{"product_id":"9780385477086","title":"Milton in America","description":" When Peter Ackroyd, one of Britain's undisputed literary masters, writes a new novel, it is a literary event. With his last novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Trial of Elizabeth Cree\u003c\/i\u003e, \"as gripping and ingenious a murder mystery as you could hope to come across,\" in the words of the \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, he reached a whole new level of critical and popular success. Now, with his trademark blending of historical fact and fictive fancy, Ackroyd has placed the towering poet of \u003ci\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/i\u003e in the new Eden that is colonial America.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Milton, aging, blind, fleeing the restoration of English monarchy and all the vain trappings that go with it (\"misrule\" in his estimation), comes to New England, where he is adopted by a community of fellow puritans as their leader. With his enormous powers of intellect, his command of language, and the awe the townspeople hold him in, Milton takes on absolute power. Insisting on strict and merciless application of puritan justice, he soon becomes, in his attempt at regaining paradise, as much a tyrant as the despots from whom he and his comrades have sought refuge, more brutal than the \"savage\" native Americans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs always, Ackroyd has crafted a thoroughly enjoyable novel that entertains while raising provocative questions—this time about America's founding myths. With a resurgence of interest in the puritans (in the movie adaptations of \u003ci\u003eThe Scarlet Letter\u003c\/i\u003e and the forthcoming \u003ci\u003eThe Crucible\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eMilton in America\u003c\/i\u003e is particularly relevant. It is also entirely absorbing—in short, vintage Ackroyd.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47012407345392,"sku":"9780385477086","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780385477086_p0.gif?v=1763695095","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780385477086","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}