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Eclipse: A Novel of Lewis and Clark

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In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson assigns his friend fellow Virginian Meriweather Lewis to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. Lewis asks William Clark to co-command the daring expedition. When they complete their mission, a country is dazzled by their accomplishments and worships the courageous duo as heroes. Clark goes on to live a productive life basking in the glory of a living legend. However, Lewis goes into a state of mental decline that culminates in 1809 when he apparently committed suicide speculated by this novelization of their post expedition lives as caused by third-stage syphilis induced dementia.

ECLIPSE is a wonderful biographical fiction that uses Lewis and Clark to narrate alternate chapters as their lives following the expedition is vividly described. The novel is well written and brings a slice of a bygone era to life through an in depth psychological drama. Fans who prefer action-packed non-stop action will find the book a tad slow, but those in the audience who want to hear the rest of the story will appreciate this early nineteenth century Americana novelization.

Harriet Klausner

The historical accuracy of ECLIPSE is a credit to the author's careful research. He ties together the known events in the life of these well-known American heroes, using his extensive knowledge of the nineteenth century. Fiction it is, but it is also very true to the known facts. The book "reads well", never boring, never dull. ECLIPSE is a fine addition to the many books about Lewis and Clark, especially as we celebrate the 200th year of their expedition to the Pacific and back.

In 1997 a Seattle epidemiologist, Reimert Thorolf Ravenholt, M.D., did a little forensic diagnosis by looking at the Lewis & Clark journals. He concluded that Lewis was dying of advanced syphillis (complicated by malaria) when he was killed by two bullets, probably shooting himself simultaneously with his set of two pistols. I'm not qualified to pass judgment on medical matters.

Neither is Wheeler, but he takes the challenge of "what if" this theory were true, a challenge side-stepped by Ambrose, who likes his heroes stainless. The book Wheeler creates is two parallel and episodic monologues, one inside Clark's head and one inside Lewis' mind, so that we see each with the other's eyes. It's immediately clear that the two men are not alike in voice, experience, position or temperament, but that they are linked by friendship and shared adventure. They have been deeply marked and changed by the long trail to the Pacific. Clark's salient issue is what to do about York, his slave and childhood playmate, who was an equal throughout the journey, but must now return to being owned. Not easy for either man.

After the expedition both Lewis and Clark were expected to take hold of the seething and often disease-ridden Louisiana purchase and wring profit out of it while they were still celebrities. Clark had a hard time, in spite of his sturdy diligence. But Lewis went steadily downhill, making enemies, blundering -- not getting the vital journals edited and out to the public despite everyone's demands, including President Jefferson's. No one knew how to help him. He was angry and secretive.

Wheeler gives us the terrible details of a descent into hell that no one could stop, all begun in one moment of unguarded relaxation at the very moment the Shoshone supplied the horses that made the success of the expedition possible. Other men of the expedition also suffered contagion and some of them died earlier than Lewis, so he knew what to expect. They were starved, exhausted, battered and stressed, which made them especially vulnerable. In spite of access to a reliable physician, Lewis tried self-doctoring with alcohol and drugs which, on top of malaria and the brutal heavy-metal drugs of the time, assured his destruction.

This book is transparently written -- one does not stop and think, "Oh what a fine phrase!" The scenes unfold grimly and inevitably until, at the end, one thinks, "That's about how it must have been." And personally, I think Lewis comes through as a mortal hero, a man who fought death with honor, a tragic figure who paid a terrible price for his president and his country.

Eclipse - A Novel of Lewis and Clark, by Richard S. Wheeler, is a book I could not put down until I finished it. Wheeler turns the aftermath of Louis and Clark's historic trek into a gripping novel with vividly portrayed characters and an engaging plot. The title characters are far more than just historically significant. They also have flaws, rivals, financial difficulties, diseases, and other problems resulting in large part from their heroic deeds. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

I quit reading. Books these days are either vulgar or trite. I met Richard and enjoyed a discusson with him about Lewis and Clark; I had to get the book. I hated Undaunted Courage; what a joke of a 'historical fiction' book. GAG. I was understandably hesitant to read Eclipse. But with the first page, I loved it. I did not want to put it down. I almost missed my own booksigning because I did not want to quit reading it. His research is outstanding. His interpretation is fantastically executed. FINALLY a modern writer who can WRITE. In less than a month, I now own 7 Richard S. Wheeler books.

This novel written in first person from both Lewis's and Clark's viewpoint peered deeply into the Captains' souls in the years following the Expedition until Lewis's death. Clark prospered; Lewis stepped onto a slope more deadly than any he faced on the trail.

The author's case is convincing. But it is heartbreaking. It pulls back some of the mystery surrounding Lewis's untimely death, revealing unspeakable and, for Lewis, intolerable tragedy.

I can't say I enjoyed this book, but I could not put it down.