Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Anarchist
    The Anarchist
    The Anarchist
    Ebook408 pages6 hours

    The Anarchist

    By Joanna Higgins

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The Anarchist, a historical novel, dramatizes the interplay of forces leading to the assassination of an American president at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Through linking first-person narratives, the novel explores the interrelated lives of fictional as well as historical figures, mainly Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, William McKinley and McKinley's assassin Leon Czolgosz, at a turbulent time in American history, a time of protests, hangings, hunger riots, strikes, bombings and massacres.

    Although a tragedy in part, The Anarchist also depicts the permutations of love, idealism and coming of age in the time of anarchism in the United States, while evoking parallels to contemporary economic and social issues.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Permanent Press
    Release dateApr 25, 2014
    ISBN9781579623562
    The Anarchist
    Author

    Joanna Higgins

    Joanna Higgins has taught at colleges in the United States and in England and is the author of the novels Dead Center and A Soldier’s Book, which was a finalist for the 2007 Michael Shaara Award for Civil War fiction. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Award for fiction, and her short stories appear in several anthologies, including the Best American Short Stories series.  

    Read more from Joanna Higgins

    Related to The Anarchist

    Related ebooks

    Jewish Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Hilton ALS

      Jun 15, 2018

      Hilton ALS
      29 min read

    • Article

      Transgression Has Become So Banal: Chris Kraus and Jarett Kobek in Conversation

      Aug 24, 2017

      We’re all living in a word that comes after Kathy Acker. The post Transgression Has Become So Banal: Chris Kraus and Jarett Kobek in Conversation appeared first on The Millions.

      11 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Casey Gerald

      Dec 14, 2018

      There’s a line in my book that reads, “I have been so many things along my curious journey: a poor boy, a nigger, a Yale man, a Harvard man, a faggot, a Christian, a crack baby (alleged), the Spawn of Satan, the Second Coming, Casey.” My reading tend

      2 min read

    • Article

      30 Books in 30 Days: Blackacre and White Rage

      Mar 14, 2017

      In the 30 Books in 30 Days series leading up to the March 16 announcement of the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award winners, NBCC board members review the 30 finalists. Today, read Tess Taylor on poetry finalist Monica Youn’s Blackacre (Graywolf

      6 min read

    • Article

      Deconstructing The Decolonisers

      Jul 27, 2023

      TO DECOLONISE THE CURRICULUM or not to decolonise the curriculum, that is the question. In his latest book, Against Decolonisation: Campus Culture Wars and the Decline of the West, Doug Stokes turns his analytical eye for international affairs inward

      4 min read

    • Article

      Fighting On

      Jul 1, 2020

      Fighting On
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Antifa

      May 10, 2018

      The Antifa
      9 min read

    • Article

      In The Garden Of Forms

      Jun 1, 2022

      In The Garden Of Forms
      8 min read

    • Article

      Camille Paglia on the Iconic Cover of Patti Smith’s Horses

      Mar 22, 2017

      In 1975, Arista Records released Horses, the first rock album by New York bohemian poet Patti Smith. The stark cover photo, taken by someone named Robert Mapplethorpe, was devastatingly original. It was the most electrifying image I had ever seen of

      2 min read

    • Article

      Living Memory

      Jun 23, 2021

      Living Memory
      18 min read

    • Article

      Favorite First Sentences

      Feb 1, 2019

      “Long ago, on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a smallish Viking with a longish name stood up to his ankles in snow.” HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (Book 1) by Cressida Cowell submitted by Lucille S. of Washington, DC “During the third attack, Hazel al

      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Anarchist

    4/5

    6 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I was eager to read this book since I have an ancestor who was an American anarchist during the the early part of the twentieth century. I had a hard time getting going with the book because of the first person narrative, and felt that another device to bring the characters into focus would've served the reader better to get into the story. I think this book would be best for those who have no prior knowledge of anarchism in the US and the history of oppression here. As a novel, I was not impressed.
    • 4/5
      President McKinley was shot by an anarchist in 1901. During the president's tenure, theatrical skills and gerrymandering threatened to destroy democracy, the pros and cons of protective business tariffs were debated, unions battled unfair employment practices, Puerto-Rico and Hawaii grew more connected to the US, and the Spanish lost the Spanish-American war, leaving Cuba independent. I knew none of these things prior to reading Joanna Higgins’ The Anarchist. But I learned them all as I followed the lives of history’s forgotten characters, seeing the world through the eyes of president, farmer, steel-worker, artist, writer and more.The author renders each of her characters’ points of view convincingly, and keeps a large cast largely well-defined, so the reader quickly knows each voice and history. America’s melting pot boils through the lives of many immigrants. Women, dependent and independent, begin to take a stand. The disparate doctrines of socialism and anarchy weave into the lives of the downtrodden. And the world is poised for change.Parallels with the present day are obvious but never labored in this well-told tale. There’s no pure good or pure evil. And the cry of one major protagonist, that she will always have sympathy with the criminal, is beautifully nuanced and powerful. From food to music, city street to farm to opera house, and from Europe to the US, this novel carries the reader into the minds of people not so different from ourselves, in a world not so different from ours, and in a place where perhaps we can begin to re-examine our own preconceptions against those of the past.Each chapter of the novel stands as a convincing personal essay, retold in the first person voice of its protagonist. Together the chapters tell a deeply involving story, bigger than its separate parts, well-researched, historical, and hauntingly real. Love, politics and power are a heady mix which proves, in the end, as timeless as the human heart.Disclosure: I was given a free preview edition of this novel by the publisher, and I offer my honest review.
    • 5/5
      This is a fictionalized account of the lives of  a few well known anarchists, surrounding the incident of the assassination of U.S. President McKinley by Leon Czolgosz.  U.S. government agents decided Czolgosz was directed or incited by the anarchist Emma Goldman, whose political activities they desperately wanted to stop, and attempted to convict her of treason.Higgins tells the story from several perspectives, making the coming together of these incidents and the interactions of these people, fascinating.  The reader learns about the life and motivations of Goldman as well as the early life and motivations of Czolgosz and the importance of timing.  The story of Goldman's lifelong relationship with AlexanderBerkman, one of her lovers and a longtime friend, is also told.  I found the description of McKinley's relationship with his wife to be particularly touching.Several moral dilemmas are examined, also from these multiple perspectives, such as who was responsible for McKinley's death.  Was it the man who shot him, causing a wound that should not have been fatal, or the doctor who mistreated him.  I was glad to be reading this book in electronic form so I could keep pushing the wikipedia button!  I am ambiguous about historical fiction, frustrated by not knowing what is real and what isn't, so appreciated the extensive notations and references by the author.  All in all a fascinating read for me - five stars.  I recommend it both for students of anarchy and U.S. history and those with a passing interest in either.  What would push you over the edge to attempt to kill someone?This is an Early Review book.

    Book preview

    The Anarchist - Joanna Higgins

    1^book_preview_excerpt.htmlu}rF寀zNqlwvA&T٭RɊ5["!0z^9@mSd&.qߵa q?w^~_ǪƥZbuէϾr_cJqHUK{w Ɩ0W!U)sƍU݋tͺTC jSus쫦C-sX*sUct[=`m<'L%'y█keB*- n#y:$MQ*0ϡq7KcUNj/jk5|p(ם}˨EK-\1>㺬jk (b.$?c.wSw4Nq=\K\e _ث& Y(e0#A;/>lMK<@G?1 ;Xe͸d#WW.1P ă;O:}Wc?=π 0=B(*&^'ŦK$p94Wȋc3;/EϯHT*>hM'G4!92 Bz9lDtc^LV%8v: { 9K_zfɠakB@)sS m/ nQzvsޣf$f{Ú̱Ɂ|r>ts՗rE^!` A*Af%̋jhK N7$'i2 ӏA5Fwx ){W$x> l~aY? 8TtppL?dD_PB|68tك6Vw1kas~rcק-޾7Fⶓ,L!0ZcJ0gd='~G)F-?'R?z1+W"B2yA ~k/Tuf iv5DK]ҍNDpu80.DhYnmQAb+ oW3H KWl=r@@Z!Ѱh"n"7owcJ>Hd ,)͓%p?y+[ k5l ~# D>e`K:oLy=t5 H\=V-xܗ:qX?f!%x/[=7'%,Oao~? /8{u6=2_a$cO_#A _`s)#:PLBOEܹ)UBY5ЮᶀPM~#)"y#01DgJk0|ό.ռMQQh%΁ʎN>V'Q~ɯ6ɝ^Ehil[Il#T6Nr4o$W14_Y"u1? $Z jtZ`77e9q|+v.w] i-D]hw xC%[cl[Tft DHkSb@)Bx1$4BjBCχbp\gu!l v Fz~a^wBEWT#_O~wt"V @rSe(/^q.#"/3mD4hi[C`T8,]jEebtn5#9#'j0p?.j AWK$r(R ہQey(2ֱ?`6Un8]zEOMn-%th>}EN$p{|V^H cV%tbIHark$mCl6B9NIsM[ @J#Ҕ2*2A"ceT-i:ap'(x쨜g{OB3%/^T<^va?ΥxCQ/bZA8) .5.Z, cxr5\+JX gcw5[7t.f苴P'_-fyXˬ@>1zFo2鿭Ld3\`f+2$,.V'q@ ն fPR-)H Ҟ I<:Tǣ2l $Bc7>ɒw@rQ917@zxnH!p({ 5᠙>6<8 l38 rlӒ9wW O"ȭ G,3)Mȶh](}+'mf:SpiWּ5`@~qa`s>(pBPp;# " Ed^9@Z3<=Q4#_=4nsu0­:ܟW)$LS%HT-.p U5+@Lb09}PPDԑ/s5M%3Q{PӜ 4ԁ ǰ+1 (.[TϨFh8XSWGȭ!%=4M0f~c`E\Y< +ǝbd_Ԝ}g mb9b&آ祒3"xZ(TEIfW/7K&PXCEpj^6(Y@~Wس:Jҩd[G_`hfd!`ؐP2P=@6.;9˚(8k性,SE:?"Yv"ˠxuCNdXx!N@7kX4QԸPEC&& ߍ'u+Aw@j$9G>kRw4X +ȡ42o1v+)a WZgAKShC y߀ 1(?ܒфLbT׀y/ n1q',-YƼ&g~śfjT e23@*/ )es&GJ1=VpNWS } I$e`f SF.Tq[b|fU(ɝ[h$jIa,fU;LLg o)TkFDBr]% dLE1/-e)Yz9POq12ѵ6eq# եNX,ˠ\tm% pGd8rb$I 3GaPS _s'8fU4Lr?Uu|X;`$U[-F7[W":g!NKff1ݪA1@l$K~Q# K߆k\ȥ-sF:",!>$]a 1Vuz"x[sH M eӵJ4ݴC=F޲;0V .Fqx(.Qm)A|Vf,_s&S\Q\iooI4h-X)"#X!%&;9@eU dA^Ǜ3.Z)ڏ2McfBOe4/ؖr* E.6nҔߥgO>zwH<L`9PWp~KᏥOhh w&+Xbf.^'xsN%dy),tbd7 pP"IԋhiTڙxh %Kdz]_ :h`Z1G3)"S6ƬY$笣 bmpq%lxpx|wLs}Ekn1^;+Qà֚jr$@a##ICˬ2 A8_$ do^gyxͺC>,ZϚ1XXh9oN~&ݕD;XP*dǦ ҄~`4g3qt$W͛$!ђ ^qfFZ﵎|Q`b=",C<:|4;/1 G kɂn [\˳>ֆee)bA<] gu=jAf/TsB8Whr 辕MA[*¹Z6^d_^ / d \"`LDZ?߯"ZN='o|XD&ז*I8Ng*G>dLȞM _eg&׀p<= ŎHB8l0(.ӭpW% >l*3uUuMgsM%{w+1Edj%#C],.@Lh|A{DK0Dj* LKIe4^ 7.;Xq}45P0f*U} @UYK -Q#:c֥X֔q2( -Kt]%@xmͻ>6/_ d#XA1kL/(aHpgY,S&6"8`% H ONV:C20el#xpv&{ś.މ{$ ~bgdRkVc-CΏrgĘ|=}.ٕYUe@Gf!KőP.WXvZ:d6){j%ܓg;u<ٜ_0NzxS5T'7~~XXaDAcBnflݑIu1A gd?ogBψRM[.Ok恼:i=0 0l+﷗3-V˹.GskwyYh]$Ea!cfR"gB$QcF?DqKEU$4ځ۱Gw9o3;pPn,xs'hbcZ8pQoٶM?]~s\#ny@~áVTZV ^zG MNf '6e7!ma}pErchפvQ%zR7 M,r`3ךUZf؜xZ41ikz 1pbrΠZap 'R~/!@0rV0|R?-[jx'H`׼Kt n GhuvL 褲H#J149teo Z~K,iB` El&f76hHrm޶E9[T+w3*ǝ'}#b\ᖯ@d /z6ϻ %Lwiu s@ֱet[DZLpJ'+B-RzԌ:-Lf+9`T|wu4>ƨ\>s$^w\ăFiT1c1` /W- ʹ+A#b`hnէb1@vUHmHԁ&)Ǵ9F!#N[Myʒ2睦rbI@^sƑX*wQ-bTi涠A~cHċ k4&gmhXv j7>C/fQ(֯VtW8[h-s8Tԇ|4AxI -Xj3@8KIєFmMԡK73jh?Lfkhv5(f;",hծf% Т+r~ 0Q ?(g&E7Ax5쉓mL;;f~ 0Ƴe,RF; ayQTKd5ߕv+j[?ѶrQ5h%B4ԙ(렊ˆ/a/_{řZdFt&5_qn hFRoݴjTmL,`f f0v ~<@*k0٭^iEJ,%JE-Ƨ@U&CIǼvͫЎY$h[(p4g 1 /b~By;#ZW_bbRω#pPI"Oq#wՅ%e pqWd|җKGF~h IvYS21lntu׶bkzpbꏨ FO@Aa"Fel! VȴCtRs,;K7E)̵hP ɍO(H|AoR9I"qvO9Y}D-~{& 喵^b&˅`嚰J=%px/QHj=5P~IW6Y0XE-Z-Ұi'.xFD/~;?r]@= eG,bF+@ρ,QI` ')"X:kN(Yy.{pE ǫxߠJ/ӹލlݨ$覘jw&\ =HǥhWg[XF/C>b>tPd>&Z6Z*I:W6$Ӗ-l*`ɹ-9}zVueYdZ5`k(ҕʋF(9_ u\)+vva(/%ȪWz+GJz|2ܴ.=#n%ζȰRˡSZ٭Z+2t5.}3Gqvy Sr> lYUs1Ĩ䄳 2|S@KDY~F~Sۏ,Kg͌$mhYDˢwZ"uSǒmu`iG0-<&xe9pfVy@?p_O3LBuzUjU[d(z&F;X1VޟP#h\/ѬrxWjWmcxz1C|e=UQ24$(hI/{\ݹuhl:ud :aW4ˡ"L1f6yAG*gG~\8zeb~zjXJKP\3O2[LQi:цj{!7Zaݑ'fM4SXSNCz YZYЌMvuPjYI}.6\>(Ӈԋ~*/q k%GN9am[tu3MNPZ1Dp:&6띄zfCҾ܋hz?WU>@fhpcNezXo%ZA44SBf&a۰< ~qEmɍ,a4 kdQ~"ķ@,v,rO=|7oݨgPwm]1*Iڦ[l۹h-Qm滨Ja^mt%מZqt`o-e3Ca}l %Y qʓĭT ߧLT}MmdҺ0^sY[ hTOlh$ ?f|0+bUB)#wN k}LGVfͷ Rۤ- =Z(c&YI"8U1; C.NϮ0*bP\F JZ`Sak)򘿋70*=pd7>FZXkz SCs|נg`M\.Tkg-5b?QMAnYeNGͲdpzv)1ekD5T_~sspw/=xŭM4-wKp݋`!}p)'+ye?Ձ l D ;P X!300a&5AO8O䰞EM_Bkž<ɼGSO ;0\&R;’;, kNj+@簝 V혮ѯ̤nL\J6\^8~en#@븖ہ,Z.2$4q鬧~Wwc ] [Z񾬪WVA,&D_,?~pϡ?iVȞI.jG!cwau7֭tW670hf|Oh L壀2=i!=9YV|be;˱$²Tc \!fnI*y|bkglP͕vPbMfߪ[vjhq!kPv(GŖQ&sᰧka_+҄TO:6زR|KUGKdOYο։٤^0j'T_둜HUjlRz-fEk
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1