Tudor Hall

[John Fazio]

Laurie:

We know he was drunken. We also know he was a skunk because he abandoned a wife and child in Europe to start a new and bigamous life in America with a young beauty and because, as you pointed out, he returned to Europe but made no effort to see his son. We also know he was at least partially mad inasmuch as he threatened, in an 1835 letter, to assassinate President Jackson. That leaves only "genius". We can all agree that he was a superb actor, but being a superb actor does not, to me, qualify as "genius". Accordingly, the answer to your question is: He was not a mad genius; he was just mad, and he was a drunken skunk. Not much to recommend him. That he died young shouldn't surprise anyone.

John