Jefferson Square was a multi-million dollar culture center…but there was nothing at all cultural about some of the things that happened there during its grand opening in the Sixties. At the Repertory Theater, a play called Confessional was in rehearsal. Some called it dramatic literature. Others considered it a tasteless exploitation of the playwright’s former marriage to America’s queen of sex. In the expensive interior of Symphony Hall, the brilliant and erratic conductor of the Jefferson Square Symphony Orchestra was working feverishly on a new concerto while his private life was rushing toward its own scandalous crescendo. In the board room, the dream of the state’s governor for a presidential nomination was interrupted by the discovery that Jefferson Square was making this rich man richer. And in the executive offices, where architects’ drawings were still being argued over, Jefferson Square’s recently hired cultural director was being tempted to destroy what he had been employed to hold together. Jefferson Square provides a fascinating glimpse of life behind the scenes in the midst of the creation of a new urban cultural epicenter, a symbol of the gentrification forcing out longtime neighborhood inhabitants. From the glitz and the glamor of Jefferson Square proper, to the hardships faced by residents of the condemned projects in the area, Gerson brings microcosms of the Sixties to Technicolor life.
Politicians, poets, artists, princes; Lillie Langtry was adored by all. This biography explores the life of a remarkable woman who enthralled Victorian Britain and Gilded Age America. Before Kim Kardashian, Jackie Kennedy and Zsa Zsa Gabor there was Lillie Langtry. Born on the remote island of Jersey in the English Channel, Lillie moved to London at the age of twenty with her new husband, the Irish landowner, Edward Langtry, in 1876 and took society by storm. Social, political and artistic giants from Oscar Wilde to William Gladstone were enraptured by her charm and beauty. Theodore Roosevelt said of her "That woman is a real marvel. And she's so pretty she takes away a man's breath." While Walt Whitman noted "There shines in Lillie Langtry a purity of spirit. Therein lies the essence of human poetry." Yet it was Edward, Prince of Wales and future King of England, who truly became infatuated with Lillie and soon she became his mistress. Over the course of the next few decades she travelled between America and Britain, as she transformed from socialite to actress, captivating newspaper readers with details of her turbulent love life. Noel B. Gerson uncovers the twists and turns of the most famous, some would say infamous, woman of her age as she mesmerized society on both sides of the Atlantic. "a heady, aromatic success story" Kirkus Reviews
An enthralling biography of an archetypal nineteenth century Romantic.Ideal for readers who enjoyed Emily Brand's The Fall of the House of Byron or Jonathan Bate's Radical Wordsworth. Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron are some of the greatest poets of any era. They lived extraordinary lives and refused to conform with what society expected of them. Yet how do we know so much about the lives of these two heroes of the Romantic era who both died before their time? Friend of both Shelley and Byron, Edward John Trelawny was a brilliant writer in his own right and recorded their adventures in his famous book Records of Shelley, Byron, and the Author. Meeting them in Italy he travelled with them in the Mediterranean, teaching both how to sail and sharing tales, before tragically having to organise the funerals of both men in the aftermaths of their deaths just under two years apart. Noel B. Gerson demonstrates in this biography that in many ways Trelawny led a more daring existence than either of the famous poets, joining the navy as a young boy, travelling across the globe and serving in British warships during the Napoleonic Wars, before fighting in Greek War of Independence, surviving sieges and assassination attempts. Although unschooled Trelawny recorded the details of his fascinating life in a number of bestselling memoirs, which along with a variety of other contemporary sources have allowed Gerson to uncover his remarkable life and the world in which he lived. Trelawny's World: A Biography of Edward John Trelawny allows this remarkable man to step out from the shadows of his famous friends and emerge as a truly exceptional figure before the readers eyes.
Jefferson Square was a multi-million dollar culture center…but there was nothing at all cultural about some of the things that happened there during its grand opening in the Sixties. At the Repertory Theater, a play called Confessional was in rehearsal. Some called it dramatic literature. Others considered it a tasteless exploitation of the playwright’s former marriage to America’s queen of sex. In the expensive interior of Symphony Hall, the brilliant and erratic conductor of the Jefferson Square Symphony Orchestra was working feverishly on a new concerto while his private life was rushing toward its own scandalous crescendo. In the board room, the dream of the state’s governor for a presidential nomination was interrupted by the discovery that Jefferson Square was making this rich man richer. And in the executive offices, where architects’ drawings were still being argued over, Jefferson Square’s recently hired cultural director was being tempted to destroy what he had been employed to hold together. Jefferson Square provides a fascinating glimpse of life behind the scenes in the midst of the creation of a new urban cultural epicenter, a symbol of the gentrification forcing out longtime neighborhood inhabitants. From the glitz and the glamor of Jefferson Square proper, to the hardships faced by residents of the condemned projects in the area, Gerson brings microcosms of the Sixties to Technicolor life.
An authoritative biography of one of nineteenth-century Europe's greatest authors. Perfect for readers who wish to find out more about this literary giant who was admired by his contemporaries from across the globe, including Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens and Henry James. Author, businessman, bankruptee, gourmand, lover ... few people have managed to accomplish so much in one lifetime as the French author Honoré de Balzac. Hailed as a genius in his own lifetime for his realistic depiction of nineteenth-century French life - an assessment with which he readily agreed - it was Balzac's own life that was often more extraordinary than his fiction. Noel B. Gerson charts the rise and fall of this remarkable man through the course of his life, providing insight into the versatile genius and exposing his punishing work schedule and the complexities of his romance-laden, debt-ridden personal life. By utilizing a wealth of primary sources, including the letters written between Balzac and his friends, family and lovers, Gerson masterfully captures the character of 1830s Paris and its most eminent author. The Prodigal Genius: The Life and Times of Honoré de Balzac is an impressive literary biography of one of France's greatest novelists, dramatists, essayists and critics.
How do you remove an unpopular president from office? On February 24, 1868, members of the United States House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson on thirteen separate charges of having committed high crimes and misdemeanors against the government and the people. In this impressive biography, Noel B. Gerson examines how these extraordinary events came about, the circumstances leading up to it, and the aftermath of a trial that was unique in the history of the country. Born into poverty and with no formal education, Johnson rose to prominence through perseverance and hard work. Entering politics, he became an adept stump speaker, championing the common man and vilifying the plantation aristocracy. Nominally a Democrat, who advocated free homesteads and education for all, he was soon to discover that not all agreed with his desire to see the nation reunited under the Constitution, as it had been before the Civil War. Sworn in as seventeenth President of the United States following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, Johnson faced the enormous task of presiding over the tumultuous first years of Reconstruction, a task made harder by his enemies, notably radical Republicans Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner and Edwin Stanton, who turned the tide of support against him and were instrumental in the campaign to disgrace Johnson and drive him from office. By utilizing a wealth of primary sources, including quoted speeches, letters and press articles, Gerson masterfully portrays a sympathetic national figure devoted to his country and the Constitution, who escaped conviction by a single vote and went on to achieve a level of popularity he had never before known. The Trial of Andrew Johnson is an ideal read for those who wish to find out more about the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson and his fight for vindication against the radical Republicans in the United States Congress.
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