Heyday

by Kurt Andersen

Heyday is a brilliantly imagined, wildly entertaining tale of America's boisterous coming of age--a sweeping panorama of madcap rebellion and overnight fortunes, palaces and brothels, murder and revenge--as well as the story of a handful of unforgettable characters discovering the nature of freedom, loyalty, friendship, and true love.In the middle of the nineteenth century, modern life is being born: the mind-boggling marvels of photography, the telegraph, and railroads; a flood of show business spectacles and newspapers; rampant sex and drugs and drink (and moral crusades against all three); Wall Street awash with money; and giddy utopian visions everywhere. Then, during a single amazing month at the beginning of 1848, history lurches: America wins its war of manifest destiny against Mexico, gold is discovered in northern California, and revolutions sweep across Europe--sending one eager English gentleman off on an epic transatlantic adventure. . . .Amid the tumult, aristocratic Benja