The Bluestocking: The Story of the Famous Forrest Divorce Case - Hardcover

Delman, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312104324 ISBN 13: 9780312104320

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1994

Synopsis

In a blend of historical fact and fiction, the story of a scandalous pre-Civil War divorce trial uncovers the skewed social mores of the nineteenth century and shows how they severed the ties between a young couple in love.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Delman's second foray into the mid-19th century (Ain't Goin' to Glory, 1991) is a period/courtroom hybrid--an Age of Presumed Innocence based on the scandalous 1851 case in which America's foremost tragedian and his wife launched countersuits for divorce, each accusing the other of adultery. The principals in the case would have gladdened the hearts of the tabloids. Edwin Forrest, already famous for his magnetic performances and his thespian high-handedness, had recently achieved notoriety of a different kind when a demonstration against Forrest's British rival William Macready staged by the Friends of Forrest, a group of supporters headed by the legendary publicist Ned Buntline, left 22 dead outside the Astor Theater. Catherine Sinclair Forrest, his British wife, was almost equally notorious in more select circles for her advanced views, which saw marriage as economic enslavement and monogamy as unnatural. The two opposing attorneys were Charles O'Conor, who would go on to defend Jefferson Davis and prosecute Boss Tweed, and John Van Buren, son of the former President. And the haplessly stiff-necked crowd of luminaries caught in the crossfire ran the gamut from the late actress Josephine Clifton (who may have enjoyed a liaison with Forrest eight years ago) to Nathaniel Parker Willis, New York's leading magazine editor (publicly accused by the outraged husband as ``the seducer of Catherine Forrest''). In order to reach a verdict, the jury was asked to consider whether Forrest's repeated visits to a house of ill-repute, or his wife's receiving a letter identifying her with the indomitably chaste heroine of a George Sand novel (gasp!), constituted more incriminating behavior. The high-profile players, and the determination of the court to maintain decorum while recording scabrous accusations, make the court proceedings as fascinating as most fictional murder trials. Only in the conventional offstage flourishes--pages from Catherine's diary, the romance of a journalist with one of Catherine's supporters--does Delman disappoint. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly

The 1851-1852 divorce trial of eminent tragedian Edwin Forrest and his English-born wife Catherine was a classic New York City tabloid scandal. Delman ( Bye-Bye Baby ) captures the eye-to-the-keyhole tone by quoting large portions of the actual courtroom testimony, including accusations of adultery and alcoholism, with minimal narrative intervention. Providing counterpoint to the testimony are a third- person chronicle about Henry Stewart, a high-born widower who has taken on the low-class profession of journalist and is covering the trial for the New York Herald , and the fictitious diary of Catherine Forrest, which serves to make the accused "bluestocking" more sympathetic and may lead readers to conclusions somewhat different from those arrived at by the court. Henry becomes involved with Serena Blaylock, a staunch supporter of Mrs. Forrest, but the novel's real interest is provided by the working-class characters who testify on behalf of one or the other of the Forrests; their language and descriptive stories perfectly encapsulate the tabloid mood. The milieu is dated but the theme of acrimonious divorce is timeless and has sensational appeal, and Delman's writing puts it over the top.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0312104324
• ISBN 13: 9780312104320
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 287