Yellow Fever

It was the end of a century...A war rages on Manhattan streets... Press Barons fight for newspaper circulation, and brew a war to free an oppressed small nation... A young, naive reporter finds himself in the midst of it all, including murder, together with famed correspondents Richard Harding Davis and Stephen Crane: "Davis left a trail of broken noses, and among the ladies, broken hearts. He never sought fisticuffs, but many times he defended his own, or a friend's honor".The reporter becomes entangled with a seductive showgirl: "Annie sat in a plush chair as we talked. Her wrapper fell open, revealing a white nightgown. And some ankle. But she made no move to close it. I thought it odd that it was nearly 3 p.m., and she was still wearing a nightgown. But, I didn't make a comment on it".The period is one of expansion, exuberance, and experience: "Lately, there have been certain books, and films about the era, and a phrase has been coined, The Gay Nineties. It's a false phrase, I believe There was little gay about the period, now that I look back on it".And, the plight of Cuba: "I hadn't known that many Americans wanted to free Cuba. Or that they had mounted armed expeditions for that purpose"."Those people will get you killed", Crane said pleasantly, before downing another cocktail.Manhattan, murder, and a war, all wrapped up in the screaming headlines of yesterday's newspapers...