THE GREAT INTERLUDE

by Francis Russell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 1964

This potpourri of memory portraits spans the years between the two great wars. The author focuses on his gallery of people with a native Bostonian eye. Here we enter the world of ""Honey Fitz"" Fitzgerald, Boston Mayor and politico - the first of a long line of Irish ward politicians which culminated in the White House. There is the flamboyant maverick James Curley, the last of that breed of Irish immigrant politicians. As easily, the scene switches to the lives of President Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge recreating their eras vividly and judiciously. Interspersed in this political strain are delights of the '20's -- a valuable portrait of the radical anarchist Carlo Tresca, the famous Boston medium Margery, and the Boston police strike of 1919 which made a President. Written in memoir form, it is nonetheless an analytical account of those remembered by Russell who was but a childhood contemporary. Comprehending the political dynamic, he writes history as a novelist should like it written. One forgets it is history in the reading. Author of the controversial Tragedy in Dedham, reviving that old chestnut the Sacco-Vanzetti case and succeeding in making it red-hot, Russell performs a valuable service in this collection of material left over from that earlier work.

Pub Date: April 15, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: cGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION