The Five of Hearts (Magill Book Reviews)

THE FIVE OF HEARTS is the intimate story of five friends who by birth and persuasion were elitists. Henry Adams was part of a family line that included two presidents. Adams socialized with political figures but did not join in the fray himself. Instead, he became a historian and world traveler. The remaining members of the Five of Hearts included Henry’s wife, Clover Adams, John Hay and his wife Clara, and the bachelor of the group, Clarence King. These oddly mismatched friends started their exclusive club in 1880. They even went so far as to order engraved stationery and tea trays that were unique to their circle.

The friends found mutual support in their association. At the same time, there were underlying tensions in the group. John Hay was active in politics, serving as Secretary of State to William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Not a strong man, he suffered from depression and a number of phobias. His wife was a calm and undemanding woman who fit in with the anti-feminist temper of her husband. Clarence King was a geologist and adventurer who throughout his life felt threatened by women who were educated and independent. Clover Adams was a wondrously talented and intelligent woman who was literally stifled by the aristocratic nature of the group. She had great wit and even impressed Henry James with her barbs. She was also a very unhappy individual and never was able to come to terms with herself as someone who had worth. Adams did not encourage his wife to make public her talents. She was a wonderful photographer, but was not allowed to have her pictures included in any publication. The tragedy of it all is that Clover committed suicide in 1885 and left Henry a grief-stricken man. Adams kept his grief to himself, though, and buried himself in various writing projects to keep occupied. Two of the works completed before his death in 1918, THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS (1907) and MONT-SAINT-MICHEL AND CHARTRES (1904), are considered masterpieces.

O’Toole clearly does not approve of the attitudes expressed by the male members of the group, but this does not blind the author to the many accomplishments of these men. She is thorough in describing not only the bombast and hypocrisy of the Five of Hearts but also the intellect and energy of the group and of the United States at a pivotal time in its history.

Sources for Further Study

Boston Globe. September 2, 1990, p.13.

Los Angeles Times Book Review. September 23, 1990, p.9.

The New York Times Book Review. XCV, August 12, 1990, p. 18.

The New Yorker. LXVI, July 9, 1990, p.92.

Newsweek. CXVI, October 1, 1990, p.65.

Reference and Research Book News. V, August, 1990, p.7.

USA Today. June 15, 1990, p. D4.

The Washington Post Book World. XX, May 20, 1990, p.1.