The Lost Constitution: a novel by William Martin

Long and Rambling** July 21,2007

This is the second Martin novel I have read. The other was Back Bay, a long time ago, of which I have no recollection.

This novel meanders through time and place, jumping back and forth from one century to another, sometimes for no apparent reason.The focus is on the hunt for a lost annotated draft of the US Constitution from the time when the Constitutional Convention was at the drafting stage. The missing draft is marked with the comments of various New England delegates. The modern search is carried out by historian Peter Fallon who is pursued by others in search of the document. Martin is a very long-winded writer who includes tons of unnecessary detail and his jumping back and forth in time and place is hard to follow. I made it to the end of this novel but barely. In the hands of a more skilled writer this could have been an intriguing read.