1837. Paul Morphy was born into a wealthy Creole family in the
French Quarter of New Orleans and became infamous for his fast and
positional chess game. At twenty-one he was knighted world champion
after defeating the great European masters-the English and
Germans-in New York at the First American Chess Congress. In a
short-lived blaze of glory, he defeated opponents in an atmosphere
that encouraged gambling, drinking and often led to duels for
honor. Soon no one dared play the boy from New Orleans-he even
offered Pawn and Move to the world
As a young gentleman, Paul embarked on a Grand Tour of Paris and
London with his manager-servant, Fred Edge. Part proud spectacle
and part reluctant circus act, Paul performed feats of memory and
blindfold chess, making records that stand today. He even played
Emperor Napoleon III (at croquet and chess) and was praised by
Queen Victoria. He returned to New Orleans lionized by high
society, but misunderstood....
Morphy was in love with the lights down on Basin Street.
Returning home, he developed an obsession for 'crib-girl' Clara
Young, a professional working girl from an area off Basin Street
known as 'The Swamp.' Clara needed money and excitement. Living in
a dangerous world of brothels and barrelhouses, is she just playing
with Paul for her ticket out? Who is the social misfit, the chess
boy or the trick girl? Who is playing whom?
Based on a true story, The Knight of New Orleans shows you all
the honest and brutal moves in a gamble of love and survival. Let
the best player win
Paul Morphy is today remembered as the pride and sorrow of
chess. After conquering the chess world so young, he became a
recluse, a failed lawyer and sanitarium patient, a dark twist on
the American Dream. Paul was a strict amateur playing for honor,
Clara a professional working for survival. Was Clara's world too
different from Paul's, his background too bourgeois, hers too
dangerous? Or will love triumph even when the pieces are checkmate?
The Mississippi and the Vieux Carre are calling.... Let the games
begin
Author Bio
Matt Fullerty has been playing chess and writing fiction since
his schooldays. After a visit to New Orleans and Paul Morphy's tomb
in 2005, he was struck by the story of the only American chess
world champion before Bobby Fischer and Morphy's remarkable youth.
Matt is currently Lecturer in English at George Washington
University in Washington, DC, and recently taught Creative Writing
(fiction) and the University of London, Royal Holloway.
Matt is the author of novels The Murderess and the Hangman and
the forthcoming American Con Artist. Originally from Warrington and
a graduate of Oxford University and the University of East Anglia,
he has published reviews, articles and interviews for The Daily
Mail, The St. Ann's Review, BBC Radio London and the Discovery
Channel's Deadly Women TV series. In 2011 he will attend the
Vermont Writer's Studio on an Artist's Grant.
Matt is married with a chessboard and divides his time between
Arlington, Virginia and Cambridge, England. Visit him online at
www.mattfullerty.com, www.theknightofneworleans.com and
www.parkgatepress.com.
General
| Imprint: |
Dionysus Books
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
February 2012 |
| First published: |
February 2012 |
| Authors: |
Matt Fullerty
|
| Dimensions: |
234 x 156 x 30mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
| Pages: |
590 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-1-937056-03-2 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Historical fiction
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
1-937056-03-1 |
| Barcode: |
9781937056032 |
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