“Jessica Warner's John the Painter shows you just how good history can get: a tour de
force of original thinking; deep immersion in a lost world (or in this case, underworld);
prodigious empathy with its hapless anti-hero and exhilarating, knife-sharp
writing that concedes nothing to fiction writers at the top of their game.
Don't be fooled by its modest size and ostensibly eccentric subject; this is
rich, ambitious history, executed in literary fireworks: a small glory and a
joy to read.” —SIMON SCHAMA, author of Citizens and A History of Britain
Warner “has told his story quite magically, with a
flair both for research and literary narrative . . . well-nigh perfect . . .
what she is so good at is simply telling a story, getting it right, and
seducing us all to enjoy it right along with her.” —SIMON
An “excellent account of his life . . . [John the
Painter has] found a worthy spokeswoman in Jessica Warner, whose new book is
precise, admirably researched and written in an engagingly wry style.” —TIMES
LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
An “engrossing study . . . the
real pleasure of this book comes from Warner's lively and fluid style. It is a
mark of her considerable skill as a historian . . .” —GUARDIAN
“. . . a tour de force. This book brilliantly
evokes both Aitken and the brutality of the 18th century.” —GOOD
BOOK GUIDE
“Hugely entertaining . . . Warner is blessed with
a wonderful writing style, witty and graceful at one and the same time. Her
book is also great fun, as entertaining and accessible as a picaresque novel.”
—WILLIAM
AND MARY QUARTERLY
“A clever well researched book.” —
“As an historian Jessica Warner has rare gifts—she
makes the past come alive without the condescension of hindsight, and she
writes beautifully. Her excavation of John the Painter from eighteenth-century
documents shows that she also has an eye for a good story.” —BRENDA MADDOX, author of Rosalind
Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA and Nora: The Real Life of Molly Bloom
An “invaluable narrative . . .
One of
the pleasures of this book lies in the revelation of an almost forgotten world
of landladies, spies, dockyard workers, tavern owners and the rest of the then
mundane world. It is a panorama of hidden 18th-century life, as fresh and as
vivid as if it occurred yesterday.” —PETER ACKROYD,
lead review, the
Warner “is a sure guide to the lower strata of
Georgian society, and deftly conjures up the atmosphere and anxieties of late
18th-century
“[E]ngagingly written” —WASHINGTON POST
“John the Painter is a terrific book, a gem of
popular history that reads like an adventure novel.” —
A “witty
and scholarly history . . .” —Glasgow HERALD
A “lively and intriguing history . .
.” —
A “gripping
story told with economy and verve . . .” —
Warner
“has personality to spare, and with wit and insight she's able to weave a
fascinating story . . . a strangely powerful and entertaining book . . .” —
“This is a wonderful story, one that delivers on all the ripe
possibilities its author recognized.” —
Warner “skillfully
builds his story and gives a strong sense of the times in which he lived . . .
[John the Painter] is history
straight from the front page, well researched and well told.” —
“This is a fascinating tale of a
bizarre incident of the American Revolution--an anti-British terrorist at large
and spreading fire and destruction in the British homeland. George the Third's
“. . . Warner writes with delicacy and restraint . .
. [she] has deftly located John the Painter in his 18th-century milieu . . .” —TELEGRAPH
Warner’s “book is a golden nugget of
history, awash with contemporary parallels, and Warner tells the story with
charm and wit.” —
A “timely and riveting tale of
“Jessica Warner spins a riveting
tale of the night side of the American Revolution: the story of the poor,
ambitious, unscrupulous, unlucky man who tried to decapitate the British war
machine.” —RICHARD BROOKHISER, author of Gentleman
Revolutionary
John the Painter “confirms [Warner’s] acuteness at social history,
previously shown in Craze: Gin and
Debauchery in an Age of Reason . . . in this work, that skill expands into
biographical insight . . . A captivating restoration of a once-sensational case
from the American Revolution.” —BOOKLIST
“. . . Warner=s empathy for
her subject is clear. She deftly stresses both the cruelty and normalcy of
Aitken=s life, and has
a talent for contextualizing and making the strange familiar. The book is also
a rich social history, wallowing in the decrepit conditions of the times:
filthy slums, and cruel justice . . . Beyond her expert storytelling, the
restrained commentary offers rich period detail . . . [John the Painter] is an accomplished balance between research and
storytelling, fact-finding and original thought . . .”—QUILL & QUIRE
“Highly readable, John
the Painter provides valuable insights into the way fear of an unknown,
unseen enemy acts on a credulous public.” —GEOGRAPHICAL