{"product_id":"midnight-in-the-garden-of-good-1","title":"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE LANDMARK \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MUSICAL COMING SOON TO BROADWAY - An enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city: \"Elegant and wicked.... [This] might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.\" \u003c\/b\u003e--The New York Times Book Review - 30th Anniversary Edition with a New Afterword by the Author.\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eShots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the \"soul of pampered self-absorption\"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil\u003c\/i\u003e is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this true-crime book has become a modern classic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe son of two writers, \u003cstrong\u003eJOHN BERENDT\u003c\/strong\u003e grew up in Syracuse, New York. He earned a B.A. in English from Harvard University, where he worked on the staff of The Harvard Lampoon. After graduating in 1961, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. Berendt has written for David Frost and Dick Cavett, was editor of \u003ci\u003eNew York\u003c\/i\u003e magazine from 1977 to 1979, and wrote a monthly column for \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003efrom 1982 to 1994.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Berendt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46709195079965,"sku":"9780679751526","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/9095\/8877\/files\/9780679751526.jpg?v=1713984524","url":"https:\/\/staging.anovelideaphilly.com\/products\/midnight-in-the-garden-of-good-1","provider":"A Novel Idea on Passyunk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}