An Evening With Erik Larson on The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
Monday, November 18 @ 8:00 pm
Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Abraham Lincoln’s November 6, 1860, election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter – a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.” At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Maj. Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable, one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans. Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink – a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late. Moderated by DAVID LERNER SCHWARTZ, award-winning author and professor of English in the MFA program at the University of Central Florida.
This is a ticketed event that includes the book ($35). Book-bundle ticket holders ONLY may purchase one (1) additional companion ticket ($15) for each purchased ticket; companion tickets do NOT include a book.
Each purchased and companion Evenings With ticket includes a FREE pass to the weekend Street Fair, where you’ll find literary events, live music, children’s activities, booksellers, local artisans, and gourmet delights!
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Buy The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at The Dawn of the Civil War – Larson