Summer Reading for Potus Geeks: Fiction by Thomas Mallon
Thomas Mallon is an American novelist whose stories are known for their attention to historical detail and context and for the author's sharp wit. He is the author of nine books, many of which have a theme involving either a president or a key event during that president's term in office. Let's look at a few of them:
1. Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years: In this novel published in 2015, Mallon sets his story in the tense months of 1986 when the Iran-Contra affair, the AIDS epidemic, and the Reykjavik summit between Gorbachev and Reagan were all shaping history. Mallon presents a fictional account of this time, portraying Nancy Reagan as brooding, protective, consulting her astrologist at every turn. He also includes a young Christopher Hitchens, and Reagan himself. Written with clever prose and savage wit, Finale presents the human drama surrounding these events.
2. Dewey Defeats Truman: Written in 2013, this is a fictional retelling of Harry Truman’s upset victory over Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 presidential election. Set in Dewey’s hometown of Owosso, Michigan, as the voters must decide between the candidates, so must Anne Macmurray choose between two suitors: an ardent United Auto Workers organizer and his polar opposite, a wealthy young Republican lawyer who’s running for the state senate. The people of Owosso ready themselves for the fame that is expected after Dewey’s “sure thing” victory. But as the novel—and history—move toward election night, the townspeople, including Anne and her suitors, have their fates rearranged in a climax filled with suspense and chagrin.
3. Watergate: The Watergate scandal is seen through a kaleidoscope of its colorful perpetrators and investigators. Mallon reconstructs some of the scandal’s greatest mysteries, such as who erased those eighteen-and-a-half minutes of tape? The author conveys the drama and high comedy of the Nixon presidency through the urgent perspectives of seven characters we only thought we knew before now. Mallon achieves with Watergate a scope and historical intimacy, turning a “third-rate burglary” into first-rate entertainment. Watergate, a finalist for the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
4. Henry and Clara: On the evening of Good Friday, 1865, Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris joined the Lincolns in the Presidential box at Ford’s Theater, becoming eyewitnesses to one of the great tragedies of American history. In this novel, Mallon re-creates the unusual love story of this young engaged couple whose fateful encounter with history profoundly affects the remainder of their lives. Lincoln’s assassination is only one part of the remarkable life they share, a dramatic tale of passion, scandal, heroism, murder, and madness, all based on Mallon’s deep research into the fascinating history of the Rathbone and Harris families.
Mallon is a former literary editor of Gentleman’s Quarterly and has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The American Scholar, and other periodicals. If you like history, but feel like reading some fiction this summer, Thomas Mallon's books offer the best of both worlds.
1. Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years: In this novel published in 2015, Mallon sets his story in the tense months of 1986 when the Iran-Contra affair, the AIDS epidemic, and the Reykjavik summit between Gorbachev and Reagan were all shaping history. Mallon presents a fictional account of this time, portraying Nancy Reagan as brooding, protective, consulting her astrologist at every turn. He also includes a young Christopher Hitchens, and Reagan himself. Written with clever prose and savage wit, Finale presents the human drama surrounding these events.
2. Dewey Defeats Truman: Written in 2013, this is a fictional retelling of Harry Truman’s upset victory over Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 presidential election. Set in Dewey’s hometown of Owosso, Michigan, as the voters must decide between the candidates, so must Anne Macmurray choose between two suitors: an ardent United Auto Workers organizer and his polar opposite, a wealthy young Republican lawyer who’s running for the state senate. The people of Owosso ready themselves for the fame that is expected after Dewey’s “sure thing” victory. But as the novel—and history—move toward election night, the townspeople, including Anne and her suitors, have their fates rearranged in a climax filled with suspense and chagrin.
3. Watergate: The Watergate scandal is seen through a kaleidoscope of its colorful perpetrators and investigators. Mallon reconstructs some of the scandal’s greatest mysteries, such as who erased those eighteen-and-a-half minutes of tape? The author conveys the drama and high comedy of the Nixon presidency through the urgent perspectives of seven characters we only thought we knew before now. Mallon achieves with Watergate a scope and historical intimacy, turning a “third-rate burglary” into first-rate entertainment. Watergate, a finalist for the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
4. Henry and Clara: On the evening of Good Friday, 1865, Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris joined the Lincolns in the Presidential box at Ford’s Theater, becoming eyewitnesses to one of the great tragedies of American history. In this novel, Mallon re-creates the unusual love story of this young engaged couple whose fateful encounter with history profoundly affects the remainder of their lives. Lincoln’s assassination is only one part of the remarkable life they share, a dramatic tale of passion, scandal, heroism, murder, and madness, all based on Mallon’s deep research into the fascinating history of the Rathbone and Harris families.
Mallon is a former literary editor of Gentleman’s Quarterly and has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The American Scholar, and other periodicals. If you like history, but feel like reading some fiction this summer, Thomas Mallon's books offer the best of both worlds.