An Acquaintance with Darkness

Ann Rinaldi

Mar 2005 · Sold by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

About this ebook

A teenage orphan is caught up in President Lincoln’s assassination—and another macabre plot—in this “fast-paced and dramatic” historical novel (Publishers Weekly).
 
Emily’s mother always told her that she should avoid Uncle Valentine, a doctor, that he was involved in things she shouldn’t know about. But after Emily is orphaned—as Washington, DC, is in chaos due to the end of the Civil War—she has nowhere else to go.
 
Now, in addition to coping with the loss of her mother, the fourteen-year-old finds herself involved in two mysteries. First, she wonders about her best friend, Annie Surratt, and the Surratt family. Annie has a signed picture of the handsome actor John Wilkes Booth in her room—but there seems to be more of a connection between Booth and the Surratt family than Emily thought…possibly including the plot to kill Lincoln. At the same time, Uncle Valentine’s odd behavior leads Emily to suspect that he is involved with body-snatching.
 
As dark secrets swirl around her, Emily must figure out who she can trust, in this suspenseful tale “with a wealth of interesting background information” (Publishers Weekly).
 
“Rinaldi has woven two interesting plots here into a fine coming-of-age historical novel....Makes readers feel as if they are living in history.”—Booklist
 
“A vivid account of the moral ambiguities surrounding body snatching—for medical research—at the close of the Civil War.”—Publishers Weekly

Ratings and reviews

I haven't read an Ann Rinaldi book since I was in middle school myself, and this was the right one to pick up after a hiatus of fifteen or so years. I have now been a fantasy fan for so long that I have asked myself why I was ever into historical fiction. Then I read this novel and I remembered that in the hands of the right author historical fiction can be just as imaginative. Rinaldi spins a gothic tale without asking the supernatural for any help. She creates a fairy tale where the princess is trapped in the middle of a city, and there is no magic, but misunderstood science. She didn't need vampire kisses, or witches spells; just the setting of a city reeling from the darkest moment of its history and an ordinary orphan girl placed into an extraordinary and controversial situation.

This book is pretty good, with many intricate plots, and surprises. The storyline is intriguing, while teaching readers valuable life lessons and historical facts.

It was just so good i couldnt stop

About the author

ANN RINALDI is an award-winning author best known for bringing history vividly to life. She lives in central New Jersey.