" This is the second time I read this book. The first time, there was a little confusion keeping the characters straight in the beginning. As with many novels, few images (including who-done-it) stuck in my mind--so when our Book Club decided to do this title, I was happy to re-read it. The only image that I had remembered was the burning to death of Longfellow's wife. A brief passage, which is taken from fact, but one of the more memorable images. Reflecting on this book, the best part of it is how Pearl takes real historic figures (Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., George Washington Greene, the Webster case, etc.) and mixes them with his fiction. His descriptions of the Longfellow home (a virtual tour is available on that historic house's website) are evocative and appear accurate. IMHO, this is better than his book on Edgar Allen Poe, which uses the same technique of mixing real events and fiction. While I can object to minor points and some too-convenient coincidences, Pearl is an able storyteller and worth the read. The first chapter is not for the squeamish. "
— Marsha, 1/25/2014