The Last Patriot

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The idea for this novel had many parents, so to speak. It was born in part from an Atlantic Monthly article by Toby Lester entitled “What Is the Koran?” I had discovered the piece while doing research on another novel and had tucked it away for future use. When I came across an article written by Gerard W. Gawalt, formerly of the Library of Congress, entitled “America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe,” I started wondering if there was a way I could combine the historical relevance of the Koran with Thomas Jefferson’s experience with the Barbary pirates to create a thriller that would be relevant today.

In writing this novel, I have created a work of fiction based largely on fact. That said, I have taken creative license in some areas and will attempt to list them here.

Mohammed’s lost revelation as depicted herein, as well as al-Jazari’s preservation of same, is of my own making. The plot device of Mohammed being assassinated by one of his companions is also of my own making (though there is evidence that Mohammed was assassinated). The concept of abrogation and everything else related to the Koran in this novel is true.

The cipher found by Jefferson in the first edition Don Quixote is fictional. Cervantes, though, did suffer horribly during his captivity and much of his experience in the Muslim dungeons of Algiers greatly influenced and figured prominently in his work.

Thomas Jefferson did keep a suite of rooms at the Carthusian Monastery in Paris while U.S. minister to France and invented his Cipher Wheel during this time.

Of the fifteen fireplaces at Poplar Forest, one was indeed left unrenovated, but is located in the room used by Jefferson’s granddaughters, not in his library/parlor. Some of the entablature details, as well as Poplar Forest’s hours, have been changed to suit my purposes in this novel.

The weapons, equipment, and other gear used by Scot Harvath, Aydin Ozbek, et al., including the revolutionary new Integrated Tourniquet System clothing, are current and accurate.