Publisher's Synopsis
Una excelente novela sobre la naturaleza del genio, el coste de la ambición y la batalla que tuvo lugar para iluminar América.
&«Un triunfo de la imaginación que va de la mano de unos hechos reales... y que te deja temblando.»
Gillian Flynn, autora de Perdida Hay gente que fabrica objetos, pero lo importante es fabricar ideas.
La noche del 11 de mayo de 1888 Paul Cravath caminaba por las calles de Manhattan que aún estaban iluminadas por farolas de gas. El joven abogado iba de prisa y con el ceño fruncido. Quien le esperaba en un imponente despacho era Thomas Edison, el genio, el mago, el inventor de la bombilla eléctrica, y estaba dispuesto a pelear duro para defender su patente.
Al otro lado de la barrera estaba el cliente de Paul: ni más ni menos que el gran George Westinghouse, que habìa recurrido al ingenio de Nikola Tesla para mejorar el artefacto y conseguir que en todas las calles y los hogares de Estados Unidos brillara una luz intensa, sin apagones repentinos.La Historia con mayúsculas habla de esta lucha, pero Graham Moore, el famoso guionista de Imitation Game, nos lo cuenta como si nosotros también estuviéramos allì, entre cables y fórmulas matemáticas, tomando vino con mujeres muy listas en las grandes fiestas de Nueva York, asistiendo en primera persona a un espectáculo donde brillaron la luz y la inteligencia... y eso solo lo consiguen las buenas novelas.
&«En la ciencia y en la industria todo el mundo roba. Yo mismo he robado mucho. Pero yo sé cómo robar. Los demás no saben cómo hacerlo.»Thomas Edison
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A thrilling novel based on actual events, about the nature of genius, the cost of ambition, and the battle to electrify America-from the Oscar-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game and author of The SherlockianNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING EDDIE REDMAYNE
New York, 1888. Gas lamps still flicker in the city streets, but the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. The person who controls the means to turn night into day will make history-and a vast fortune. A young untested lawyer named Paul Cravath, fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul's client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion-dollar question: Who invented the light bulb and holds the right to power the country?
The case affords Paul entry to the heady world of high society-the glittering parties in Gramercy Park mansions, and the more insidious dealings done behind closed doors. The task facing him is beyond daunting. Edison is a wily, dangerous opponent with vast resources at his disposal-private spies, newspapers in his pocket, and the backing of J. P. Morgan himself. Yet this unknown lawyer shares with his famous adversary a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it?
In obsessive pursuit of victory, Paul crosses paths with Nikola Tesla, an eccentric, brilliant inventor who may hold the key to defeating Edison, and with Agnes Huntington, a beautiful opera singer who proves to be a flawless performer on stage and off. As Paul takes greater and greater risks, he'll find that everyone in his path is playing their own game, and no one is quite who they seem.
Praise for The Last Days of Night
"A satisfying romp . . . Takes place against a backdrop rich with period detail . . . Works wonderfully as an entertainment . . . As it charges forward, the novel leaves no dot unconnected."-Noah Hawley, The New York Times Book Review
"This captivating historical novel illuminates a fascinating American moment."
-People
"A fascinating portrait of American inventors . . . Moore crafts a compelling narrative out of [Paul] Cravath's cunning legal maneuvers and [Nikola] Tesla's world-changing tinkering, while a story line on opera singer Agnes Huntington has the mysterious glamour of The Great Gatsby. . . . Moore weaves a complex web. . . . He conjures Gilded Age New York City so vividly, it feels like only yesterday."
-Entertainment Weekly
"A model of superior historical fiction . . . Graham Moore digs deep into long-forgotten facts to give us an exciting, sometimes astonishing story of two geniuses locked in a brutal battle to change the world. . . . [A] brilliant journey into the past."
-The Washington Post
"Mesmerizing, clever, and absolutely crackling, The Last Days of Night is a triumph of imagination. Graham Moore has chosen Gilded Age New York as his playground, with outsized characters-Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse-as his players. The result is a beautifully researched, endlessly entertaining novel that will leave you buzzing."
-Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl
"It's part legal thriller, part tour of a magical time-the age of wonder-and once you've finished it, you'll find it hard to return to the world of now."
-Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City
