1 of 1 copy available
Winner of the San Diego Book Award for Best Historical Fiction
Director’s Mention, Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction
1861: The war that’s been brewing for a decade has exploded, pitting North against South. Fearing that England will support the Confederate cause, President Lincoln sends Charles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy Adams, to London. But when Charles arrives, accompanied by his son Henry, he discovers that the English are already building warships for the South. As Charles embarks on a high-stakes game of espionage and diplomacy, Henry reconnects with his college friend Baxter Sams, a Southerner who has fallen in love with Englishwoman Julia Birch. Julia’s family reviles Americans, leaving Baxter torn between his love for Julia, his friendship with Henry, and his obligations to his own family, who entreat him to run medical supplies across the blockade to help the Confederacy. As tensions mount, irrevocable choices are made—igniting a moment when history could have changed forever.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
March 29, 2011 -
Formats
-
Kindle Book
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780345524560
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780345524560
- File size: 2461 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
January 10, 2011
Originally self-published as In the Lion's Den, Hoffman's accomplished but dry Civil War intrigue arrives in trade paperback with a new title. In 1861, Charles Francis Adams, son of deceased president John Quincy Adams, embarks for England on a spy mission for Abraham Lincoln. There, he gathers information, with the aid of his capable son, Henry, about the empire's reaction to America's growing conflict. Meanwhile, Henry's Harvard friend Baxter Sams, a Virginian studying medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons, takes note of Julia Birch, the young daughter of Sir Walter Birch. While Julia develops conflicting feelings for Baxter, a slave owner and blockade runner with brothers in the Confederate army, the espionage efforts of Charles and Henry yield frightening results—the English have "colluded with the Confederacy to make war upon the North" and built steel-clad warships for the Confederate army. Baxter travels to America and is imprisoned, forcing Julia to decide where she stands, and Charles succeeds in keeping the warships from completing their mission. Readers who relish the period will appreciate Hoffman's capable mélange of fact (the basic Adams narrative) and fiction (Baxter and Julia).
-