Portland Public Library

The king of confidence, a tale of utopian dreamers, frontier schemers, true believers, false prophets, and the murder of an American monarch, Miles Harvey

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 377-386) and index

individual biography

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

The king of confidence

bibliography

1117628990

Miles Harvey

a tale of utopian dreamers, frontier schemers, true believers, false prophets, and the murder of an American monarch

"In 1843, James Strang, a charismatic young lawyer and avowed atheist, converted to a burgeoning religious movement known as Mormonism. He persuaded hundreds to follow him to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, and declared himself a divine king. He controlled a fourth of the state of Michigan, practiced plural marriages, and established a pirate colony where he perpetrated thefts, corruption and frauds of all kinds. His assassination made front-page news across the country. Harvey tells Strang's fascinating but largely forgotten story, an account of one of the country's boldest con men and the boisterous era that allowed him to thrive."--Adapted from book jacket

Prologue: In which an angel watches a man fall from a window in Illinois, then flies to Wisconsin with pressing business -- In which we meet a man who isn't there -- In which we encounter a mermaid and witness the birth of another imaginary being -- In which one shining city falls and another begins to rise from the prairie -- In which a kingdom is born -- In which one charlatan is run out of town, only to be replaced by an even greater scoundrel -- In which the end of the world approaches and a sea monster spotted off Beaver Island -- In which we meet J.J. Strang's mysterious nephew -- In which our protagonist faces a choice between the diabolical and the divine-- and, for once, does not place himself on both sides -- In which the King of Earth and Heaven is inaugurated with a crown made of paper on a throne stuffed with tree moss -- In which the inhabitants of Beaver Island evolve into what Charles Darwin might have called "a different set of beings" -- In which a melodrama is performed, and the curtains fall on one of the players -- In which the country's chief executive can't make up his mind -- In which many people feel trapped -- In which one fanatic hunts a white whale and another tracks down a missing monarch -- In which a tragedy opens in Detroit, and a drama comes to its climax on Beaver Island -- In which a murderous mood descends upon the kingdom -- In which the prosecutor wishes he had a bit more evidence, and the defendant wishes he had one true friend -- In which the King of Earth and Heaven runs for elective office -- In which the King of Beaver Island visits his old haunts, contemplates eating poison, and loses a machine that can predict the future -- In which a legend appears, and a horse thief departs -- In which the prophet writes a book, and his followers vote like hell -- In which the prophet, like just about everyone else, threatens to slaughter all his enemies -- In which the picture comes into focus -- In which various people whip their neighbors, bludgeon their colleagues, hack their enemies to death, and bring the United States to the verge of civil war while James Strang insists there's nothing to worry about -- In which the king makes his final procession -- In which our story ends where it began-- with a disappearance -- Epilogue: In which the ship steams away