Broken Promises: A Novel of the Civil War
Books / Paperback
Books › Fiction › Historical › General
ISBN: 0345524551 / Publisher: Ballantine Books, March 2011
Dispatched to London to prevent the British from supporting Confederate forces, the son of John Quincy Adams engages in a game of espionage and diplomacy, while his son connects with a man engaged to an anti-American Englishwoman.
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Originally published as In the Lion’s DenWinner 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.
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