Henry and Clara

Praise

Praise for Thomas Mallon’s Henry and Clara:

“Amazing . . . one of the most interesting American novelists at work.”
—John Updike, The New Yorker
 
“The powerful story is superbly told. . . . You can’t ask for much more from historical fiction.”
—The Washington Post Book World

“Ambitious in scope and depth . . . Mallon makes good use of sharp, disturbing twists on familiar themes.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“A transporting, beautifully written novel as authentic in its period detail as it is in its rich characterizations.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“Riveting . . . Mallon’s most polished gem to date.”
—Chicago Tribune

“A pitch-perfect rendering . . . Mesmerizing and assiduously researched.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A powerful reconstruction of actual events.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune

“From the footnotes of American history, Mallon has pulled authentic figures and embroidered a compelling novel.”
—Booklist

“A masterly blend of fact and fiction.”
—Albany Times Union

“Mallon . . . outdoes himself in this re-creation, which raises the private consequences of history to what seems their deserved status—legend.”
—Publishers Weekly

“All written history is a work of imagination, but seldom is it rendered as skillfully as in Henry and Clara.”
—Raleigh News and Observer

“Beautifully written, Henry and Clara is marked by tender passion, and its characters are, for all their faults, endearing.”
—National Review

“A stately and elegant historical novel of classic proportions. . . . Mallon’s book is smart and engaging, and he manages to bring his characters fully alive while never allowing us to forget that they are truly creatures of another era.”
—Los Angeles Times

“An imaginative alteration of events, a provocative might-have-been. . . . Some of Mallon’s finest writing goes into Henry’s letters home. . . . Triumphantly successful as a suspenseful and satisfying work of art.”
—The New Criterion