| The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States' First Forgotten Celebrity Contributor(s): Eastman, Carolyn (Author) |
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ISBN: 1469660512 ISBN-13: 9781469660516 Publisher: Omohundro Institute and Unc Press OUR PRICE: $28.45 Product Type: Hardcover Published: March 2021 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - Revolutionary Period (1775-1800) - Biography & Autobiography | Historical |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2020032959 |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 7.7" W x 9.4" (1.40 lbs) 360 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: When James Ogilvie arrived in America in 1793, he was a deeply ambitious but impoverished teacher. By the time he returned to Britain in 1817, he had become a bona fide celebrity known simply as Mr. O, counting the nation's leading politicians and intellectuals among his admirers. And then, like so many meteoric American luminaries afterward, he fell from grace. The Strange Genius of Mr. O is at once the biography of a remarkable performer--a gaunt Scottish orator who appeared in a toga--and a story of the United States during the founding era. Ogilvie's career featured many of the hallmarks of celebrity we recognize from later eras: glamorous friends, eccentric clothing, scandalous religious views, narcissism, and even an alarming drug habit. Yet he captivated audiences with his eloquence and inaugurated a golden age of American oratory. Examining his roller-coaster career and the Americans who admired (or hated) him, this fascinating book renders a vivid portrait of the United States in the midst of invention. |