Netflix to turn this book by KC’s Candice Millard into a series, with some big stars

Local author Candice Millard had been down the road to Hollywood before, with would-be producers buying options on her bestselling nonfiction books.

“I know a lot of these things look exciting and then just never happen,” the Leawood resident said.

But now one has. Big time.

Netflix has announced that “Destiny of the Republic,” Millard’s 2011 tale of President James Garfield and his 1881 assassination, will come to TV as a series. It will be produced by the creators of “Game of Thrones” (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss) and will star Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen.

Shannon (“The Shape of Water,” “George & Tammy,” “Boardwalk Empire”) will portray Garfield, and two-time Emmy Award winner Macfadyen (“Succession,” “Pride & Prejudice”) will play his assassin, Charles Guiteau. The series, which doesn’t yet have a release date, will be titled “Death by Lightning.”

Netflix’s promotional materials say, “‘Death by Lightning’ is a drama series that brings to life the epic and stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield, reluctant 20th president of the United States, and his greatest admirer Charles Guiteau — the man who would come to kill him.”

Millard has no problem with the title change, indicating it comes from an ironic quote by Garfield himself upon entering the White House 16 years after Abraham Lincoln was killed: “Assassination can no more be guarded against than death by lightning, and it is not best to worry about either.”

She also has nothing but praise for the screenplay by Mike Makowsky.

“Obviously, he takes literary license, which I expected and understand,” she said. “But what was most important to me was that the basic story remained true and especially our understanding of James Garfield … that he was brilliant, he was brave, he was a decent, good, kind human being and probably would have been one of our great leaders. That’s what mattered to me, and that comes through in the screenplay.”

Makowsky, 32, wrote HBO’s “Bad Education,” which starred Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney and Ray Romano and won the 2020 Emmy for best TV movie, as well as “I Think We’re Alone Now” starring Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning.

He had read “Destiny of the Republic” in high school and approached Millard with the screen idea about five years ago. She says she trusts him to do a good job, calling Makowsky an “original thinker.”

“He takes his own approach to it, which I wanted and respected,” she said. “I think that was the only way it would have been made. It’s very true to the story, but he was able to capture the attention and the imagination of people in Hollywood, which is hard to do with any period piece. But about James Garfield?”

Millard is working on her fifth book, which like the others addresses a relatively overlooked chapter of history. This one will focus on British nurse Edith Cavell and her heroic efforts in German-occupied Belgium during World War I. The book is about three years from publication.

Meanwhile, she will follow the production of the Netflix series, which she said will film this summer in Budapest.

“They have these beautiful old buildings that make you think you’re in 1881 Washington, D.C.,” Millard said.

Although she hasn’t been involved in the project beyond writing the book, she might take up the producers’ invitation to visit the filming on location.

“This is just kind of icing on the cake for me,” Millard said. “It’s just kind of fun. So I’m perfectly content to watch from the wings.

“What’s most exciting to me about this is that I hope it will bring Garfield’s story to a whole different segment of the population. There were so many people who didn’t know anything about Garfield, but more than that they didn’t think there was anything interesting to know about him.”

Candice Millard’s books

▪ “River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey” (2005)

▪ “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” (2011)

▪ “Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill” (2016)

▪ “River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile” (2022)