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Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America
Random House
April 2007
On Sale: April 17, 2007
336 pages
ISBN: 0345486943
EAN: 9780345486943
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
One of the bloodiest incidents in New York’s history, the
so-called Astor Place Riot of May 10, 1849, was ignited by
a long-simmering grudge match between the two leading
Shakespearean actors of the age. Despite its unlikely
origins, though, there was nothing remotely quaint about
this pivotal moment in history–the unprecedented shooting
by American soldiers of dozens of their fellow citizens,
leading directly to the arming of American police forces. The Shakespeare Riots recounts the story of this momentous
night, its two larger-than-life protagonists, and the
myriad political and cultural currents that fueled the
violence. In an engrossing narrative that moves at a
breakneck pace from the American frontier to the
Mississippi River, to the posh theaters of London, to the
hangouts of the most notorious street gangs of the day,
Nigel Cliff weaves a spellbinding saga of soaring passions,
huge egos, and venal corruption. Cliff charts the course of this tragedy from its beginnings
as a somewhat comical contretemps between Englishman
William Charles Macready, the haughty lion of the London
stage, and Edwin Forrest, the first great American star and
a popular hero to millions. Equally celebrated, and equally
self-centered, the two were once friends, then adversaries.
Exploiting this rivalry, “nativist” agitators organized
mobs of bullyboys to flex their muscle by striking a blow
against the foppish Macready and the Old World’s cultural
hegemony that he represented. The moment Macready took the stage in New York, his
adversaries sprang into action, first by throwing insults,
then rotten eggs, then chairs. When he dared show his face
again, an estimated twenty thousand packed the streets
around the theater. As cobblestones from outside rained
down on the audience, National Guard troops were called in
to quell the riot. Finding themselves outmatched, the
Guardsmen discharged their weapons at the crowd, with
horrific results. When the smoke cleared, as many as thirty
people lay dead, with scores more wounded. The Shakespeare Riots is social and cultural history of the
highest order. In this wondrous saga Nigel Cliff immerses
readers in the bustle of mid-nineteenth-century New York,
re-creating the celebrity demimonde of the day and
capturing all the high drama of a violent night that robbed
a nation of its innocence.
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