April 2021 Book, The Last Days of Night

Talk About Books will meet Wednesday, April 21, 6:30-7:30. 

We meet every third Wednesday of the month. Books are chosen by the group at the previous discussion. Reading suggestions are always welcome. The library provides copies upon request.

In this historical novel, Graham Moore uses real characters and true  facts to weave a story that is part thriller, part romance and part history lesson.

One billion dollars. That’s the value of electric light in 1888. Or, that’s the staggering sum for which Thomas Edison is suing George Westinghouse, his rival in the electricity gambit, for sole control of who lights up America. For his defense, Westinghouse hires a fresh-out-of-college lawyer named Paul Cravath. Together, they plot against the man beloved by Americans as the Wizard of West Orange and backed by the wealthiest man in the country, J. P. Morgan. Paul’s task seems insurmountable.

Enter two unlikely allies: Nikola Tesla and Agnes Huntington. Tesla becomes a naïve pawn in the battle between Westinghouse and Edison, and Paul is blind to their manipulations. Agnes Huntington, a society belle and renowned singer, initially reaches out to Paul to defend her in a small contract dispute, but ends up befriending Tesla—and defending him against the two capitalists—and a romance begins between her and Paul.

Excerpt for review by Bryan Dumas, Historical Novel Society

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