SFG75
Well-Known Member
This novel is set in post Civil War New York. The Tweed corruption ring and all of its glory is covered in good detail. The excesses of wealth and poverty were mentioned, and Doctorow did his homework about patronage and how one climbed the rungs of power and access if they were a judge or were on the police department. The fiction part is about a young free lance writer who discovers that his father's death was a hoax. The father was one of the corrupt leaders of the Tweed ring. The ending is quite gruesome as it is discovered that a "mad doctor" is doing some experiments. That whole scene harkens to the popular notion at the time of social Darwinism. A very good book.
