Afterword: What’s Real and What’s Not in ‘The Final Gambit’
This book is a work of fiction, but many of the people, places, and things that appear in these pages actually existed in world history. So what’s real and what’s not?
Cowmen of Florida: Many people don’t realize this, but in 1800s America, cowboys were not limited to the Wild West. They could exist pretty much anyplace that had cows. That includes Florida, where there were quite a few. Though, yes, they preferred to be called cowmen. And Punta Rassa—a real city—was one of the centers of cattle culture back in the day. Punta Rassa looks very different today. Far more luxury hotels than coffin makers.
Washington Monument: In the real world, President Chester A. Arthur didn’t rush the construction of the Washington Monument, and it was finished, as planned, in December of 1884, at which point a lightning rod was installed at the top. But it worked a little too well and within six months, it had attracted so many lightning strikes that it melted. It was replaced by a rather silly-looking crown of eight spiky lightning rods that remained in place until 2011.
The Smithsonian Institution: When the Smithsonian was founded in 1846, its museum holdings were housed entirely in the red stone “castle.” But as the institution grew, they added more and more buildings and galleries, the first of which was the Arts and Industries Building. The Smithsonian now consists of nineteen museums (seventeen of which are located in Washington, DC) and the National Zoo, but the castle is still its headquarters. And yes, the Smithsonian does have George Washington’s salt and pepper shakers displayed as part of his battlefield mess kit.
The Star of Ceylon: The Star of Ceylon is a fictional gem, but it is based on the real-life Star of India, which was for decades the largest sapphire in the world. Despite being called the Star of India, it was discovered in Sri Lanka, which at the time Perilous Journey takes place was known as Ceylon. Rector might have particularly sought a sapphire to disperse his beams because sapphires are known for their high conductivity, which is why they are frequently used in the production of lasers today.
The Mind-Melter and Magneta-Ray: The real Thomas Edison actually attempted to build some frighteningly similar instruments of warfare—an “electronically charged atomizer” that would cause soldiers on a battlefield to drop into sudden comas, and giant electromagnets that could catch bullets in midair and hurl them back at the enemy who fired them. Luckily for everyone, these projects were never completed. Was Edison was really a criminal mastermind in disguise? Probably not. But the similarities to Rector’s fictional weaponry are kind of eerie.
The Election of 1884: Thomas Edison never ran for president. Though, if he had, who knows? He might have won. The actual presidential election of 1884 featured only New York governor Grover Cleveland and James G. Blaine, who had been secretary of state to Chester A. Arthur. Cleveland won. Some people must not have liked the job he did, because he was defeated by Benjamin Harrison when he ran for reelection in 1888. But people must have liked Harrison even less, because they reelected Grover Cleveland in 1892, making him the only person to serve two non-consecutive terms as president of the United States. Politics are weird.
The New York World: The New York World was a real newspaper that really was taken over by Joseph Pulitzer (after whom the Pulitzer Prize is named) in 1883. It was the World, under Pulitzer’s reign as editor, that published some of the real Nellie Bly’s most famous and most important reporting, such as her exposé on the horrible conditions at Blackwell’s Island insane asylum and her real-life race around the world, which she completed in seventy-two days, beating the fictional journey in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. Nellie Bly was very cool.
Eleanor Roosevelt: In real-world 1933, it was Eleanor Roosevelt’s husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was sworn in as president. At that point in American history, women had only had the right to vote for thirteen years and very few had risen to elected positions. But based on all the amazing things Eleanor Roosevelt did without being president—advocating for civil rights, working to expand the roles of women in the workplace, aiding World War II refugees, writing a regular newspaper column, and becoming the first chair of the United Nations’ Commission on Human Rights—I think she probably would have done a pretty awesome job in the Oval Office. At the time of this writing, the United States still has not elected a woman president. If that last fact makes you as unhappy as it does me, what are you waiting for? Get out there and let people know how you feel. Advocate for change, even if you’re a kid. And when you’re old enough, vote. After all, the world’s not going to change itself.
—Christopher Healy, 2020
Acknowledgments
As this adventure comes to a close, I would like to give one more round of thanks to the people who aided me across this entire three-book journey—I would undoubtedly have stalled along the way without the input and assistance I received from you all: my excellent editor, Jordan Brown; my awesome agent, Jill Grinberg and the whole crew at Jill Grinberg Literary; my always-up-for-brainstorming wife, Noelle Howey; my never-misses-a-typo son, Dashiell Healy; my ever-inspirational daughter, Bryn Healy (the closest thing to a real-life Molly Pepper I’ll ever see); Debbie Kovacs at Walden Media; Kevin Chu at the Museum of Chinese in America; Cheryl Pientka; Shenwei Chang; Barry Wolverton; Jennifer Chu; Martha Brockenbrough; Christine Howey; Tiffany Dayemo; Geoff Rodkey; and my lovable pooch, Duncan, who told me in no uncertain terms how upset he would be if I didn’t finally put a dog in one of my books.
About the Author
Photo by Christopher Barth
CHRISTOPHER HEALY is the author of the first two adventures in the Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem series as well as the New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and its sequels. Before becoming a writer, Chris worked as an actor, an ad copywriter, a toy store display designer, a fact-checker, a dishwasher, a journalist, a costume shop clothing stitcher, a children’s entertainment reviewer, and a haunted house zombie. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and a dog named Duncan. You can visit him online at www.christopherhealy.com.
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Books by Christopher Healy
A Perilous Journey of Danger & Mayhem Series:
Book 1: A Dastardly Plot
Book 2: The Treacherous Seas
The Hero’s Guide Series:
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle
The Hero’s Guide to Being an Outlaw
Copyright
Walden Pond Press is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
A PERILOUS JOURNEY OF DANGER & MAYHEM: THE FINAL GAMBIT. Copyright © 2020 by Christopher Healy. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2020 by Antonio Caparo
Cover design by Joel Tippie
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020942252
Digital Edition DECEMBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-234205-8
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-234203-4
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2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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