Pickett's Dream
New Release
Pickett's Dream
When smart and beautiful Athena Van Fleet attends her sister’s wedding, she encounters John Pickett, the officiating priest she knew as a student in college. Now married to retired tennis star, Ted Talbot, she moves to Newport, Rhode Island when her husband is named President of the Tennis Hall of Fame. Smitten by Pickett, Athena uses her sway as the daughter of a former bishop to secure the young priest an improbable call to her wealthy Newport parish.
Jealously sensing Athena’s enchantment, Talbot makes Pickett his prey. Then unaccountably, the penniless priest becomes proprietor of Rosecliff mansion—inciting rumors up and down the Eastern Seaboard that the priest is a tycoon or a drug lord. Narrator Brooke Adams, feeling like a “bystander implicated at the scene of the crime,” watches as Pickett’s incredible scheme is unraveled to an unintended end.
From the sad abandoned mill towns of industrial New England to the ballrooms and hunt fields of Newport, from an aged acolyte in rural Massachusetts to pretentious Park Avenue bishops, and from the shining spectacle of the Champs-Élysées to the elusive Bishop’s House in Providence, Pickett’s Dream is borne from the Yuppie Go-Go 80’s to the mean streets of our time, and the innocence of a heretical dreamer to the world we find ourselves in.
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Leading Canadian critic, David Stearns, described Pickett’s Dream as follows: “…Beautifully written to express the vacuity at the heart of this pained group of people, the novel captures perfectly the dilemmas of its major figure.”
Find out what he meant. Download the first chapter and sample Pickett’s Dream today…
Amazon Reviews
What people are saying about Pickett's Dream...
This Novel Will Capture Your Attention
“In ‘Pickett’s Dream,’ author Christopher Carlisle weaves a captivating tale of love, ambition, and intrigue set against the backdrop of the elite world of Newport, Rhode Island. The characters are vividly drawn, with Athena’s charm and intelligence shining through, and Pickett’s mysterious allure keeping readers guessing until the very end.
Carlisle’s writing is evocative and rich in detail, painting a picture of both the glamour and ruthlessness of high society. The novel explores themes of power, wealth, and the lengths people will go to in order to achieve their dreams.
The twists and turns of the plot keep the reader on the edge of their seat, and the setting of Newport provides a lush and opulent backdrop for the unfolding drama. ‘Pickett’s Dream’ is a must-read for fans of literary fiction and those who enjoy a gripping story with complex characters and unexpected surprises.
Overall, Carlisle’s novel is a compelling and thought-provoking read that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. It is a testament to the power of dreams, ambition, and the consequences of chasing after what we desire most.”
A Must Read for the Beauty and the Relevance
For me, Pickett’s Dream is not a tale of few characters in Newport, Rhode Island in the 1980s but a critique, at times empathetic and at times cruelly revealing, of a system, social, political and moral, and its decadence.
Carlisle’s descriptions of places and moments are so vivid and palpable that they created in me a poignant nostalgia, as though I had actually lived them.
The language is exquisite, the characters real and recognizable and the self-deprecating humor made me laugh out loud in the midst of the tragedy that was unfolding—a laughter that comes of recognizing many of the foibles of the characters as my own.
I loved every minute of its literary beauty and at times painful luminescence and what it reflects about today’s world. As Brooke Adams, the narrator, observes: “In a polarized world between those who had too little and those who had too much, we had become a disingenuous class of democratic wanna-be’s. Either by God or an adulterated Darwin, we were the ones to rule, and had succumbed to the instincts of the entrepreneurs, and duplicitous presidents.” Never more relevant than today.
A Great Escape!
A Captivating Journey That You Won’t Soon Forget
The vivid descriptions of the characters and locales in Pickett’s dream catches you from the first page and carries you all the way through to the moving and poignant ending. The pain of unrequited love, the brash arrogance of narcissistic “winners” and the empty promise of privileged lives all collide to create a captivating story that you will never forget
A Must Read!
Christopher Carlisle’s ability to paint a picture with words will transport you from wherever you are to Paris, to the East Coast, and to some of the most picturesque places in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
His storytelling will have you questioning the decisions you have made, and wondering how the reading of this book will inform decisions you make in the future. His exquisite use of the English language will have you rereading passages just because they are so deep and beautiful. This is a book you’ll want to read so you can claim to have realized the brilliance of this author firstCarlisle’s descriptions of places and moments are so vivid and palpable that they created in me a poignant nostalgia, as though I had actually lived them.
The language is exquisite, the characters real and recognizable and the self-deprecating humor made me laugh out loud in the midst of the tragedy that was unfolding—a laughter that comes of recognizing many of the foibles of the characters as my own.
I loved every minute of its literary beauty and at times painful luminescence and what it reflects about today’s world. As Brooke Adams, the narrator, observes: “In a polarized world between those who had too little and those who had too much, we had become a disingenuous class of democratic wanna-be’s. Either by God or an adulterated Darwin, we were the ones to rule, and had succumbed to the instincts of the entrepreneurs, and duplicitous presidents.” Never more relevant than today.
Enjoyed This Book
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Reminded me of a classical American story that still has relevance today. Could almost visualize the characters. Very happy with this purchase. Have already lent this book for others to enjoy.
