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
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