Midnight in the Garden Follow Up

It happened to occur to me several days after my Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil post that I think I know what the draw of the story is and why it has been popular.

Sure, there was the murder that still begs a firm reason beyond speculation no matter how rational. And, yes, the story is full of colorful characters, the most obvious being the city of Savannah itself.

But really, when you break it down to its fundamentals, parts of it read much like a Penthouse forum submission. It's a very sexual story, all of it illicit.

The sensuality of Savannah is quite feminine and I suppose that's rather true about much of the south. Hot, humid, lush, dark, gardens fragramt... need I go on? Compare that to the usually frigid north (albeit a different, less pleasant sexual picture) and you can start to see the allusion that can be painted with the descriptives.

Additionally, here is some info re: main characters:

Jim Williams was gay, though he didn't come out and admit it except for during the trials when he testified about sleeping with his assistant and victim, Danny Hansford. I did see an interview a day or two ago where the interviewee (I think it was Dep Kirkland who wrote Lawyer Games: After Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) stated that Williams used to pay an assistant to go into the projects and offer money to kids to come to Mercer House for sex play which makes him a pedophile.

Danny Hansford was a male prostitute who would do anyone for money and that's apparently why he "worked" for Jim Williams. But even though he would be gay for pay, Hansford was a hetersexual. There were two sex scenes in the book of Hansford with a girl he had just met. After the second time, which took place in a cemetery, he asked her to marry him. She, of course, refused and this set off one of his rage responses.

Turns out Joe Odom, a major character in the story, was gay as well. It was implied that he and Mandy were a couple, but the real-life person Nancy Hillis negated that by saying Odom was gay. In fact, Odom died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 43.

Joe Goodman, whose name was mentioned a few times, but not much detail had been sexually connected to Jim Williams as well.

Barry Thomas, another fellow who worked for Williams, died of AIDs in 1992.

Let us not forget the Lady Chablis, Empress of Savannah, the flamboyant drag queen who got weekly hormone shots but never had the surgery to finish the transition. He/she showed the author her real breasts that came about by regular estrogen injections.

And it was mentioned that unfaithful spouses were kind of the norm in that society. Infidelity was winked at but never reprimanded.

So, with this strong thread of sexuality woven throughout Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I can only surmise that it's a sex story that includes a murder.

* * * * * * * * **

Since reading the book and writing these blog posts, I watched the movie directed by Clint Eastwood and released in 1997.

As movies usually do (because of the different story-telling format) it took some liberties with the timeline established in the book, which itself also took liberties with the timeline based on actual events.

Where I thought perhaps the movie would visually portray the landscape of the city in depth, in reality, it didn't. The actors all did a fine job, including Kevin Spacey who played Jim Williams.

But I was disappointed by the lack of establishing the atmosphere I thought necessary to fill out the movie. In that regard, it came across as rather flat to me.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

 SPOILERS FOLLOW

In 1981, Jim Williams, a middle-aged antiques dealer, shot and killed his live-in employee and paramour, Danny Hansford. Hansford was less than half Williams' age.

The reason Williams gave for the shooting was self-defense. which he maintained up until his death in 1990 from pneumonia. He was 59 when he died.

There were four trials. Williams was convicted of murder in the first two, but the conviction was overturned both times for various reasons. The third trial ended in a hung jury. The fourth trial was moved to a different city after it was decided that an impartial jury pool didn't exist anymore after the well-publicized three trials. The jury in the new venue acquitted Williams of murder and he became a free man.  His freedom was short-lived, though, as he died 8 months later.

This is the basic plot of the nonfiction novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil sounds like a crime mystery, right? But there was no mystery. After shooting Hansford, Williams rearranged some of his study where it took place, then called the police to report it.

Courtroom drama perhaps?

There was some drama, but not near as much as would be expected to deserve that label.

Love story? Triangle?

Neither.

So, what was Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

In my opinion, it was a study. A study in character, personality, insular society, and, predominantly, historic Savannah, Georgia, which is where most ot the story occurs.

I read the story for three reasons.

The first reason was that I was captivated by the title. In fact, I referenced it in one of the essays in my book, Lean to the Write. That chapter is called The Power of the Title. I wrote it back in 2010 when I was more active on my blog.

The second reason is that I'm a fan of Pat Conroy and his lush descriptions of the south and how he incorporates the elites of southern society in his tales.

The third and most relevant reason is that I love Savannah. The Army sent me to Fort Stewart, Georgia which abuts Hinesville. Both places are mentioned once int he book. I have been all over Savannah, River Street, the historic district, the Oglethorpe Mall. I proposed to my wife out on Tybee Island.

The city calls to me in ways that other cities don't. Its zeitgeist remains strong to this day. My wife and I returned to Savannah for our 30th wedding anniversary. We toured Fort Stewart, which was where we met and went out to Tybee Island. I would like to have explored the lovely  squares except we were limited in time. We did make it to River Street and stopped in at Kevin Barry's Irish Pub which appears to be closed now. I took a number of pictures.

I also took pictures back in the 80s, but I'm not so sure where they are at this time.

Besides Savannah and its rich environs, the eccentricities of the characters in the book are on full display. From Lady Chablis, the transgender drag queen performer, to Joe Odom who never really seemed to have a financial stake in where he lived but kept a revolving door of visitors coming in and going out all hours of day and night, to Lee Adler and his wife, mortal enemies of Jim Williams, to Williams himself who threw the socialite event of the year with an exclusive guest list - a yearly Christmas party.

And speaking of eccentric, the victim of the shooting, Danny Hansford, was reportedly a male prostitute out hustling men and women in and around the squares (if you don't know what I mean by squares, look it up on the internet). Hansford had a hair trigger temper and was known to threaten people at the drop of a hat.

Many of the people mentioned in the book have since passed away; some still live. But the two main players are gone and there no witnesses to the killing, so motivation has to have been assumed all these years. After all, there was only Jim Williams' word about it.

Charleston, SC seems to be a similar city in many ways. Pat Conroy writes about it in Lords of Discipline. In Charleston, much of the wealth is concentrated south of Broad Street. However, in Savannah, the line of demarcation for social status is north of Gaston Street (NOG). Today, one is able to buy tickets to a tour of hidden gardens NOG.

The title Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil actually refers to a hoodoo belief that good magic happens in the half hour leading up to midnight and evil magic in the half hour after midnight and is practiced in a cemetery.

But even with this specific reference, it fits very well with the Savannahian lifestyle north of Gaston. The hubris, envy, prejudice, the peccadilloes winked at all seem very expected to the point of trope or cliche.

For those who suspect that the underside of wealth and civility is quite filthy won't be disappointed by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil