The Jefferson Letters - Hardcover

John Ballinger; Ballinger, John

3.4

5 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0875171141 ISBN 13: 9780875171142

Publisher: Dietz Press, 2001

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

He had trevelled through France and Italy and along most of the American Eastern seaboard, but he'd never seen as lovely a place as Williamsburg, Virginia, at four o'clock in the mroning: the fog rising from the cobblestones on Nicholson Street; the enveloping quiet of a town asleep; the peaceful solitude of eighteenth century buildings seen by dim street lamps; everything ordered; white picket fences separating private gardens, the entire town arranged in pleasing and human proportions, both with its individual buildings and as a whole, each structure relating to the others as if they were family; which in a profound way, they are: separate entities, complete in themselves; but dependent on each other for a greater life and destiny. In Merchant's Square, he stopped at the sign of Parker's Rare Books. A ginger-colored cat sat in the window out on the Duke of Gloucester Street. Its eyes seemed to follow him as he walked past. He stopped. He wasn't certain, so he went back to the window. he stuck out his hand to the glass, with his index finger extended. The cat came over and sniffed at the window where he was pointing. The cat saw him and seemed to sense his mood. Then, the man smiled for the first time since he had seen those cursed letters. He knew, as much as anyone can know such things, he was going to come back to this bookshop and he would receive help here. He found it ironic he was about to go and see a bookseller for help with his problem. He walked back down the Duke of Gloucester Street toward the Capitol. The sun had not yet risen. Still, it was turning the sky into ever lightening shades of grey. The man had much to think about and much to decide, but the ginger-colored cat inn the bookshop window had given him hope.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap:

Letters written by Thomas Jefferson are expensive, but are they worth somebody's life? Brad Parker buys one and comes dangerously close to finding out for himself-entrapped in an early American scandal as deadly now as it was two hundred years ago.

Brad and Napoleon Robespierre Jones retuen from John Ballinger's previous novel, The Williamsburg Forgeries, to become involved in another fast-paced mystery centered around the inscrutable world of antiquarian books and manuscripts.

The letter was neatly written on one large sheet of paper and ended with the bold signature of Thomas Jefferson.

"It's nice," I said flatly. It was, of course, more than nice. It was magnificent. The letter was dated 22 January 1804, and it was written to John Adams. Jefferson apparantly had given Adams previous, detailed instructions for negotiating an important matter with an unnamed third party. The letter stressed the importance of Adams carrying out Jefferson's earlier instructions in every detail. "I wish I could be with you in this matter, but I cannot," Jefferson wrote. "Therefore, I place my entire trust in you, and you alone. My thoughts and profound hopes rest on your shoulders." Then Jefferson signed his name. It sounded important. I had no idea what the negotiations were but i was reasonably sure with a little research I could find out.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.