A Breach of Privilege: Cilley Family Letters, 1820-1867 [Hardcover]

Eve Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

Unique among collections of letters, these never before published communications have not been completely read by family members since the early twentieth century. For years they lay stored in an attic and came to light only after the death of a direct family descendent. It took nearly five years to transcribe the collection and arrange it into a coherent story. As one of the least publicized political crimes of the nineteenth century, the killing of Congressman Jonathan Cilley stands out as a chapter of American history that would certainly be lost had this book not been written.

A Breach of Privilege is a fascinating authentic narrative of a life of extraordinary potential tragically cut short because of political corruption. It is a story of great love and heartrending sorrow, but it is also one in which the human spirit triumphs over the most devastating of circumstances. As tragic as the story is, it manages to show that humor, even in incredibly difficult circumstances, can achieve a solace and mending of the soul. If nothing else, the story of the Cilley family is one of resilience and great love of country; so great that the loss of his life was secondary to Jonathan Cilley compared to his honor and standing firm for his principles.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Every once in awhile, a lasting treasure is discovered....Eve Anderson performed a genuine public service deciphering these remarkable letters.... -- David F. Emery, former four-term Congressman for Maine's First Congressional District

Here is one of those astonishing histories that one is always hoping to discover and rarely finds. -- Lauren Thomas, museum educator, formerly of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Local historical subjects, local author, local publisher...but this book could hit the bestseller lists...and...make a great movie. -- Merrilee Brown, The Courier-Gazette, Rockland, Maine

About the Author

Born in Yonkers, New York, Eve Anderson attended public school, was Co-Editor in Chief of her award-winning high school newspaper, The Broadcaster, and later wrote for the Russell Sage College newspaper, The Quill. At Sage she majored in English literature and minored in American history. After college she married and with her husband, Olof, raised two children. During those years as a stay-at-home mother, she continued to write as a freelance reporter for her Connecticut hometown newspaper, the Manchester Herald.

After retiring to Maine, Anderson assumed responsibility for publicity at the Montpelier-General Henry Knox Museum from 1991 to 1996 and, since 1993, has managed the publicity for the Thomaston Historical Society. Anderson became president of the Thomaston Historical Society in 1998 and wrote the copy for the Thomaston Historical Society Web site.

She has been an avid reader since early childhood with a special interest in collections of historical letters, American history, and biographies of American historical figures. A Breach of Privilege is her first book although she continues to write and has recently completed a second manuscript.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 520 pages
• Publisher: Seven Coin Pr; 1St Edition edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970097441
• ISBN-13: 978-0970097446
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,970,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent account of early America, July 1, 2002

By 

Jonathan Tibbitts (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Breach of Privilege: Cilley Family Letters, 1820-1867 (Hardcover)

Eve Anderson has created a most remarkable work with A Breach of Privilege. It is simultaneously a fascinating and truly authentic account of daily life in the early 19th-century, an engrossing chronicle of several generations of an amazing American family, and an eye-opening history of a young United States.

The events and personalities of A Breach of Privilege virtually leap off the page, and become as familiar to the reader as those of any novel. In fact, it's difficult to believe that the members of one family could have been witness to as many remarkable events in American history as were the Cilleys, but it is all true. From the quiet hills of New England to the marbled halls of the Capitol and dusty battlefields of the Civil War, their thoughts, prayers and fears come alive as can only happen in private letters.

Anderson has done a wonderful job of weaving delightful anecdotes and insightful facts into the narrative, blending them naturally with the Cilley letters themselves. As a result the lives of the characters flow seamlessly with the events of the time, an era in American history that is little studied and only vaguely understood today. It was a time of tremendous turmoil and remarkable change, and it all comes to life through the words of a Jacksonian Congressman, his pious wife, and their sons, officers in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War.

The letters are transcribed exactly as they were written, complete with spelling and grammatical errors, by the members of this singular family. They speak of a time when death was as common as life, when children were lost with frightening regularity, when the horrors of war were secondary to its glory, and when the survival of the nation was all but certain. This is a book of history, authentic to the last detail, but beyond that it is a fascinating story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breach of Privilege Cilley Family, March 19, 2008

By 

Margaret Ivey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Breach of Privilege: Cilley Family Letters, 1820-1867 (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book. A great read for anyone even if they aren't related to this historic family. The letters bring to life the people and life in the early 1800's. They did a wonderful job transcribing the letters and the Author has done a great job with explainations on how life was then.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Scholars, July 2, 2002

By 

Erica Levy (Rockville, Md USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Breach of Privilege: Cilley Family Letters, 1820-1867 (Hardcover)

Via the medium of personal letters written between 1820 and 1867, the author has succesfully brought to life an era in the history of our early republic. She has defly connected them into a cohesive narrative. Her historical insights enhance the story. What I liked best was that it is a good read for the general public.