. Grounded in fact, Byrd's fictional treatment of Thomas Jefferson provides a vivid portrait of one of this nation's most intelligent and influential founding fathers. Narrated by William Short, Jefferson's personal secretary during the latter's tenure as minister to France, this biographical novel is populated by a dazzling array of historically significant characters, including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and the marquis de Lafayette. Aside from examining and interpreting his mentor's complex political persona, Short also offers substantial insight into Jefferson's seemingly diffident disposition and his multifaceted and often controversial personal life. Absolutely splendid historical fiction that resonates with international, provincial, and individual passion and drama. Margaret Flanagan Suspense writer Byrd (Target of Opportunity, Finders Weepers, etc.) shifts from familiar turf for a well-founded but listless historical saga about Thomas Jefferson in Paris during the French Revolution, depicting the author of the Declaration of Independence as a man whose actions ran counter to his principles. William Short, Jefferson's secretary in Paris while he served there as ambassador from 1784-89, is a devoted assistant to his fellow Virginian, already an American hero. Taken on because of his linguistic abilities, Short encounters and is awed by luminaries such as Ben Franklin and John Adams, but his way with French ladies gives him more to handle than notes and correspondence. He witnesses aghast, however, as Jefferson--chaste and correct after the death of his beloved wife several years earlier--falls like a ton of bricks for a blond beauty in the company of her prominent artist husband. For Maria Cosway, the attraction is mutual, and their liaison sets Parisian tongues wagging, but the consequences are far more severe when Short also forms an attachment with the young wife of an aging French duke. The Ambassador, who espouses emancipation while retaining slaves himself, disapproves of Short's affair even as he pursues Maria; as the Revolution self-destructs, Jefferson manages to disentangle himself from scandal, while his assistant remains mired in it. Finally, with blood running in the streets, Jefferson returns home, assured of greater glories to come, but leaving Short to fend for himself without any hope of succeeding him. A pivotal historical moment, but feebly reenacted, with an unfortunate tendency to substitute posturing for plotting--even the illicit relationships are more tepid than torrid. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. "A novel to be admired and enjoyed, the best  fictionalized life of Jefferson yet." Jack  McLaughlin, National Book Award finalist for   Jefferson And Monticello: The Biography Of A  Builder . "An Intriguing fictional portrait...  a rare and compelling book... thoroughly  enjoyable."-- Associated Press From the Paperback edition. ficent tradition if Gore Vidal's  Lincoln and Burr, Max Byrd reveals a Thomas Jefferson  we've never met before... It is 1784, and  Jefferson, the newly appointed American ambassador to the  court of Louis Xvi and  Marie-Antoinette had just arrived in Paris-a city adrift  in intrigue, upheaval, and temptation that will  challenge his principles, incite his passions, and  change Thomas Jefferson forever... Through the eyes  of his impressionable young secretary, William  Short, we watch as the future president builds his  dream of an America with fellow patriots John Adams  and Ben Franklin, and as he struggles between  political ambition and an unexpected crisis of the  heart with a woman who has the power to destroy him.  And we discover-behind the face the complex  Virginian sh