Worth Books - Summary and Analysis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story: Based on the Book by John Berendt

Summary and Analysis of

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Based on the Book by John Berendt

Contents

Context

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , John Berendts nonfiction account of the years he spent in Savannah, Georgia, occupies a unique place in American literature. Part true crime, part travelogue, its a hard book to categorizethough not, apparently, to sell. More than 20 years after its original publication in 1994, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil remains one of the longest-standing New York Times bestsellers ever, having spent a record four years on the nonfiction hardcover list.

The book has its origins in the mid-1980s, when Berendt began splitting his time between New York, where he wrote and edited for publications including Esquire and New York , and Savannah, Georgia, the small Southern city that had kindled his imagination since he was a child. Over 8 years, Berendt gets to know an eccentric assortment of Savannah residents, several of whom feature centrally in his book. One of Berendts most remarkable Savannahian friends was Jim Williams, a local businessman whose murder trial and three retrials captured the citys attention for years.

But the books true central character is the city of Savannah itself. A genteel yet isolated backwater, the humid charm of Savannah permeates Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Berendts depiction of the city enthralled his readers: Tourism in Savannah exploded after Midnight s publication, and residents of the old port city took to calling it simply The Book. The city gained even more exposure after Clint Eastwoods 1997 film adaptation, starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey, hit theaters. Readers continue to discover Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil decades after its publication: To date, The Book has sold approximately 5 million copies worldwide.

Overview

Captivated by the beautiful, insular city of Savannah, Georgia, and restless in his life as a magazine writer in New York, John Berendt decides to experiment with a new living situation: While keeping his home in New York, he engages in month-long sojourns to Savannah. He plans to observe the city and take copious notesand for eight years, he does just that. The result of his experiment is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, a novelistic account of the real-life people, places, and eventsincluding murderthat comprised his adventures in Savannah.

Part One, which constitutes the first half of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , provides an introduction to the unusual characters, courtly but isolated culture, and physical beauty of Savannah, Georgia. The book opens with Berendt meeting with Jim Williams, a Savannah bon vivant who made his fortune collecting antiques, and who resides in a fabulous mansion called Mercer House. Berendt is intriguedespecially when he meets Danny Hansford, an alluring but violent young man who apparently works for Williams in some mysterious capacity.

In the subsequent chapters of Part One, Berendt describes the events leading up to that first meeting in Mercer House. Berendt bases his part-time Savannah residence in an old carriage house and settles in to Savannah. He admires the citys antebellum architecture and meets some of its noteworthy characters. His new acquaintances include a charming, raffish sybarite named Joe Odom; Lady Chablis, a compelling black drag queen; and Luther Driggers, a possibly insane inventor. Part One ends with a shocking piece of news: Jim Williams has shot and killed Danny Hansford.

Part Two follows the many trials of Jim Williams, who is charged with first-degree murder. Hansford, it comes out, was a male hustler and Williamss lover. The defense faces a challenging casenot only is the nature of Williams and Hanfords relationship wrong in the eyes of many Savannah jurors, Williamss version of the shooting doesnt fit with the physical evidence. Williams is found guilty; a few months later, the Georgia Supreme Court overturns the ruling. The same thing happens in the second trial: A guilty verdict followed by a reversal. A third trial ends in mistrial; and at the conclusion of the fourth and final trial, Williams is acquitted. He credits his own powers of mental concentration and the spiritual interventions of Minerva, a voodoo witch doctor he hired to influence the trial in his favor.

Berendt follows Williamss legal troubles over the years while keeping up with the myriad other scandals and dramas of Savannah society. Williams dies in Mercer House only six months after his acquittal, but Berendt reflects that Savannah goes on in much the same way it always did: genteel, lovely, and closed off from the rest of the world.

Summary

Part One

John Berendt eases into his part-time life in Savannah, meeting Savannahs wild and wonderful inhabitants while getting to know the citys culture, architecture, and history.

Chapter 1: An Evening in Mercer House

Berendt visits wealthy Savannah socialite Jim Williams at his home, an Italianate mansion known as Mercer House. Unlike Savannahs old money gentlemen, Williams is a self-made man: Born into a working-class family, he made his fortune dealing antiques and restoring old houses. Every year Williams hosts an exclusive Christmas party regarded as the event of the season by Savannah socialites, many of whom curry favor with Williams all year in order to secure an invitation. Williams gives Berendt a tour of Mercer House, pointing out the antique treasures he has acquired, and fills Berendt in on Savannah lore and intrigues.

Williams is an eccentric. He believes in the actualizing power of mental focus; he practices his own powers of concentration with dice, willing them to fall a certain way. During Berendts visit, one strange event occurs: A young man bursts drunkenly into Mercer House, demands money, and slams out in a rage. Williams refers to the stranger as Danny Hansford, an employee, but offers Berendt no further explanation. He does, however, invite Berendt to his next Christmas party.

Need to Know: Great wealth and great eccentricity are to be found in the gossip-rich locale of Savannah, Georgiaand the two qualities meet in Jim Williams, a businessman whose fabulous public persona conceals an enigmatic private life.

Chapter 2: Destination Unknown

Berendts love for Savannah started in New York, where he has worked for years as a magazine writer. Instead of using his spare money on dining out in New York, Berendt and a few friends begin buying cheap airfares. One weekend, Berendt flies into Charleston alone and drives down the coast to Savannah, where an acquaintance named Miss Mary Harty shows him around. He admires the citys many wide squares and gorgeous antebellum architecture. Beguiled by the city, Berendt decides to make it his second homehell continue his regular life in New York and fly to Savannah on the weekends. He spends more and more time in Savannah over the next 8 years, immersing himself in the citys history, its various social circles, and one particular murder case.

Need to Know: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has its genesis in a pleasure trip to Savannah, Georgia. There, John Berendt found a gorgeous city full of quirky people and juicy happenings.

Chapter 3: The Sentimental Gentleman

Berendt explores the city and learns more about its history: Once the worlds leading cotton port, Savannah is now a genteel, but isolated, city of 150,000 people.

Berendt sets up his part-time home in Savannah on the second floor of a carriage house. Down the street, people come and go incessantly from a yellow stucco house; music emanates from the yellow house at all hours. One evening a voluptuous blonde woman comes to Berendts door asking for ice. She introduces herself as Mandyshe lives in the yellow house with her fianc, Joe Odom. Odom is a thrice-married former lawyer who spends his days and nights drinking, carousing, and playing Johnny Mercer tunes on the piano. Odom welcomes Berendt to Savannah, offers him a drink, and bums twenty dollars off him before the night is through.