FOREWORD

Lincoln in the Basement began as a dream in 1989. I often dream stories in which I am an observer. This particular one was from the point of view of the Executive Mansion janitor, who was in the basement of the Executive Mansion when President and Mrs. Lincoln were escorted in at gunpoint by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Because he had seen too much, he had to stay in the basement with the Lincolns, and, after a period of time, began to believe he was the president.
As I began writing the story, I realized the poor janitor could not be the main character because he was basically incapable of change. I instead focused on the plight of the young soldier given the task of holding the Lincolns captive. He, indeed, changes from a naïve, eager servant of Stanton’s cause to an alcoholic disillusioned by the abuse of power.
As a caveat, I want to make clear that I have taken historical figures such as Secretary of War Stanton and LaFayette Baker and used them to create fictional characters with qualities of greed, lust, and corruption. While some historians have theorized that Stanton may have been a conspirator in Lincoln’s assassination, others maintain his innocence. I concur with this conclusion, and have fictionalized his personality to portray the danger of believing oneself to be infallible.
Lincoln in the Basement is meant as entertainment and as fodder for intellectual debate on political power, not as a strict interpretation of history.

(Author’s Note: I was born backwards, so it makes perfect sense to me to post on my blog the sequel before the first novel. And if you haven’t viewed my blog before it doesn’t make any difference. If you did read the sequel, now it will all make sense after you read about what happened first.)