Home
the Strange Genius of Mr. O: World United States' First Forgotten Celebrity
Loading Inventory...
Barnes and Noble
the Strange Genius of Mr. O: World United States' First Forgotten Celebrity
Current price: $29.95
Barnes and Noble
the Strange Genius of Mr. O: World United States' First Forgotten Celebrity
Current price: $29.95
Loading Inventory...
Size: Hardcover
*Product Information may vary - to confirm product availability, pricing, and additional information please contact Barnes and Noble
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.
is at once the biography of a remarkable performera gaunt Scottish orator who appeared in a togaand 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.