John Hay, Friend of Giants

The Man and Life Connecting Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Henry James, and Theodore Roosevelt

Philip McFarland

Now, perhaps, only those enmeshed in 19^th-century American history know his name; but when John Hay died in 1905, he was one of the most famous men in the world. And one of the most highly regarded. Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary during the Civil War, thereafter as a popular poet, novelist, newspaper editor, highly esteemed historian and biographer, diplomat, businessman, and secretary of state until his death, Hay enjoyed remarkable success in public and private life. In John Hay, Friend of Giants, Philip McFarland presents both the intimate story of Hay’s relationship with four prominent figures of his age and an insightful history of the United States from the 1850s to the turn of the century. Hay’s life and extraordinary friendships provide a window into the politics, literature, society, and diplomacy of this remarkable era of American expansion.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 384 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4422-2281-6 • Hardback • March 2017 • $27.00 • (£19.99)

978-1-4422-2283-0 • eBook • March 2017 • $25.50 • (£19.99)

Subjects: History / United States / 19th Century, History / United States / General, History / Modern / 19th Century

John Hay, Friend of Giants

The Man and Life Connecting Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Henry James, and Theodore Roosevelt

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Now, perhaps, only those enmeshed in 19^th-century American history know his name; but when John Hay died in 1905, he was one of the most famous men in the world. And one of the most highly regarded. Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary during the Civil War, thereafter as a popular poet, novelist, newspaper editor, highly esteemed historian and biographer, diplomat, businessman, and secretary of state until his death, Hay enjoyed remarkable success in public and private life. In John Hay, Friend of Giants, Philip McFarland presents both the intimate story of Hay’s relationship with four prominent figures of his age and an insightful history of the United States from the 1850s to the turn of the century. Hay’s life and extraordinary friendships provide a window into the politics, literature, society, and diplomacy of this remarkable era of American expansion.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 384 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4422-2281-6 • Hardback • March 2017 • $27.00 • (£19.99)

978-1-4422-2283-0 • eBook • March 2017 • $25.50 • (£19.99)

Subjects: History / United States / 19th Century, History / United States / General, History / Modern / 19th Century

Author

Philip McFarland is the author of six earlier works of nonfiction including Mark Twain and the Colonel: Samuel Clemens, Theodore Roosevelt and the Arrival of a New Century. He resides in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Prologue: John Hay, 1838-1905
1. Hay and Abraham Lincoln: the 1860s
1. Rising Politician
2. A Poet in Exile
3. From Springfield to Washington D.C.
4. Inauguration
5. Wartime
6. Domestic Matters
7. “What a Man He Is!”
8. Peace Overture
9. April, 1865
10. From Washington D.C. to Springfield
2. Hay and Mark Twain: the 1870s
11. Livelihood in the East
12. Hay Overseas
13. The Quaker City
14. Poet and Journalist
15. Wedding in Elmira
16. John Hay Marries
17. The Gilded Age
18. Summer, 1877
19. “My Friendship with Mr. Hay”
20. Mark Twain’s Midas Touch
3. Hay and Henry James: the 1880s
21. Apprenticeship of an Author
22. Journalist in Paris
23. Big Job Well Begun
24. Hay Writes a Novel
25. “The Art of Fiction”
26. Capturing Reality, 1885
27. Nicolay and Hay
28. The Five of Hearts
29. Elevating Lincoln
30. James and the Theater
4. Hay and Theodore Roosevelt: the 1890s
31. A Commonplace Childhood?
32. Tragedies and Consequences
33. Hay Discontented
34. The Uses of Wealth
35. Degradation and Reform
36. “You Might Do Worse than Select Me.”
37. Cuba, 1898
38. The Beneficent Work of the World
39. Family Griefs
40. The Thought of My Life Ending
Epilogue: 1905 - 1919

NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX