American Scoundrel

American Scoundrel (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)

At a glance:

Novelist Thomas Keneally became fascinated by the lurid life of Dan Sickles while researching the Civil War for a previous book. He uses novelistic techniques to provide a lively portrait of Sickles, his young wife, and New York and Washington society in the mid-nineteenth century.

Daniel Edgar Sickles was born in New York City on October 20, 1819, the son of George Garrett Sickles, a lawyer and sixth generation descendant of Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam, who became wealthy by speculating in real estate. Keneally tells the reader that Dan was a wild teenager whose parents...

[The entire page is 1785 words long]

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