The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln

About the Book: Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln

From the best-selling author of The Emperor of Ocean Park andNew England White, a daring reimagining of one of the mosttumultuous moments in our nations past

Stephen L. Carters thrilling new novel takes as itsstartingpoint an alternate history: President Abraham Lincolnsurvives theassassination attempt at Fords Theatre on April 14,1865. Two yearslater he is charged with overstepping hisconstitutional authority,both during and after the Civil War, andfaces an impeachmenttrial.

Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman withadegree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firmthathas undertaken Lincolns defense, and the iron-strongconviction,learned from her late mother, that "whatever limitationssocietymight place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply toher."And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms ofeverystratum of Washington society: working side by side with awhiteclerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, includingthepresident himself. But when Lincolns lead counsel is foundbrutallymurdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged intoatreacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching thehighestlevels of the divided government.

Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fictionthatcaptures the emotional tenor of post-Civil War America,abrilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores thealwayscontentious question of the nature of presidential authority,and agalvanizing story of political suspense.