Reading Wednesday; The Mysteries of History

     . . . . I have started reading two novels.  

Death of a Fox (1971)  is an historical by late Texas poet, novelist, literary critic and Literature professor, George Garrett.  It is the time of the second treason trial of Sir Walter Raleigh (in his trial records, spelled 'Ralegh') under James I. The Norfolk Mystery* (1990) by Ian Sansom -- a different Sansom than the author of the wonderful Shardlake Henry VIII era legal thrillers. It too is an historical, set as it is in 1937.

     . . . .I have also been wonderfully occupied by amigo Ted Widmer's new book, Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington (2020)  He tells the story of the lead-up to Lincoln's fraught journey from Springfield, Illinois, to D.C. in time for the inauguration. Lincoln had to cope with the plethora of southern plots to take the Capitol, destroy the Capitol, plunder the Capitol, but their determination to kill him because he had no right to be President.  The Presidency of the USA was the property of the slaveocracy and that was that.  It was a very difficult, dangerous and fearsome time, and the rail journey to get him to D. C. was no different. Beyond that, though, as his seemingly round-about rail transport helped knit the remaining Union together by showing himself to hundreds of thousands of wildly enthusiastic voters, these people nearly killed him.  Literally.  It's a most interesting work that illuminates in small details so much most of us never knew about these perilous days before Lincoln ever got to Washington.  Ted has further illuminated the pages with period photographs of the landscape, the town and cities where the Lincoln Special traveled.

Along side these account, Widmer provides a parallel account of Jeff Davis's own fraught journey to his phony inauguration -- fraught for the South really didn't have railroads -- none connected from where he started to Mobile, where the CSA located its first capital. Wherever JD stopped he promised his people that Chicago, New York and all those cities were soon to be ghost towns, and they'd all return to the bucolic golden days of yore when everybody knew their place and South ruled unopposed.  Also gonna take the Caribbean, Mexico and who knows else to build the grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr8st nation evah!

The book itself is a most handsome object, the end papers alone keeps the reader involved for long minutes at a time, tracing the journey and the formidable figures associated with Lincoln's time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And further, alas, I must mention this again -- if I see one more person smugly, without even thinking about what s/he is repeating, to this catastrophe as a cozy disaster, I swear, Imma virtually itch slap 'em into kingdom come.  To even think this at this point reveals not only tone deafness, but an unexamined racist and class attitude -- not to mention sexist  attitude -- all the women and others penned up with their abusers with nowhere and no way of escape???????  what the eff are you thinking?  You are NOT THINKING.  Anyone who says this better stay far the eff from me.

And trust me, unlike the that sub sf/f genre popular in the late 1950's, 1960's -- there isn't going to be a happy ending with the cavalry riding in on well supplied helicopters to bring your isolated communities back into the light of supreme fantasy competents running the national governments. The same people who got us here are in charge and will still be in charge.

Also it looks as though all those people cozy disasterites don't see, the people who keep them cozy with stocking, deliveries, medical care, fire fighting, transportation, sanitation, etc. are getting sick in large numbers.  And a lot of them have little to eat, no money, and go home to way too small house filled with way too many people and have to then make dinner for those locked up kids.  Have a plumbing problem? See how quickly your cozy goes away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*  It's dark, mordant satire, and savagely funny.