As a conflict that will rend the nation escalates into a war of brother against brother, a New England tradesman navigates the halls of a contentious government and parlays his business skills and a special friendship into making sure that the symbol of the Union survives.
Inspired by a magical fountain on her family’s property in South Carolina, which had not flowed since the Civil War, author Ann Waigand went searching for its origins only to discover not just Charles Fowler but a web of relationships that connected from her family and their community in the Antebellum South to the U.S. Capitol dome. It’s a story of enduring friendships as well as friendships shattered.
THE ANTAGONIST PLOTS THE POINT
Montgomery Meigs, Engineer in Charge of the Capitol Extension
His mother described him, at age six, as “high-tempered, unyielding, tyrannical toward his brothers, and very persevering in pursuit of anything he wishes” and by the time he is overseeing the Capitol dome work, he has grown into a full-fledged megalomaniac (check out his name, preserved for eternity in the ironwork of every single riser on the steps of the Washington Aqueduct). He’s in constant battle with architect Walter—and just about anyone who stands in his way. A control freak, he records everything in a diary written in his own, self-created shorthand that will take someone decades to decipher. And he holds grudges. Just ask Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. Meigs ignored Varina Davis’ plea to help secure the release of his former friend and mentor, Jefferson, from prison and ordered grave diggers at the newly-created Arlington Cemetery to put graves as close to Lee’s family mansion as possible. According to his nemesis, Thomas Walter, Architect of the Capitol, “that old scamp makes trouble wherever he goes, and like the skunk he leaves a long odor behind him.” And to make matters worse, Meigs’ taste, for the Capitol Extension, runs to opulence—to the point of garishness.
CONJURING YOUR BREAKOUT TITLE
My Dear Charlie: A Friendship Forged in Iron that Forever Changed the Landscape of American Democracy
My Dear Charlie: The Iron-Clad Friendship that Built the U.S. Capitol Dome
A Friendship Forged in Iron: Charles Fowler, Thomas Walter, and the Building of the U.S. Capitol Dome
DECIDING YOUR GENRE AND APPROACHING COMPARABLES
GENRE: Now, that is the question! My original intent was to write a narrative nonfiction book about the friendship between architect Thomas Walter and iron tradesman Charles Fowler. Frankly, interleaving multiple stories, in the North and in the South, creates a far more compelling narrative. Taking into account the disparity in verifiable facts from one character to another, I have resolved to write a novel which will let the characters meet and interact in ways that adhering to straight history would not allow.
COMPARABLES:
Becoming Jane Austen by John Hunter Spence…plus the film Becoming Jane, described as a biographical romantic film, screenplay by Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood
Reading the book, in tandem with watching the film, is a master class in how to turn a rather dull, poorly structured, cleave-to-the-facts, nonfiction book into a compelling dramatic work—which is (as stated above) my goal.
America’s First Daughter: A Novel. by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
From Monticello to Jefferson’s White House
She Shaped the Legacy of a Nation
“richly researched…draws from thousands of letters…(to) tell the fascinating untold story (that) shaped…not just (her father’s) political legacy, but that of the nation he founded…bringing to life a colorful cast of characters who conceived our new nation”
CORE WOUND AND THE PRIMARY CONFLICT
Wounded pride, an overpowering need for ownership and control, fundamental disagreements in taste, a battle to take center stage in history—all characterize a conflagration between Architect of the Capitol, Thomas U. Walter, and Engineer in Charge, Montgomery C. Meigs, that consumes more than a decade. In Walter’s words, “I have been in open war…contending for the dignity of our [architectural] Profession against the assumptions and despotism of a military upstart who happens to have the power to annoy.” The battle reaches its climax when Meigs’ successor takes away the contract for the Congressional Library extension awarded to Walter’s friend and compatriot in the years of struggle, Charles Fowler. What makes it even worse, the contract is not with Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co., the firm Fowler represented for almost two decades, the firm that built the Capitol dome. Instead the government has contracted Fowler alone, acting as his own company, and Walter knows that this has been the ultimate goal of his friend’s years of work. Walter’s resigns the job he loves, that has been his life, his ambition, his raison d’être. “There comes a time when a man has to stand up not just for himself but for his friend. That time is now.”
OTHER MATTERS OF CONFLICT (TWO MORE LEVELS)
Inner Conflict:
For Fowler: My friendship with Walter was originally driven solely by business but now I really like the man, our families have become close, and I find myself having to be careful that the insider deals we strike don’t ricochet back against him. I’m a straightforward businessman, and this is a complication I hadn’t reckoned with. And to get the work done, I have to be cordial with his worst enemy, Meigs, while at the same time commiserating with Walter. I’m constantly watching what I say and do, knowing that I have to keep it a secret that I’m getting along with—and talking to—people who are each other’s mortal enemies.
For Walter: It’s bad enough I’m having to deal with that snake Meigs, and all these different administrations, I have personal worries, too. My son Thomas, my namesake, is a failure and a scoundrel. My friend Charlie (Fowler) tried to help him, got him into the guano business, but Thomas messed that up, too. Now he’s gone and joined the Confederate Army. I’ve told my wife (and Charlie) that Thomas is dead to me but I still worry about him and about my sons Robert and Horace, those two honorably fighting to preserve our great union.
For Meigs: I was left to work in Washington, DC, while my former commanding officer Robert E. Lee and many of my fellow West Pointers garnered fame in the Mexican War. I have to do something to equal—no, to surpass—their accomplishments. In the Washington Aqueduct project, I’ve accomplished something that will “connect my name imperishably with a work greater in its beneficial results than all the military glory of the Mexican War”,,,but that’s not enough. I can’t stop there. I’ve got to keep proving my worth, in fact, that I’m better than everybody else.
Other Conflicts:
Conflict between architecture and engineering
Conflict between senses of style (classicism versus opulence/gaudiness)
Conflict between professions and tradesmen
THE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING
Hartford, CT; Philadelphia, PA; New York City, Abbeville, SC, but primarily:
WASHINGTON, DC
The U.S. Capitol, a relatively small building with an anemic dome, exemplifies the promise of a democratic nation but the country has simply outgrown it. In disarray, it remains a work in progress (for more than a decade), where conflict and contentionare ever-present challenges, and dueling forces preen, pander, and pounce every time a decision needs to be made. Elected representatives and government bureaucrats squabble and scheme, almost as much over building plans as in defense of, or opposition to, the all-important issue of slavery. A congressman is viciously caned, and crippled, by a fellow “lawmaker.” As if in eerie reflection of a ruptured nation, both chambers of Congress and even the very heart of the building above which the dome is taking shape are torn apart. The smell of burned timbers and paper permeates the building; the background symphony combines a timpani of hammers with the percussion of iron dragged from the grounds and forcedinto place. By the early 1860s, troops drill in the Capitol’s halls; the army’s commissary bakes bread in the building’s basement, with smoke and soot invading the Congressional Library above; and Union regiments bivouac on the grounds. The noble attempt to create a space large enough to accommodate a growing nation, and worthy enough to celebrate a great national union, is happening at exactly the time this very union is being ripped asunder.
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THE ACT OF STORY STATEMENT
Hook Line
As a conflict that will rend the nation escalates into a war of brother against brother, a New England tradesman navigates the halls of a contentious government and parlays his business skills and a special friendship into making sure that the symbol of the Union survives.
Inspired by a magical fountain on her family’s property in South Carolina, which had not flowed since the Civil War, author Ann Waigand went searching for its origins only to discover not just Charles Fowler but a web of relationships that connected from her family and their community in the Antebellum South to the U.S. Capitol dome. It’s a story of enduring friendships as well as friendships shattered.
THE ANTAGONIST PLOTS THE POINT
Montgomery Meigs, Engineer in Charge of the Capitol Extension
His mother described him, at age six, as “high-tempered, unyielding, tyrannical toward his brothers, and very persevering in pursuit of anything he wishes” and by the time he is overseeing the Capitol dome work, he has grown into a full-fledged megalomaniac (check out his name, preserved for eternity in the ironwork of every single riser on the steps of the Washington Aqueduct). He’s in constant battle with architect Walter—and just about anyone who stands in his way. A control freak, he records everything in a diary written in his own, self-created shorthand that will take someone decades to decipher. And he holds grudges. Just ask Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. Meigs ignored Varina Davis’ plea to help secure the release of his former friend and mentor, Jefferson, from prison and ordered grave diggers at the newly-created Arlington Cemetery to put graves as close to Lee’s family mansion as possible. According to his nemesis, Thomas Walter, Architect of the Capitol, “that old scamp makes trouble wherever he goes, and like the skunk he leaves a long odor behind him.” And to make matters worse, Meigs’ taste, for the Capitol Extension, runs to opulence—to the point of garishness.
CONJURING YOUR BREAKOUT TITLE
My Dear Charlie: A Friendship Forged in Iron that Forever Changed the Landscape of American Democracy
My Dear Charlie: The Iron-Clad Friendship that Built the U.S. Capitol Dome
A Friendship Forged in Iron: Charles Fowler, Thomas Walter, and the Building of the U.S. Capitol Dome
DECIDING YOUR GENRE AND APPROACHING COMPARABLES
GENRE: Now, that is the question! My original intent was to write a narrative nonfiction book about the friendship between architect Thomas Walter and iron tradesman Charles Fowler. Frankly, interleaving multiple stories, in the North and in the South, creates a far more compelling narrative. Taking into account the disparity in verifiable facts from one character to another, I have resolved to write a novel which will let the characters meet and interact in ways that adhering to straight history would not allow.
COMPARABLES:
Becoming Jane Austen by John Hunter Spence…plus the film Becoming Jane, described as a biographical romantic film, screenplay by Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood
Reading the book, in tandem with watching the film, is a master class in how to turn a rather dull, poorly structured, cleave-to-the-facts, nonfiction book into a compelling dramatic work—which is (as stated above) my goal.
America’s First Daughter: A Novel. by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
From Monticello to Jefferson’s White House
She Shaped the Legacy of a Nation
“richly researched…draws from thousands of letters…(to) tell the fascinating untold story (that) shaped…not just (her father’s) political legacy, but that of the nation he founded…bringing to life a colorful cast of characters who conceived our new nation”
CORE WOUND AND THE PRIMARY CONFLICT
Wounded pride, an overpowering need for ownership and control, fundamental disagreements in taste, a battle to take center stage in history—all characterize a conflagration between Architect of the Capitol, Thomas U. Walter, and Engineer in Charge, Montgomery C. Meigs, that consumes more than a decade. In Walter’s words, “I have been in open war…contending for the dignity of our [architectural] Profession against the assumptions and despotism of a military upstart who happens to have the power to annoy.” The battle reaches its climax when Meigs’ successor takes away the contract for the Congressional Library extension awarded to Walter’s friend and compatriot in the years of struggle, Charles Fowler. What makes it even worse, the contract is not with Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co., the firm Fowler represented for almost two decades, the firm that built the Capitol dome. Instead the government has contracted Fowler alone, acting as his own company, and Walter knows that this has been the ultimate goal of his friend’s years of work. Walter’s resigns the job he loves, that has been his life, his ambition, his raison d’être. “There comes a time when a man has to stand up not just for himself but for his friend. That time is now.”
OTHER MATTERS OF CONFLICT (TWO MORE LEVELS)
Inner Conflict:
For Fowler: My friendship with Walter was originally driven solely by business but now I really like the man, our families have become close, and I find myself having to be careful that the insider deals we strike don’t ricochet back against him. I’m a straightforward businessman, and this is a complication I hadn’t reckoned with. And to get the work done, I have to be cordial with his worst enemy, Meigs, while at the same time commiserating with Walter. I’m constantly watching what I say and do, knowing that I have to keep it a secret that I’m getting along with—and talking to—people who are each other’s mortal enemies.
For Walter: It’s bad enough I’m having to deal with that snake Meigs, and all these different administrations, I have personal worries, too. My son Thomas, my namesake, is a failure and a scoundrel. My friend Charlie (Fowler) tried to help him, got him into the guano business, but Thomas messed that up, too. Now he’s gone and joined the Confederate Army. I’ve told my wife (and Charlie) that Thomas is dead to me but I still worry about him and about my sons Robert and Horace, those two honorably fighting to preserve our great union.
For Meigs: I was left to work in Washington, DC, while my former commanding officer Robert E. Lee and many of my fellow West Pointers garnered fame in the Mexican War. I have to do something to equal—no, to surpass—their accomplishments. In the Washington Aqueduct project, I’ve accomplished something that will “connect my name imperishably with a work greater in its beneficial results than all the military glory of the Mexican War”,,,but that’s not enough. I can’t stop there. I’ve got to keep proving my worth, in fact, that I’m better than everybody else.
Other Conflicts:
Conflict between architecture and engineering
Conflict between senses of style (classicism versus opulence/gaudiness)
Conflict between professions and tradesmen
THE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING
Hartford, CT; Philadelphia, PA; New York City, Abbeville, SC, but primarily:
WASHINGTON, DC
The U.S. Capitol, a relatively small building with an anemic dome, exemplifies the promise of a democratic nation but the country has simply outgrown it. In disarray, it remains a work in progress (for more than a decade), where conflict and contention are ever-present challenges, and dueling forces preen, pander, and pounce every time a decision needs to be made. Elected representatives and government bureaucrats squabble and scheme, almost as much over building plans as in defense of, or opposition to, the all-important issue of slavery. A congressman is viciously caned, and crippled, by a fellow “lawmaker.” As if in eerie reflection of a ruptured nation, both chambers of Congress and even the very heart of the building above which the dome is taking shape are torn apart. The smell of burned timbers and paper permeates the building; the background symphony combines a timpani of hammers with the percussion of iron dragged from the grounds and forced into place. By the early 1860s, troops drill in the Capitol’s halls; the army’s commissary bakes bread in the building’s basement, with smoke and soot invading the Congressional Library above; and Union regiments bivouac on the grounds. The noble attempt to create a space large enough to accommodate a growing nation, and worthy enough to celebrate a great national union, is happening at exactly the time this very union is being ripped asunder.