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Authors: Steve Berry

Tags: #Fiction, #Thrillers, #General, #Action & Adventure, #Mystery, #Thriller, #Suspense, #Historical, #Contemporary, #Adult, #Adventure

The Jefferson Key (53 page)

BOOK: The Jefferson Key
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The Pamlico River and North Carolina coast are lovely (chapters 2, 5, 13), as is Bath (chapter 15), which was once a hotbed of colonial politics and a haven for pirates. Now it’s a sleepy village of fewer than 300 residents. The Commonwealth’s compound would occupy the woods that stand west of town. The regional airport located in nearby Greenville (chapter 29) exists.

The mention of how Black Beard died (chapter 77) at Ocracoke Inlet is true, as is what happened to his skull after.
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates
, by Charles Johnson (chapters 18, 76), remains a vital sourcebook on pirate history, though no one knows who Charles Johnson actually was. Woodling (chapters 40, 42), dismemberment, forcing prisoners to eat their own ears (chapter 76), and the sweat (chapter 76) were tortures routinely utilized on pirate captives. The gibbet (chapters 2, 82, 83), though, was something pirates endured, once convicted of their crimes.

Jefferson’s cipher (chapters 10, 22) existed and was created by Robert Patterson. Jefferson himself considered it unsolvable, and it remained so from 1804 until 2009 when it was finally cracked by Lawren Smithline, a New Jersey mathematician. How the cipher was solved in this story (chapter 36) mirrors Smithline’s efforts. Patterson’s son, also named Robert (chapter 23), was indeed appointed by Andrew Jackson as director of the U.S. Mint. This fortuitous coincidence seemed tailor-made for this tale. Jackson’s letter to Abner Hale, quoted in chapter 5, is my concoction, though it is written using many of Jackson’s words. The coded message, of course, is fiction.

Mahone Bay is real (chapters 53, 55, 56, 58), as is the mysterious Oak Island. Paw Island is my creation, as is Fort Dominion, though the invasion of Nova Scotia during the Revolutionary War happened. The Oak Island slab with its strange markings (chapter 56) is part of the island’s legend, though no known person has ever seen this slab. Its translation is likewise real, though, again, no one knows who accomplished the feat.

Ybor City exists (chapter 41). The financial crisis in Dubai (chapter 18) happened, though I added a few elements.
Adventure
is based on several yachts of the same size and type, all amazing oceangoing vessels.

There are, of course, no missing pages from the early House and Senate journals (chapter 19). The excerpt from
Of Debates in Congress
(chapter 84) is a composite of several entries from that time. The troubles and statistics quoted by Danny Daniels concerning the U.S. intelligence community (chapter 54) came from a 2010
Washington Post
exposé.

Monticello is an amazing place. It is accurately described, as is its visitor center (chapters 43, 44, 45, 47, 49). The cipher wheel is real, too, and located on-site (chapters 44, 49) though not inside the house itself. A resin replica exists in the visitor center (chapter 52), but whether it is an exact copy of the original is unknown. Jefferson’s library (chapter 44) was sold to the United States after the War of 1812 and formed the basis of the modern Library of Congress. Many of Jefferson’s original volumes remain on display in Washington, at the library, in a special exhibit.

Assassination plays a pivotal role in this story. Four U.S. presidents were murdered in office: Lincoln (1865), Garfield (1881), McKinley (1901), and Kennedy (1963). Linking those proved a challenge, but it was interesting to discover that all of the assassins were deranged zealots and none lived long after his act. Booth and Oswald died within hours, and the remaining two were executed within weeks after hasty trials. What Danny Daniels says in chapter 16 about mistakes in presidential protection leading to disaster is true. Daniels’ jaunt to New York (chapter 16) is based on Barack Obama’s unannounced visit to see a Broadway play with the First Lady, which occurred early in his presidency.

Andrew Jackson was indeed the first president to face an assassin. The threatening letter sent by Junius Brutus Booth, father of John Wilkes Booth, to Jackson is a historic fact (chapter 38). Even more amazing, Booth was upset over Jackson’s refusal to pardon some convicted pirates. The four actual presidential assassinations are accurately described throughout, but the Commonwealth’s involvement sprang entirely from my imagination.

All of the information about pirates and their unique, short-lived society is correct to history. Fiction and Hollywood have done them a great disservice. Reality is far removed from the stereotypes presented through the years. A pirate’s world, though raucous, stayed orderly thanks to agreed-upon articles that governed key ventures. A pirate ship is one of the earliest examples of a working democracy. The Commonwealth, though obviously fictitious, is inspired by accounts of pirate ships joining together in collective efforts. The language quoted throughout from the Commonwealth’s articles was taken from actual articles drafted in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Privateers are a historical fact, as is their contribution to both the American Revolution and the War of 1812 (chapters 18, 25). What Quentin Hale tells Edwin Davis in chapter 18 is true: Both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 were won thanks to their efforts. The roots of the U.S. Navy lie squarely with privateers. George Washington himself acknowledged our great debt to them. Of course, the granting of letters of marque, in perpetuity, to any group of those privateers was my addition.

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution does indeed allow Congress to bestow letters of marque. The letter quoted in chapter 18 is based on an actual one. Also, any and all history relative to letters of marque detailed throughout the story is true. Privateering was a common weapon utilized for centuries by warring states. The 1856 Declaration of Paris finally outlawed the practice for its signees, but the United States and Spain (chapter 19) were not a party to that agreement. A congressional act in 1899 forbade the practice here (chapter 19), though it’s unclear whether that law would withstand constitutional scrutiny considering the express language of Article I, Section 8. During the first 40 years of our republic, letters of marque were commonly issued by Congress. Since 1814 that constitutional clause has remained dormant, though there was an attempt to invoke it after 9/11.

But for all their beneficial contributions to this nation during wartime, a grim reality remains.

Privateers are the nursery for pirates
.

ABOUT
THE
AUTHOR

STEVE
BERRY
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, The Amber Room
, and the short stories “The Balkan Escape” and “The Devil’s Gold.” His books have been translated into forty languages and sold in fifty-one countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida, and is working on his next novel. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. To learn more about Steve Berry and the foundation, visit
www.steveberry.org
.

BOOK: The Jefferson Key
9.34Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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