We've been excited about the others, of course, but THE KING OF THE IRISH has been particularly intriguing, if only because of the confluence of the modern and the historical that leaps off the pages.
The novel, due for release in Spring, 2013, is a thoroughly researched telling of an unsolved murder that fueled an ongoing fire of anti-Irish sentiment in Chicago back in 1889.
What we found most appealing about the story was the point of view taken, that of the man who stood accused of the crime.
You read about such crimes all the time in the newspapers, of course, but what Jack O'Malley has done is to view all those historical reports with an eye for prejudice. The news reporters, parroting the editorial slant of the owners, were blatantly biased against the newest wave of immigrants who threatened to overwhelm the status quo of Protestantism and Anglo-Saxon dominence.
Unlike the reporters, the author brings in facts pertaining to the time period, all of which he uses to build a substantial case for innocence and a rush to judgment.
Underlying the story, however, is a cauldron of political dealing that is unchanged to this day.
The political class in Chicago is still dominated by the Irish who were rising to prominence back in 1889. Some of them are descendants of the same hacks who cut deals and parceled out patronage jobs and cemented their power through graft and corruption. The novel could be set in the present day and still be an accurate portrayal.
That's the power of historical fiction. It can take us back and show us one event from many angles. It can make the past as current as the present, to show us where we've been repeating the same mistakes.
And it can remind you that some of those names you'll see on bronze plaques affixed to walls of expensive public buildings are the names of men as corrupt and dishonest as any common criminal. The difference is that they just never got caught.
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