Aindreas the Messenger

"Louisville, 1866, jumps into reality in Gerald MDaniel's Aindreas the Messenger, whose Catholic protagonist is an endearing Irish-Catholic boy. With the help of an angelic Mr. Knight and Konig, a heroic dog, Aindreas tends to his dying mother and befriends a slave family. Enhanced by period illustrations, this novel sings with compelling energy and authentic tenderness." --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and The Disobedience of Water "McDaniel sets an ambitious pace in the arena of historical fiction with this first volume of a projected four-book series following the colorful and curious life of Aindreas Rivers... a heroic underdog with a generous, passionate, innocent heart. Described with homespun simplicity, Aindreas' life is filled with wonder, uncertainty, responsibility and fear. ... Louisville is on the verge of racial, religious and ethnic anarchy as election day approaches and the Know-Nothing Party arms mobs of drunken thugs to intimidate voters. Aindreas' beloved best friend, a middle-aged black slave name Isaac is to be sold down river, his family torn apart on the auction block. Aindreas vows to find a way to help him. When Louisville explodes into violence, Aindreas acts to save Isaac and his family, and his Irish and German friends from danger. ... this is a well-crafted, exciting and heartwarming tale of a boy's courage and innocence somehow existing in a bleak society rife with corruption, bigotry, and injustice." --Publisher's Weekly