are not enemies, but friends. We must not be
enemies. Though passion may have strained, it
must not break our bonds of affection.’ ”
This novel can infl uence Americans in a
positive way, said Cribb, and that really was his
hope and aim. In his second inaugural address,
as the North stood on the verge of victory, he
was still sounding the same theme – he wanted
his countrymen to treat each other “with malice
toward none, with charity for all” and to “bind
up the nation’s wounds.”
“Lincoln never forgot that this is one nation,”
Cribb said. “We’re in it together, in one
common enterprise. I hope that comes through
in Old Abe, and that it helps inspire us in
divided times.”
He continued. “There are many great
websites with loads of information about
Lincoln and his times, such as the Lincoln
Papers at the Library of Congress, where you
can see his writings in his own handwriting,
and the Abraham Lincoln Association’s
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, which are
searchable online.”
Cribb said the amount of Lincoln
scholarships out there is amazing, and it’s been
that way for decades.
“Generations of Lincoln scholars – both
professionals and amateurs – have done
incredible work. My novel would not exist
without those historians’ labors,” he admitted.
Cribb’s research involved trips to Lincoln
sites; places like Springfi eld, Illinois,
Washington, D.C., and the battlefi elds he
visited during the war. Places like the Lincoln
Cottage in D.C., where the Lincolns lived
during the summers he was president, and City
Point, Virginia, a huge Union army depot where
he spent several days as the war came to a
close.
“I really had to walk the ground
he walked and soaked up as
much of his world as I could
before I felt like I knew him well
enough to write the book,”
Cribb said. “And the historians,
park rangers, docents, and
volunteers who work at sites
like the Lincoln Home National
Historic site in Springfi eld and
Ford’s Theater in Washington and
Gettysburg in Pennsylvania are often
amazing experts in one particular slice
of Lincoln’s life. Their insights are invaluable.”
Deciding what to leave out was one of the
toughest things about writing this book, Cribb
said. “So much happened, I couldn’t possibly
include it all. But I wanted to make Old Abe
an accurate portrayal of the last fi ve years of
his life. So I did a great deal of outlining. There
were, of course, certain events that I knew I
was going to cover – iconic events like the
Gettysburg Address, signing the Emancipation
Proclamation, and so on. But I wanted to
also include lesser known events, especially
ones that would help bring Lincoln and other
characters alive for readers. I chose lesserknown
events that struck me as ones that
brought out his humanity.”
August, 1864 – A second Lincoln term would
bring four more years drenched in blood. He
did not care about their insults. But the closer
the presidential election drew, the more he
thought about a second term. He desperately
wanted one, desperately wanted to fi nish the
job he had started. If he lost reelection, and the
South were allowed to break away, the nation
might end up disintegrating into a half-dozen
little dictatorships, republics in name only. The
grand American experiment with democracy
would be over. And this presidency would
forever be viewed as a failure. The thought of it
tortured him.
John Cribb is a bestselling author who has
written about subjects ranging from history
to education. His previous work includes coauthoring
“The American Patriot’s Almanac”
and “The Educated Child,” both New York
Times bestsellers; co-editing “The Human
Odyssey,” a 3-volume world history text, and
developing online history courses.
A native of Spartanburg, SC, John studied
literature at Vanderbilt University. He serves
on the board of trustees of the Spartanburg
County Public Libraries and the board of
directors of the Hub City Writers Project, an
award-winning publisher of Southern fi ction
and nonfi ction. Old Abe: A Novel by John
Cribb, Republic Book Publishers is available in
bookstores and amazon.com.
Jonathan Herbert is an award-winning writer who
grew up in Englewood. His novels, Banyan Street
& Silver King, have won multiple literary awards,
including recognition from the Paris Book Festival.
You can follow him on Twitter @herbertnovels or
online at herbertnovels.com.
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