by Graham Moore
First published 2016
Paul Cravath steps out of Columbia Law School into the gaslit streets of 1888 New York. He takes what looks like a losing case. His client George Westinghouse faces a lawsuit from Thomas Edison over who invented the light bulb and deserves to electrify America. Edison commands private detectives, friendly newspapers, and J.P. Morgan's money. Paul has only his hunger to win. The case opens doors to Gramercy Park society and backroom deals that shape the city's future. Paul seeks help from Nikola Tesla, a brilliant inventor with unconventional ideas about electricity. He also meets Agnes Huntington, an opera singer who performs as skillfully offstage as on. Paul takes bigger risks as the legal battle intensifies. Everyone around him pursues their own agenda. The fight over electric light becomes a test of how far Paul will go to claim victory against a powerful opponent.
Genres: science-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century, legal-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, underdog
Setting: Gramercy Park, New York
Period: 1888
371 pages · Hardcover · Random House