Williams was a free man and living in Mercer House during Berendt's five years in Savannah. Berendt also did not move to Savannah to collect material for his book until 1985 - after Williams' second conviction for the murder. The house is now known as the Mercer Williams House MuseumĪlthough the book's timeline is set to coincide with the entire saga of Jim Williams' arrest and four trials for murder, in reality Berendt did not meet Williams for the first time until 1982 - after the millionaire had already been convicted of murder the first time and released pending appeal.

The alleged murder of Danny Hansford occurred in Williams' study – the bottom left room in this photograph. Because it reads like a novel (and rearranges the sequence of true events in time), it is sometimes referred to as a 'non-fiction novel.' The book's plot is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980s and is classified as non-fiction. Chablis was given a dedicated chapter, as was Emma Kelly, the 'lady of 6,000 songs.” Characters and events Chablis provides both a Greek chorus of sorts as well as a light-hearted contrast to the more serious action. The book highlights many other notable Savannah residents, including The Lady Chablis, a local transgender woman, club performer, and entertainer. The death occurred in Williams' Mercer House home, which is now a museum. The book describes Williams' version of the killing, which is that it was in 'self-defense'-the result of Hansford, who was prone to fits of rage, shooting at Williams with a gun that was on display, and Williams shooting back to protect himself-and not murder, pre-meditated or otherwise, by Williams. This resulted in four murder trials, with the fourth ending in acquittal after the judge finally agreed to a change of venue to move the case away from the Savannah jury pool.

The central narrative concerns the shooting of Danny Hansford, a local male prostitute (characterized as 'a good time not yet had by all' by Prentiss Crowe, a Savannah socialite), by respected antiques dealer Jim Williams, who was also his employer. In tone, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is atmospherically Deep South coastal ( Savannah, Georgia, and Beaufort, South Carolina) and Southern Gothic, depicting a wide range of eccentric personalities in and around Savannah. The book was adapted for Clint Eastwood's 1997 film, with several characters' names changed to protect their privacy. Subtitled A Savannah Story, with an initial printing of 25,000 copies, the book became a New York Times Best-Seller for 216 weeks following its debut and remains one of the longest-standing New York Times Best-Sellers. The book, Berendt's first, was published in 1994 and follows the story of an antiques dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt.

Jon berendt