Downriver: A Tale of Moving Pictures Before Hollywood

Let Anne Blackstone lead you right onto a showboat and into the historic beginnings of moving pictures.-Compelling and exciting!
By beth woronoff on November 10, 2017

Downriver opens up on a vivid world in which the heroine, Anne Blackstone has just lost her mother and has been captured by well meaning nuns and put into an orphanage where she must care for the younger children. Instead of giving into depression and self pity Anne works hard at her job, gains the trust of the nuns and finds an opportunity to escape. This is where the book truly takes off. Anne heads for the docks where her father a boat man used to spend time. She hears about a show boat about to leave with a vacancy. Anne shows up, speaks to the Director, makes up a plausible story of who she is and what her experience is and is accepted onto the boat. She has taken a leap of faith and the world has rewarded her. The rest of the novel shows Anne in one after another amazing situations where her confidence and nerve unfold first the world of a traveling Boat Theater and then the historic beginnings of film. A compelling read from beginning to end.