midnight in the garden of good and evil by john berendt

The book's plot is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980s and is classified as non-fiction.

Chablis was given a dedicated chapter, as was Emma Kelly, the 'lady of 6,000 songs.” Characters and events Chablis provides both a Greek chorus of sorts as well as a light-hearted contrast to the more serious action. The book highlights many other notable Savannah residents, including The Lady Chablis, a local transgender woman, club performer, and entertainer. The death occurred in Williams' Mercer House home, which is now a museum. The book describes Williams' version of the killing, which is that it was in 'self-defense'-the result of Hansford, who was prone to fits of rage, shooting at Williams with a gun that was on display, and Williams shooting back to protect himself-and not murder, pre-meditated or otherwise, by Williams. This resulted in four murder trials, with the fourth ending in acquittal after the judge finally agreed to a change of venue to move the case away from the Savannah jury pool.

The central narrative concerns the shooting of Danny Hansford, a local male prostitute (characterized as 'a good time not yet had by all' by Prentiss Crowe, a Savannah socialite), by respected antiques dealer Jim Williams, who was also his employer. In tone, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is atmospherically Deep South coastal ( Savannah, Georgia, and Beaufort, South Carolina) and Southern Gothic, depicting a wide range of eccentric personalities in and around Savannah. The book was adapted for Clint Eastwood's 1997 film, with several characters' names changed to protect their privacy. Subtitled A Savannah Story, with an initial printing of 25,000 copies, the book became a New York Times Best-Seller for 216 weeks following its debut and remains one of the longest-standing New York Times Best-Sellers. The book, Berendt's first, was published in 1994 and follows the story of an antiques dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt.

Midnight in the garden of good and evil by john berendt