Kennedy's first novel in five years is a comic journey into the dark heart of America's postwar democratic dream.
It's V-J Day - World War II is finally over, and Roscoe Conway wants to retire. After twenty-six years as chief brainstruster of Albany's notorious Democratic political machine, the suave, unscrupulous Falstaffian has had enough. It's time to enjoy the fruits of victory.
"Righteousness doesn't stand a chance against the imagination" has been his credo, but untangling himself from Albany's web of secrets and deals without destroying his life or his beloved is a task that will tax even this brilliant operator.
Every step forward leads Roscoe into the past - to the early loss of his true love and his heroics in World War I; to the takeover of City Hall, the fight with FDR and Al Smith to elect a governor, and the methodical assassination of the gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond.
An odyssey of great scope and linguistic verve, Roscoe is a deadly comic journey into the dark heart of America's post-war democratic dream, from one of its most important novelists. It is a brilliant new addition to Kennedy's acclaimed 'Albany Cycle'.
