Matthiessen rewrites epic Florida trilogy

I ran across this article, “Rewrite improves Matthiessen’s epic Florida masterpiece” published in 2008. I try not to be irked. I try. Sigh. The writer of the article says, “…in Florida, the trilogy was more than a critical masterpiece. It was ‘our’ story.”

Yes. That is what I felt when I read Killing Mr. Watson. There was MY family – Richard, Gene, Walter, Leon, Rebecca, Mary Weeks, Henry Short and so many more. Fictionalized yes, but pretty darn accurate and correct. My family.

And then came Lost Man’s River. All the same key players in the story except the Hamiltons had become the Hardins. Wait. What?? What a tangled mess. For what? Because a few family members were offended by the portrayal of our family in Killing Mr. Watson (again, pretty darn ACCURATE portrayal!)?

And the the great trilogy, Shadow Country. The one where our Henry Short…