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| Plot Summary of Lincoln in the Basement |
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"Imagine an 1862 White House where President and Mrs. Lincoln have been kidnapped and successfully replaced with look-alikes. In Cowling's alternate universe, Secretary of War Edward Stanton is disgusted by Lincoln's military strategy and believes that the only way to end the war quickly is to put General Burnsides in charge of the Army of the Potomac instead of Lincoln's choice of General McClellan. Stanton arranges for the President and Mrs. Lincoln to be hidden in the White House basement and replaced with doppelgangers who have been thoroughly trained on the habits and mannerisms of the couple they're impersonating.
At first, the look-alike imposters are thrilled to be rescued from their ordinary lives and given such an important acting job; however, they soon tire of having to pretend for so many years and hope that the War Between the States is over soon so they can get on with their lives. The Lincolns' son Tad knows that this couple isn't his real mom and dad, but is told that this is a prank with which he needs to cooperate. Soon Tad comes to care about the imposters almost as much as his parents.
Stanton is able to get away with the kidnapping for as long as he does because other politicians don't care enough to explore the reasons why the President acts slightly different, while members of the domestic staff in the White House are too scared to ask any questions. Meanwhile, the President and Mrs. Lincoln are unable to escape from the basement and spend their days reading, talking, eating, worrying about the country and planning to escape at the first possible opportunity."
Lisa Ciurro, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Lincoln in the Basement |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- american civil war period
War Thriller
Yes
Specific to
- Civil War
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- evil politicians
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Jerry Cowling Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Lisa Ciurro
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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