In Justice and Vengeance, Arwen Bicknell offers the first full account of the events leading up to the shooting of James Clark by Lucien Fewell and the sensational, headline-grabbing murder trial that followed. Set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, tumultuous Virginia politics, and the presidential election of 1872 featuring Ulysses Grant, Horace Greeley, and protofeminist Victoria Woodhull, the first female presidential candidate, Bicknell paints a vivid picture of the evolving South as she traces the families and fortunes of Lucien Fewell, a hellraiser with a passion for drink and for abusing Yankees and scalawags, and James Clark, a rising legal and political star with a wife, a daughter, and a baby on the way.
A marvelous work of historical re-creation, Justice and Vengeance is sure to fascinate anyone interested in crime drama, the Civil War and its aftermath, and the history of Virginia and the politics of the American South.
Arwen Bicknell has spent her adult professional life as an editor and writer for newspapers, journals, and think tanks. Currently a communications analyst for the RAND Corporation, her previous job was at CQ Roll Call, where she focused on political and legislative issues.
"Tell me a story" has always been her favorite request to make-and receive. She has edited several nonfiction history books, and she contributed to the interpretive display dedicated to James Clark at the renovated Brentsville Jail in Prince William County, Virginia.
Arwen was born in the Midwest and has lived on both coasts, settling in Virginia in the winter of 2000 and falling in love with the region as soon as the snow melted and the dogwoods bloomed. She has been writing since she could hold a crayon and has been a Civil War buff since her first visit to Gettysburg in grammar school, going on to major in journalism and history at the University of Southern California. She now lives in Haymarket with her husband, John, and son, Thomas, plus two cats and a dog. You can find her snarking about politics, history, and other matters on Twitter at @arwenbicknell and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/abicknell.
"...a rousing tale of intrigue, scandal, and murder against the backdrop of Reconstruction-a tale that tells us a great deal about both human nature and one of the tumultuous periods in our history."-John J. Hennessy, author of The First Battle of Manassas
"...a remarkable conflict between Southern honor and the rule of law." -Andrea Mays, author of The Millionaire and the Bard
"With this meticulously researched and vividly written book, Arwen Bicknell restores the once famous, but now largely forgotten, murder trial of Lucien Fewell to its rightful place in the history of Reconstruction-Era Virginia."-Michael A. Ross, author of The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case
"An exceptional work on one of the most famous trials to take place in Northern Virginia. Arwen Bicknell's outstanding research has put to bed many of the myths that have grown up around the Clark-Fewell Tragedy. Highly recommended." -Bill Backus, author of A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign
