Two Moons

by Thomas Mallon

A galvanizing story of earthly heartbreak and otherworldly triumph, by the writer John Updike called "one of the most interesting American novelists at work". It's the spring of 1877 in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Hugh Allison's plan to project an image through time and space takes on urgent life when the mathematically gifted Cynthia May enters his orbit as one of the observatory's human "computers." But the fate of Hugh's heavenly vision-and of his love affair with Cynthia, a Civil War widow whose beauty has been shadowed by worry and poverty-may be out of his hands, decided instead by an astrologer and by the actions of a dangerously magnetic politician. Thomas Mallon's moving romance mixes actual historical figures with fictional ones. By combining earthly matters-such as politics and money-with heavenly ones of love and immortality, Mallon evokes a distant time and place with astonishing immediacy and confirms his place as one of our most original and delightful writers.

306 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Thomas Mallon is an American novelist, essayist, and critic. His novels are renowned for their attention to historical detail and context and for the author's crisp wit and interest in the "bystanders" to larger historical events. He is the author of ten books of fiction, including Henry and Clara, Two Moons, Dewey Defeats Truman, Aurora 7, Bandbox, Fellow Travelers (recently adapted into a miniseries by the same name), Watergate, Finale, Landfall, and most recently Up With the Sun. He has also published nonfiction on plagiarism (Stolen Words), diaries (A Book of One's Own), letters (Yours Ever) and the John F. Kennedy assassination (Mrs. Paine's Garage), as well as two volumes of essays (Rockets and Rodeos and In Fact).
He is a former literary editor of Gentleman's Quarterly, where he wrote the "Doubting Thomas" column in the 1990s, and has contributed frequently to The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The American Scholar, and other periodicals. He was appointed a member of the National Council on the Humanities in 2002 and served as Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2005 to 2006.
His honors include Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships, the National Book Critics Circle citation for reviewing, and the Vursell prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for distinguished prose style. He was elected as a new member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title refers to the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877 at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. While this significant scientific discovery occurs in the story, the focus is on a Civil War widow named Cynthia May who gets a job as one of the observatory's "computers." Due to her mathematical abilities, she is able to help the astronomers with their calculations. An attractive woman in her thirties, she falls in love with a younger man, who is one of the astronomers, a young man with an ambition to project an image into the sky to contact beings in space. However, this relationship is threatened by the powerful Senator from New York, Roscoe Conkling. A corrupt and ruthless politician, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, whether it's the presidency or Cynthia.
An interesting historical novel set in a time of great American invention and expansion, but also corruption and exploitation. Mallon is an excellent writer who brings both the time period and his characters vividly to life.

[Sandra]

Not Mallon's best. His writing style is engaging, but there were too many moving parts and too little plausibility to some of the plot threads. I read historical fiction to learn (sure, taking the history bit with a grain of salt), but Two Moons didn't provide enough background of Conkling's relationship to the Hayes presidency or the whole thing with the New York Customs House. Sure, I could figure it out in broad outline, but it detracted from the story. And I question whether much of that was necessary if Mallon's point was Conkling's pursuit of Cynthia May. Sure, she needed to exploit Conkling's connections to the Customs House for her lover's project, but c'mon.....

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this book was quite interesting, but as a whole I found it confusing. I never did understand what Hugh Allison was trying to accomplish by beaming an image of himself up into the sky. I liked that Cynthia May was a fierce independent woman, and the bits about politics were informative. But all the parts, the astronomy, the astrology, the politics, the boarding rooms, didn't add up to a very satisfying read. It seems as if Mallon had done lots of research and didn't want to waste any of it.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two moons written by Thomas Mullen and narrated by Jonathan Price, at first it was very interesting I was really into it but then I just got confused as to what was the point. Hue wanted to make scientific history but I didn’t get why nor did I completely understand what exactly he wanted to do. I know he wanted to leave his likeness or projected into the sky but I didn’t understand everything else Having said that I truly enjoyed the historical accuracy of this book Cynthia as a character in my opinion was just ho hum and I didn’t find anything special about her I mean yes she was brilliant I did love the astrologer from Chicago supposedly I did think Roscoe and Hugh were perfect 1800s characters, but with the exception of Cynthia and Hughes transgressions for most of the second half I spent the time to figure out what was the point of this book. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This only got an Ok because of its taking place in DC , well and the time period, Did not make much sense, did not jell.

[Autumn Doughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book a couple of years ago at The Friends of the Library sale because I liked the cover, but for some reason I never actually picked it up to read. I'm in between series right now and waiting for a book to be released tomorrow so I decided to give it a try.
The story has an interesting platform--a woman work with astronomers at the D.C. observatory post civil war. There are a lot of issues here that are interesting and workable--reconstruction, women's suffrage, science, invention, etc. but the novel never really capitalizes on any of these properly. That was truly a disappointment because i thought the author did a brilliant job of setting up the action and preparing the reader for a wonderful journey.
As the story progressed, the interesting issues were bypassed one by one to focus on on a love triangle. The problem was that it was one that I could neither relate to nor relish as I was irritated with the protagonist by that point. The writing was engaging in many places, but Mallon fails as "selling" the characters to me. I didn't understand some of their motivations and I wasn't buying the relationships that he tried to develop.
The biggest fault of this book was that this thought kept passing through my mind: what's the point? I don't need to have a revelation or fall in love, or learn about the universe with every story, but I do like for books to be purposeful and this one meandered.
Overall: the book has "something" but never reaches its own promise.

[liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this was by the author of our last book club book, a work of historical fiction, that I wasn't able to get out from the library. And it draaaaaaggged. It was about... Astronomy? In Washington, DC? Romance? Malaria? And political corruption? After the Civil War? Unngh.

I finished it three days ago.

Two decades before meeting Hugh Allison and Mr. Michelson, she had underlined the sentence that came just after the numerical estimate: "It follows that, if the sun was annihilated, we should see him for eight minutes afterward..."
She continued to lie beneath the counterpane, watching the Sun and wondering if somehow, so far from here, the planet Mercury had just gone dark; and then Venus; and soon, any minute, unaware it was about to be scuppered, Earth. She lay still, one eye on the Sun and the other on her clock, until eight minutes had passed, at which time she sighed and got up to dress.

[Karla Helvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would really like this book but I soon realized it would be only mediocre. The plot was a little difficult to follow, partly because I don't know enough about politics in that era, and partly because I didn't feel the characters and their backgrounds were completely developed (Cynthia being the exception). None of the characters were really likeable, and the whole story felt a little forced and unnatural.

[Barbara Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mallon combines history and romance (in both the love and literary senses) with expert research and stylistic aplomb -- rare in historical fiction these days. I loved the way he used a strange-but-true incident from political biography (Roscoe Conkling in the freak NY blizzard of 1888). Terrific political insights and intelligent writing, in the vein of William Kennedy.

[Robert Nolin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mallon seems to be a plot-challenged author. There was little or no sense of suspense, nothing pulling me along. The same scenes between the protagonists repeating over and over, oh so slowly advancing towards some kind of resolution that I just could not bring myself to give a hoot about. Despite my love of history and astronomy, I tossed it halfway through. "Henry and Clara" was better.

[Larry · Rating 1 out of 5]

A junky story used to illustrate an interesting city (Washington, DC) at an intesting time. But only worth the effort if you really want to know about DC during its malaria-infested, swampy days.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at Washington in the 1880s. It has, without a dount, the saddest ending of any book I've ever read. I can still remember it almost word for word.

[Art · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and boring

[Lis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done

Excellent historical novel with well developed characters, fascinating history, keeps you guessing. Early Washington D.C. , politics and astronomy featured.

[Barbara Parrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I ever read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about two moons was the historical part. Set in Washington DC in 1877, not so far from the end of the Civil War and during the Rutherford Hayes administration we get to learn about what was going on in astronomy via the central setting at the Naval Observatory. There, Cynthia May, a thirty=something war widow has landed a job as a "computer," her fast calculating mind getting the necessary equations solved for the scientists. Along the way, we learn about the discovery of two moons of Mars that had never been sighted and the political aspects of having the Navy in charge of the study of the skies. One of the astronomers, Hugh Allison is handsome, brilliant and sounds like he has ADHD in the entire description of how he functions at work and play. Hugh and Cynthia are fictional characters but the story of the observatory and efforts to relocate it due to many people who worked there contracting Yellow Fever seems authentic. We get a decent sense as well of the plight of war widows, left to fend for themselves as Cynthia lives in a boardinghouse with people she dislikes and makes her way in the world. On the national political front, we meet New York Senator Roscoe Conkling, a historical figure whose dubious accomplishments in government involved protecting patronage jobs and corruption as a way of life against Hayes' reformist tendencies. Also a renowned adulterer, he takes a shine to Cynthia who likes Hugh a lot. The historical parts about Conklin were also fascinating.

The plot/story is so awful though. It's meant to be a bit romantic or a bit salacious at times but it feels misogynistic a lot. The relationships and the way the Cynthia as protagonist processes things turns a person with many talents and skills two dimensional. Hugh comes off as a nut case. An astrologist who we are supposed to see as a kindly rogue is the least problematic character and that's saying a lot. Roscoe Conkling in real life was bad so we don't have to feel bad about not liking him, but I don't really like Cynthia or Hugh either. So 5 stars for history that was fascinating and kept me going. 1.5 stars for plot because I didn't throw my phone across the room and I finished it. The narrator was fine, which means no reduction for poor narration. Just, a wooden story that needed some warmth and life and humanity breathed into the writing and the characters. You either have that or you don't.

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Moons written by Thomas Mallon and narrated by Justin Price is a stunning audiobook which took me through every emotion I have and some I didn't realise I had. The story follows Cynthia May, a Civil War widow who has lost her family through war and diptheria and who is trying to survive in a time where women were still viewed as chattel. However, Cynthia has an incredible mind, an outstanding ability with mathematical calculations and as such, seeks work as a human computer to assist astronomers in the US Naval Observatory

The story is full of tenacity and intrigue, with a villain you just want to up and have stern words with. The storyline is well balanced nd took me on a rampage through my emotions and stamped them into the ground. I have not read a lot of historical novels following the civil war, but after spending time in NH, this story appealed to me and will very much appeal to anyone who celebrates the strength and fortitude of people striving to excel in the face of adversity

The research that went into this book is clear and the attention to detail and nuance is absolutely on point. Thomas Mallon knows his subject, yet is also able to bring history alive with a depth of soul that left me reeling

Justin price reads the pace exceptionally well with balanced tone and cadence, enhancing an already outstanding novel further

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Thomas Mallon and the narrator Justin Price for this fantastic ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

[Emily | bookwhispererem · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️ Two Moons is a historical fiction with a creative plot line that follows the mathematically talented Cynthia May, a Civil War widow, as she starts working for the U.S. Naval Observatory as a human computer in 1877.

While I was drawn in by the synopsis and the soon-to-release audiobook format, I unfortunately had to DNF about 1/4 through this one, not because of the writing or the plot, but because I realized I’m not the right audience for this book. It was a bit too slow-paced for my liking, but I think it’s one that historical fiction lovers may really enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Mallon, and Dreamscape Media for the free audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[MDM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Moons tells a story about the old Naval Observatory, its staff, and its congressional supporters. The time is 1877, and the survivors of the American Civil War are reconstructing a new country. Politicians are plotting to grab power, and astronomers and mathematicians are plotting the course of the heavens. This is a fascinating time and place for a novel, and Mallon deftly mixes historical fact with fiction.

The language of the book is formal and slightly stilted and feels very in-tune with the time setting.

I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Moons
by Thomas Mallon
The story of Mars, Demos and Phobos their discovery but also the two moons that revolved to be discovered around, Cynthia May. The story starts with the inordinate calculations that resolved to be accounted with the increase in magnification of scientific equipment. Cynthia May, a widow is struggling after the loss of her family. She needs to find a means of employment. this will bring more interest of two men, for vastly different reasons. Their orbits cause her life to pull and ebb.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book from the shelves in my Mom's house while visiting because I liked the style of the cover. It is a historical fiction with the main plotline being the romance between the two main characters. Both of the main characters work in an observatory in Washington D.C. in the second half of the 19th century. The romance remains PG-rated, and the astronomy aspects of the story added to my personal interest. In the end, the story felt fairly forgettable, but it kept me entertained enough to finish it out.

[Hannah Gallacher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros:
* It’s a really interesting time period to hone in on when Reconstruction is occurring and the federalists vs reconstructionists are quarreling
* Fascinating characters that are something of FOILs to each other; this could be more expanded upon…!
* A strong resolution to each of the interior lives of the characters
* Once I got into this book and could remember characters names etc i really enjoyed it as a background read
Cons:
* The en media res format makes it a little hard to follow; could be because of listening not reading
* Assumes a basic knowledge of the time period

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I really wanted to love this book, historical fiction about a woman in astronomy set in DC, but I just never got "into it." I might have enjoyed it more if I had a basic familiarity with the political scene in the 1870s and 1880s, but since I don't, I found it hard to follow all the personalities and events referred to that were outside the main narrative.

[Frank Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointment compared to Mallon's other books. Too many characters, many with no real role to play in the story of a widow working at the Naval Observatory who is pursued by two men, an astronomer who is ill and a powerful senator.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sort of period romance with some non-traditional aspects. I love that the heroine of this book is an 'older' woman (okay, she is only 35). She has not had an easy life and immediately gains my sympathy. It starts pretty promising as a story about how she regains hope and love in her life... but that is not apparently the story the author planned. Overall the story suggests the futility of pitting our human lives against the heavens, whether astrologically or astronomically.

Taking place in Washington DC, there is a lot of politics in the book, and as it takes place during the Hayes administration, an era I am not very familiar with, I can't say I could easily follow all the maneuverings of the politicians. It's a sad book, which is not what I expected, or would have hoped for, but it was well-written. I really appreciated the way Mrs. May was written... her tragedies gave her something of an edge; she is a 'modern' woman made from her circumstances, not in spite of them. I was disappointed by most of the other characters however; I wished Mr Allison had more of a spine, and Conkling came very close to being a mere cariacature - as did Mary Costello. Several other Observatory workers were sadly underdeveloped as well.

[Kathi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up because someone recommended it. After I read it, didn't completely enjoy it I realized the book that was recommended to me was "Walk Two Moons." I'll try that. Maybe some of the problem for me isn't I'm not super interested in astronomy, and the three main characters were unsympathetic and at times I rolled my eyes. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read several of Mallon's novels and this one was the first which was unable to hold my interest. Neither the setting nor the characters seemed fully formed on the page. A disappointment, but surely an aberration. A least, I hope so, as I have Henry and Clara and Aurora 7 sitting here next to me on my "to read" pile of books.

[Ruth]

Not great.

[Elizabeth Periale · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting story of a single woman post-Civil war - such a sad ending

[Drew]

Two Moons: A novel by Thomas Mallon (2000)