Author Timothy Egan Presents His New Book A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND at the Music Hall Lounge

On Tuesday, April 18 at 7pm, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Timothy Egan visits The Music Hall Lounge with his new book, A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND. The historical thriller follows the KKK's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man behind it, and the woman who stopped them. A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND marries a propulsive drama to a powerful and page-turning reckoning with one of the darkest threads in American history.

The 7pm event includes an author discussion followed by an audience Q&A. It will be held at The Music Hall Lounge at 131 Congress St., in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"Timothy Egan has garnered a reputation for his ability to tackle complex historical topics with a masterful control of the narrative," said Brittany Wason, Literary Producer for The Music Hall. "We are excited to welcome him to The Music Hall Lounge as he sheds new light on this pivotal moment in America's history."

The Roaring Twenties-the Jazz Age-has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.

Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he'd become the Grand Dragon of the state and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows - their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors, and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman - Madge Oberholtzer - who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees.

Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the author of nine other books, most recently the highly acclaimed A Pilgrimage to Eternity and The Immortal Irishman, a New York Times bestseller. He has also received a National Book Award for The Worst Hard Time, as well the Carnegie Medal for Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher.

Need more New Hampshire Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...