Let's unpack that statement.
Because I gave you solid, checkable historical information, I am therefore "deranged."
That's a hard thesis to defend.
From there you extrapolate that Frederic's novel "probably" had a factual underpinning.
I hope you realize how illogical that is.
It was written by a Yankee, about Yankees for Yankees.
Frederic was an American expatriate, living in London. He changed his last name from Frederick to Frederic, to seem more cultured and cosmopolitan.
He was 9 when the Civil War ended.
The characters in the novel were certainly upstate New Yorkers.
It was written in England by an American for an international audience, not just readers in the Northern US.
Its message is: "just because Abner Beech opposed the Civil War and supported the Confederacy does not mean that he supported slavery."
Who would find this message heartwarming?
Two groups among his broader readership would have found this appealing: Northern American Democrats, who were trying to sweep their previous support for slavery under the rug, and English Liberals who were trying to sweep their history as pro-slavery Palmerston Tories under the rug.
Feel-good fiction for revisionists.
Like I said I haven’t read it yet. I just ordered a copy. My Kindle is busted, going for hard copy.
He's not true to Fredric's novel, which may be sympathetic to Beech's convictions and suffering but doesn't pretend the Copperhead hero was actually anti-slavery or anything less than what later generations would call a racist.