Jefferson

Max Byrd writes this book of historical fiction through the eyes of William Short as Jefferson's secretary and protege while they were in France. A man young enough to enjoy all that France had to offer; a man close enough to observe Jefferson as his mind observes the French people and the wonders of France.Reading this book literally puts you into the time and place, descriptions of the sight and smells, sounds and touch of the eighteenth-century of Paris, France. The easily read narative takes you right along with the major characters as they live out their day to day lives. You feel the life breath as they interact, and the psychological insight... John Adams as stout as a tree trunk, bird-breasted with boney knees, Jefferson with an angular nose and chiseled features with blue eyes that revealed nothing, but observation. Ben Franklin short, fat, bald and always a flirt with kidney stones... Ambassador of Babel.These are just a few of the numerous observations sprikled with humor and wit that takes the reader along on this adverture as a observer of times past. This was an enjoyable read... I truly loved reading this book of novalized historical fiction.

Through happenstance, I've read three of Max Byrd's novels in reverse order. The first (for me) being "Grant", then "Jackson", and finally this book, "Jefferson". At first, I felt that Byrd's books got better with each novel but toward the end of "Jefferson", I began to alter my view. It is a wonderful account of fictionalized history of Jefferson's time in Paris. They're some constants in each book. There's enough sex, including James Heming's visit to some of the brothels of Paris, to provide a lurid view for those that need such enticement and there's also the book within a book. In this book, William Short, who was Jefferson's secretary while he was this Nation's diplomat to France writes his memoirs of Jefferson. Byrd does a wonderful job with these memoirs, including a description of Patrick Henry's famous speech at St. John's church in Richmond. Furthermore, the book does an excellent job of contrasting very vocal Henry, who wrote little and seldom stayed for the "pick-and-shovel" work of committees and meetings, with Jefferson who seldom gave speeches but could put words onto paper that endure for all time...the Declaration of Independence among them. As a fan of General Lafayette I was pleased to see so much reference to this exceptional hero who is often overlooked. Byrd accurately portrays Lafayette as not overly brilliant but maintaining close ties to the American society of Paris and fueling the fires for the overthrow of the King. As with all of Byrd's work his detailed research lead to wonderful "tib-bits" of history that might otherwise reside only on dusty selves of scholar's holdings. This book is a wonderful account of Jefferson's time in Paris and deserving of a place in any library.

I enjoyed "Jefferson", probably because it escaped the dry boredom of a history textbook. The story was frank and honest, and perhaps that was it's downfall for me, because I really didn't like the character of Thomas Jefferson. Byrd did an excellent job, though there was quite a bit more about the French sex life than I would have cared to hear about. If you're not into history, don't touch this. You will be bored, but if you're interested in Jefferson, or his era, you will really enjoy this book.