A novelist envisions the last days of Ulysses S. Grant
The eponymous general commanding Jon Clinch’s affecting novel “The General and Julia” is none other than Ulysses S. Grant; Julia is his adored wife. As the story shifts between Grant’s final weeks penning his memoirs in spite of his sharply declining health, and scenes from his life as war hero, president, and paterfamilias, a portrait emerges. This was a man full of remorse, haunted by history – and impelled by love. Mr. Clinch, author of five previous novels including the acclaimed “Finn,” recently spoke with the Monitor.
What was your research process into Ulysses S. Grant?
There’s so much information out there! I had read the Ron Chernow biography [of Grant]. (It was Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to write the musical.) Chernow is kind of an inspirational guy, because [the Grant biography] inspired me. I sometimes describe “The General and Julia” as “my ‘Hamilton.’”
What struck you about Chernow’s Grant biography?
[Grant] reminded me of my dad. My father was a very similar kind of an individual. Both of those men grew up under very rough conditions, and they both emerged with some rough edges around some very soft hearts. They also both came financially to bad ends, thanks to scammers. A writer named Charles Bracelen Flood wrote a book called “Grant’s Final Victory” about his being swindled and his work to recover from it. He was such a revered figure, but he came to such a sad and bad end, and I don’t think people know about that.
Your book opens and closes with his wife, Julia. Why bookend the story with her perspective?
She came first for him. It’s kind of silly, but it makes me a little emotional to think about it. For [Grant], his story needed to end with the family going on. That was his whole reason for getting through that last year of his life.
Grant had so many chapters in his life. Which phase most impressed you?
The last 40 days of his life. No question. As I was working through this novel, I found myself thinking, I’ve got to finish this. I have to finish this because time is short for all of us. ... To picture this guy who had been through the war, who had been a big hero, who suddenly lost everything, and found himself working with [a] magazine publisher and trying to please him for pennies – I’ve been there!
I think that kind of thing helped bring [Grant] to life for me, because he didn’t feel wounded by it. He didn’t feel leveled or laid down or abused in some way. It was a new challenge. I liked portraying him that way. He would have been a horrible character if he’d resented this.
The real-life result of his labors – “The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” – is regarded as one of the finest examples of the form. What makes it so good?
They’re brilliant. They’re straight ahead, no nonsense. They are strategic battlefield reports of what was going on during the Civil War, yet there are characters in there. You think about Ken Burns’ Civil War series with the great [historian] Shelby Foote, who told all those stories as if he knew those men and women, and he called them all by their nicknames and he gave you their characters. Grant does that ... in tiny increments; he explains himself and the people that he knew and the way they function together in a very personal way, even though it’s not a personal book.
[Grant’s ultimate publisher Mark] Twain knew that it was going to be great. He knew Grant pretty well. When he saw the first pages, it was like, “This is it. Don’t change a thing. This isn’t just what I want; it’s what everyone wants. You’re a natural. I wouldn’t dream of changing anything.”
