The Revenant

The Revenant combines historical fact, romance, and psychological suspense to determine the long unknown identity of the “ female stranger” of Alexandria, Virginia. A young journalist, Ben Joliet, is assigned to do a feature story on the mysterious woman who arrived in Alexandria in the 18th century with a male companion, took ill, and died days later, leaving no clue to her identity. Almost two hundred years later the only evidence left of her existence is an elaborate tombstone in Alexandria’s Christ Church Cemetery and a series of legends that offer competing theories to who she was and how Alexandria became her final resting place. When Ben meets a young woman whose life seems to parallel tat of the stranger the past and present collide in a tale of psychological suspense, romance and erotic tension.

Henry (Hank Cunningham) was born in Waukegan, Illinois in 1926. The sudden death of his mother when he was five prompted his father to enroll him in a private boys' school where he spent the next eleven years of his life. When his father withdrew him from the school at age 16 He enlisted in the Navy w and served with the 6th fleet amphibious core in the Southwest Pacific for twenty -six months. After his discharge he completed a degree at Drake University where he completed majors in History and Journalism. After graduation he worked for the various newspapers but his career was interrupted until he was recalled to the Navy to fight in the Korean War. But rather than assigning him shipboard service he was named managing editor of Naval Publications. After his service with the Navy ended he was employed Managing editor of the Merchant Trade Journal until he accepted an offer with Kaiser Industries. He was with Kaiser Industries in Washington D.C. until he where he was supervisor of International Relations and Public Affairs until he retired. His love of literature, world affairs, wine, and good conversation was nourished while he served as the president of the International Club in Washington, D.C and by the classes he took in literature and creative writing after retirement. Cunningham has written numerous short stories, poems in addition to this novel.