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An "ambitious, fascinating, and richly detailed" work of fiction inspired by the real-life, 37-year friendship between two towering figures of the late nineteenth century—famed writer and humorist Mark Twain and legendary explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley: "In a class by itself" (Gay Talese).
Hijuelos was fascinated by the Twain-Stanley connection and eventually began researching and writing a novel that used the scant historical record of their relationship as a starting point for a more detailed fictional account. It was a labor of love for Hijuelos, who worked on the project for more than ten years; indeed, he was still revising the manuscript the day before his sudden passing in 2013.
The resulting novel is a richly woven tapestry of people and events that is unique among the author's works. Ingeniously blending correspondence, memoir, and third-person omniscience to explore the intersection of these Victorian giants in a long-vanished world, the novel superbly channels two vibrant but very different figures, from their early days as journalists in the American West, to their admiration and support of each other’s writing, mutual hatred of slavery, social life together in the dazzling literary circles of the time, and even a mysterious journey to Cuba to search for Stanley’s adoptive father.
A compelling and deeply felt historical fantasia that utilizes the full range of Hijuelos’s gifts, as well as an unforgettable coda to a brilliant writing career.
Includes a reading group guide.
