City of Dreams: A Novel of Early Manhattan

Old New York #1

by Beverly Swerling

In 1661, Lucas Turner, a barber surgeon, and his sister, Sally, an apothecary, stagger off a small wooden ship after eleven weeks at sea. Bound to each other by blood and necessity, they aim to make a fresh start in the rough and rowdy Dutch settlement of Nieuw Amsterdam; soon lust, betrayal, and murder will make them mortal enemies. In their struggle to survive in the New World, Lucas and Sally make choices that will burden their descendants with a legacy of secrets and retribution, and create a heritage that sets cousin against cousin, physician against surgeon, and, ultimately, patriot against Tory.

In what will be the greatest city in the New World, the fortunes of these two families are inextricably entwined by blood and fire in an unforgettable American saga of pride and ambition, love and hate, and the becoming of the dream that is New York City.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, New York, Historical, 17th Century, American History, Book Club

756 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

I’m told that a number of critics who have said kind things about my books, have been less kind about the very brief bio on my book jackets. First, don’t blame Simon & Schuster; it’s my fault. Publishers use the data supplied by the author for this kind of thing, and I didn’t supply much. I guess because it seems that almost everything needs a long explanation. Which is probably me being egotistical. What do you care, right? You buy my books to be entertained (and very grateful I am), you don’t give two hoots about me.

But there are those picky critics…
Here then is a somewhat less abbreviated version.

I grew up in the Boston suburb of Revere, and while I won’t tell you when, I will say that it was very different from what it is today. The beach was, as it still is, one of the natural wonders of the state of Massachusetts, but the front was NOT lined with condo high-rises. It was a boardwalk with stands selling fried clams (Massachusetts has the world’s best fried clams – made from the Ipswich soft shells, they remain what I’d choose for my last meal on this earth) and French fries and soft ice cream that we called frozen custard. Plus there were all kinds of gambling games of the sort found at any fairground – pitch ‘til you win, folks! – and a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster and a tunnel of love.

Another feature of Revere back then was that it was almost entirely either Jewish or Italian (my own family is a mixture of both) and because the town had a dog track – Wonderland - and a horse track – Suffolk Downs – there was a lot of what is politely called off-track betting. Which wasn’t legal then, and for all I know still is not. Nonetheless, any number of family members rented rooms to bookies – the chief requirement being that these gentlemen of the turf had to be able to see one or the other of the tote boards with binoculars, (a world without cell phones, remember) and know how much they were liable to pay out, which in turn affected what odds they could offer on the next race.

I went from that upstanding childhood to a small Catholic girls college in the Midwest, then a job in New York as a file clerk to support my writing – all non-fiction at first – until I was able to earn my way as a free lance journalist.
For a time after that I lived in Europe.
Where I got married for a brief and unpleasant period, then came home and wrote more non-fiction. And got married again.
And went back to Europe.
And started writing fiction, and – hallelujah! – selling it.
And came back to New York with my by now long time husband, and began writing City of Dreams…
Which just about catches you up. Except for the bits I’ve left out.

And, oh yes, one other important part of my life and my work: On that so brief bio on the S&S book jacket it mentions that I’m a consultant. Many people have asked me what kind.

Happens that my husband – who has his own website at www.agentresearch.com – runs the world’s number one consultancy for authors looking for new (or sometimes a first) agents. It’s called Agent Research and Evaluation, Inc. and I do some work for some of his clients. I also occasionally mentor new writers – and some who are not so new. What they all have in common is a passion for what they’re writing, so working with them gives me great joy, and most have found it helpful. (Admittedly not all. I set the bar high.) Some of what I have to share about the hows and the whys of this wonderful but very tough business of writing can be found at The Business of Writing page. At other parts of the site you’ll find more about my books, including excerpts from some not yet published work, such as City of Glory, which continues the story of the Turners and the Devreys of City of Dreams. City of Glory will be out in January. We’ve also put up an excerpt from the next book in that series, still little more than a gleam in my eye.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

City of Dreams is the saga of early Manhattan called Nieuw Amsterdam in the 1600’s. It is the tale of Turner family and all their drama. Lucas Turner a barber surgeon and Sally Turner an apothecary are brother and sister and arrive in the new world after 11 weeks at sea.

This book explores early life in New York and centers on medical procedures in detail and how they were performed in gruesome detail. It was to my amazement that these procedures where even done back then.
We learn how the people lived their everyday lives and how slavery was a big part of it. This story also features the politics of the American Revolution where we meet George Washington.

The history in this book is fascinating. It is very well researched but is not for the faint of heart. Their are many gruesome details featuring treatment of others and surgical procedures and explicit sexual encounters.
It is a good read to learn how this country started, although it is a very long book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written novel. My only complaint is that the author builds interest in certain of the characters' lives and then drops them without notice, moving the reader forward by 50 years or so. Actually, that also was the very thing that caused me to feel somewhat melancholy. The reality that I'm going to age, and yikes, die, is a little bit painful. The reality that my little boy is going to grow up and have children of his own someday is a lot painful! But there is no (happy) alternative, so I better suck up reality, and start thinking about leaving a decent legacy!! Hey- I just realized that what one of my friends recently said is correct: It's not only history, but also clever fiction, that can have a profound impact on our own personal growth.

[Naturegirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a massive undertaking, but I think it was worth the effort. It was well written and historically accurate, but dear Lord, was it ever disturbing. The book is the story of Manhattan back in the day before America was a country, up until we became one. The book is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. It was horrifying. The medical procedures that were performed were described in horrific gory detail that made me want to barf on several occasions. There are also stories of burnings and torture and rape that will make you yell in shame at the so called "Christian" principles our country was founded on. The things that were done in the name of religion as our foundation as a nation was formed are sobering and heartbreaking. The characters interwoven into the story are duplicitous, raw, determined, and pathetic in their own ways. I gave it two stars because it was so difficult to get through and was not by any means a happy read.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows generations in New York and their ties to medicine it was kind of confusing at times I wasn't sure what the significance of the last chapter was but overall I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book.

[Misfit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sorry, as much as I love historical fiction, and as much as I LOVED Shadowbrook: A Novel of Love, War, and the Birth of America, I could not get into this book. While I appreciate the amount of research the author did into medical history of this time and treatment of slaves, the gore factor is WAY OVER THE TOP. Page after page after page, compounded with unappealing characters who even if one started to care, disappeared into another generation.

I gave up after 200 pages. I give the author kudos for the well done research and keeping with known facts, but as stated before, the gore factor is way over what I can stomach for 600 pages. If you are not sure if this is for you, I suggest you check it our from your local library. Then, if you absolutely love it, buy it. JMHO.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 out of 5 stars - Great story of family secrets, retribution and survival

Loved this one -- the first in a series about colonial times in the early days of the USA. It features a family who are interested in furthering the science and art of medicine -- barbers, surgeons, physicians, and apothecaries. Wow, were those some really barbaric times! The characters were compelling and multi-layered and the saga details the interactions and fueds between families.I have read a bit of historical fiction that centers on this time period (circa 1600s), but never one that is set in "Nieuw Amsterdam" and early Manhattan. The settling and business of New York was quite interesting. Can't wait to get started on the next one!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first of Beverly Swerlings historical novels for me. Because it gives such good background about NYC - a very important part of my life - I gratefully took all of it in. Also the healing/surgeon/doctor lineage story. And the wildness of life on the frontier. The stories of the operations were rough but real. We are lucky is many ways to be alive in the US of A at this moment. I went on to Shadowbrook, very romantic and full of adventure as well as history I didn't know about in the Ohio country also land connected to my family line. Definitely an easy and engrossing read. I loved both these books

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting through this book, mainly because a.) I didn't like ANY of the characters, as they all seemed to be obnoxious, amoral, and given to seriously bad judgement, b.) there was too much awkward, seriously cringe-worthy sex, and c.) ditto gruesome surgery. It was well-researched, though, so I have to at least give her that; I did enjoy the slowly changing history of New York, but ultimately liked Rutherford's vignette approach better.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really engrossing historical novel about the early days of New York. The novel is multi-generational and dates from 1661 when New York was a Dutch colony and called Nieuw Amsterdam up to 1798 after the Revolutionary War. The novel focuses on a family of surgeons/barbers, physicians, and apothecaries. The surgeons were actually the ones that had the most useful medical knowledge including ways to cut into people to cure them. The physicians were actually trained in medical schools but the medical knowledge of the time was pretty much barbaric and useless and included such things as bleeding, use of leeches, purging, and cupping. Then there were the apothecaries who treated people with cures found mostly in the wild or cultivated for use. This included laudanum which was derived from opium poppies and alcohol.

The surgeons descended from Lucas Turner who arrived in New York in 1661 with his sister Sally, an apothecary. Lucas had a falling out with Sally when he basically sold her to a rich physician named Van der Vries thus separating the family into two feuding branches. The novel goes on through several generations and includes some very fascinating characters who struggle to make it in the early days of New York. In addition to doctors, the family included slaves, privateers, gun dealers, pimps, madams, and prostitutes.

Especially interesting were descriptions of some of the early medical techniques. Lucas actually operated on Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of the colony, to relieve him of kidney stones. The method used was very squirm-worthy but according to the author, it was a method actually used and historically documented.

And of course the novel also provided a lot of history on the city including how it evolved from a small Dutch colony to a "city of dreams" where people went to make their fortune. Included in this was its role in the Revolutionary War. George Washington was a key figure in the story along with the British siege of the city and their treatment of the rebel prisoners. I also didn't realize that New York was the first capitol of the United States and Washington was sworn in as president there. Very compelling reading that I would consider both an historical romance and a great adventure novel. Swerling also wrote three sequels to this: CITY OF GLORY, CITY OF GOD, and CITY OF PROMISE. Hopefully, I will get around to reading these as well.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great novel for those who love Edward Rutherfurd. In a similar style, Swerling tells the story of New York's birth through the lives of intertwined families. Just as in Rutherfurd novels, this method of storytelling means we leave some characters behind long before we wish it, which contributes to the real emotion of the story. People too often don't get to neatly wrap things up and accomplish all of their goals. And New York, of course, carries on long after those who succeed or die trying in its crowded streets.

[Lorin Cary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cultural conservatives who yearn for the good old days will not like this book, because it's fairly accurate descriptions of life in New York from the 17th through the 18th century (until the end of the American Revolution) does not jibe with their peculiar notions. Lucas Turner and his sister Sally arrive in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1661, not long before the British assume control. And so starts a multi-generational novel. The importance of slavery in New York is evident from the first, and Swerling captures the fear of slave revolts in the early 18th century. At the same time, she does a good job of showing how close relationships could be between masters and slaves. The importance of white indenture is clear, and Swerling details the seamy side of life in the colony because one of the characters marries a man who runs guns and whore houses. Inter and intra generational tensions and squabbles are a major theme, but the most interesting one for me had to do with the practice of medicine. A dry topic by itself, perhaps, it comes alive here as arguments about treatment break out and the question of whether or not a woman can practice is center stage in one generation. The importance of herbal treatments shows up too, mainly as handled by women. Relations with the Indians in the areas are another sub theme. The Revolutionary chapters are interesting and capture the intensity of anti-British sentiments as well as the brutalities of the era. All in all, it's a good book. It is, however, a big, long book. At times I lost track of the quarrels and became ready for a conclusion. The last chapter is 1798; one of the female descendants disguises as a woman and heads to Nova Scotia to practice surgery--the medical theme completed.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to stop reading this one, so I give it one star. It had a lot of promise, it's about the beginnings of New York City, but it got a little too crass for my taste. I prefer to like the main characters when I'm reading a book, and found that I didn't care a hoot what happened to any of them, which helped me make my decision to nix this one. Not recommended to anyone who prefers reading a "cleaner" novel.

[Sharon Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful writer! I am a huge fan of historical fiction and Swerling is a master story-teller

[Randi Reisfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for all NYC history -- and this was well worth it! Recommended by brilliant cousin Mindy, it's number one in a trilogy--it earns the moniker, "sweeping generational saga," as it takes us, via two strong, fascinating fictional families, through the settling of "New Amsterdam" in the 1600s through the Revolutionary War. Who knew NYC made a fortune on the backs of slavery?? Who knew about surgeries without pain killers, and beginnings of pharmacies? Who knew Delancey Street was named after a former (corrupt) governor named De Lancy? Who knew about the beginnings of Bellevue? And the NYC-pogroms against Jews, Catholics and of course, African-Americans? All this plus sex scenes too! My one reason for withholding that fifth star: it IS a bit too long @ 600 pages... coulda been edited better. But I'm about to embark on Book #2 in this trilogy.

[Judy Walton Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings. I loved some of the historical things I learned, LOVED her details of medicine and herbal practitioners and loved some of her characters. I think she is overly ambitious. She starts to develop some great characters then jumps ahead 20 years without warning. Gets you into another generation then right when you figure out a bit about them she jumps ahead again. Yet she carries generational grudges through and I found the grudge/hate wasn't developed enough to pull it off why it should matter to the next generation.

It is a pretty good read but I don't know if I want to continue with this series.

[Linda Harkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author explores slavery, medical science, the early American bordello, and politics of the Ameican Revolution in this engaging novel set in New York City, originally the Dutch city of Nieuw Amsterdam. Among interesting historical trivia, Beverly Swerling gives us the origin of the term "grog," first used in the 1740s. This is the term applied by British sailors to their watered-down rum rations administerd by Admiral Edward Vernon, a naval officer always identified by his heavy grogram silk coat. The pride, ambitions, and fortunes of two families are traced in this city of dreams.

[James D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

A complete dissapointment. The author takes a solid topic like the history of New York, and has to save herself by throwing in overabundant gore and gratuitous sex for what seems to be shock value.It is very well researched, but the embellishment on the inner conflicts of the characters personalities just makes the book seem like a historical novel for mature audiences only.

[Pamela Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, the perfect blend of history and family tales (with a little debauchery tied in). Loved it!
The detailing of the progression of medicine (surgeons vs. physicians vs. barbers) was very interesting...tied in with early New York...amazing accomplishment by this author...will certainly look for more from this author!

[Shannon Zaremba · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York...you've come a long way!

Loved following generations of a family through the defining of New York! The writing was captivating and haunting and the characters so visual and emotional. The history of surgery and medicine, along with the history of New York and the life style of those times was an incredible read. Makes me appreciate how far we've come.

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

City of Dreams is the first in Beverly Swerling’s series of historic novels about early Manhattan. The story begins in 1661 when the Turner siblings, Lucas and Sally, arrive in Nieuw Amsterdam with nothing to their name but their medical skills and no one to trust but each other. The novel’s timeline ends three generations later, at the close of the American Revolution.


Almost as soon as the Turners set foot on dry land we are given the measure of their intelligence and resourcefulness; Lucas is called to treat the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant, and uses the opportunity to bargain for a better shop location inside the town walls as well as a parcel of land where they can live and grow the plants Sally needs to make her ‘simples’, the herbal remedies that support her brother’s practice.

By following Lucas and Sally as they struggle to establish themselves in what is still a Dutch colony, Swerling shows us the beginnings of New York City, which even then existed unabashedly and solely for commerce. The colonial town hustles with merchants and tradesmen, sailors, shopkeepers, bureaucrats, lawyers, prostitutes; there are Catholics, Protestants and Jews. And there are slaves, because the town lives for profit and the slave trade is the most profitable of all. In the woods outside the town, native Indian tribes co-exist on the island with the Europeans, some hostile, some merely wary. It is an unexpectedly diverse population and through the obstacles the young Turners face, we become acquainted with the local politics, prejudices, and beliefs of the era.

The novel also presents a society where women are chattels and people can be sentenced to death for moral transgressions. When Sally becomes pregnant after being raped, Lucas sells her in marriage to Jacob Van der Vries, an incompetent doctor who wants Sally for her simpling skills. He tells himself it’s to save his sister from being punished but he knows it’s really because he wants the money to buy himself a wife. Marit Graumann is the most desirable woman he has ever met, married to a sadistic butcher who is willing to sell her to the highest bidder. As events turn out, Lucas does not have to pay for Marit after all, but Sally’s marriage creates a bitter division between the siblings. Sally never forgives Lucas for forcing her into marriage with a man she despises. Thus begins the feud between the Devreys (as the Van der Vries become) and the Turners.

Lucas and Sally’s descendents carry on the family profession, with Devrey and Turner cousins in every generation who become surgeons, physicians, or apothecaries. The plot moves quickly to acquaint us with characters just as memorable as Lucas and Sally. On the Devrey side is Red Bess, a feisty widow who was raised by her mother Sally to stay away from the Turners, but who appeals to Christopher Turner to operate on her tumour. Her death on the operating table creates even more enmity between the cousins while Christopher’s attempts at blood transfusion make him a pariah. Patients stop coming and his once-prosperous household falls to near poverty. Christopher’s daughter Jennet, whose gender prevents her from becoming a surgeon, marries Solomon Da Silva, the wealthiest man in Manhattan, and a Brazilian Jew. She does this after her cousin Caleb Devrey pleads with their parents to let them marry, but then he spurns her, adding to the hostility between the families.

Swerling’s descriptions make it impossible to turn away from the horror show that was, in its time, state of the art medicine. She could not have chosen a more riveting profession to pull the reader into time and place. Cupping and bleeding were prescribed for nearly everything, all but the most basic surgery was viewed with suspicion, variolation (inoculation) too new and therefore prohibited, and the nature of blood transfusions not yet understood.

Human frailty, misunderstandings, pride, lust, and revenge drive the story forward, aided by a backdrop of politics, war, slave uprisings, and finally, the Revolution. A lot happens in this book and at a fairly fast clip that keeps you turning the page. Not knowing much about that era, I found it a real eye-opener of a novel and thoroughly enjoyable.

What I Learned About Writing from Reading This Book

One of the challenges of writing a historical novel is creating a multi-faceted view of a time and place. Otherwise you end up with a creation that resembles an early Hollywood period piece, all knights and ladies, without peasants or prostitutes; a historical setting that lacks verisimilitude. In a story such as City of Dreams that is already loaded with sub-plots, characters, and an ever-spreading family tree, how can you introduce characters and situations to create a fully-realized historical setting without adding more complexity?

Swerling accomplishes this by taking advantage of her characters’ medical professions. By using the patients who the Turners and Devreys treat, she paints a rich and revealing picture of the pre-Revolutionary citizens of Manhattan, from the disenfranchised to the purveyors of power. These are characters with straightforward justifications for coming in to the doctors’ offices and in to the story. Some patients and their families play a part in the machinations of plot while others serve only to illustrate prevailing attitudes or offer a glimpse of lives both squalid and privileged. Swerling avoids overusing this device, and manages to introduce a diversity of human conditions in an entirely natural and unforced manner – for what is more natural than for people to fall ill and seek out a doctor, no matter their status?

She achieves a densely layered rendering of the novel’s world without having to justify more subplots. There is narrative and exposition, prose which contributes to time and place; but for me it is the scenes between doctors and patients that vary the pace of the book, add immediacy, and most of all, put a human face on the social problems of the age.

It makes me think about other settings that would allow you to take advantage of a natural crossroads of humanity. Marketplaces, perhaps, or a public park. A ship full of immigrants. I will continue to ponder places where all walks of life would meet and mingle naturally.

Beverly was gracious enough to let me interview her (read here)

[Sarah Leclerc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so different than my normal reading and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite difficult to keep up with who was who and which generation they belonged to but the family tree at the beginning was quite helpful.

It was such a change of pace in the historical fiction genre. It was nice to get away from your typical WWII books. This might be the first book I read that touches on the Revolutionary War. It was also fascinating to read about the medical practices back then and how some of the practices during that time led to practices and procedures that are used today.

Warning... the first half was slow to get into at times. It picked up about half way through and then I couldn’t put it down. Read the second half in one day!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good vacation book, 589 pages! A historical fiction of New York City and the field of medicine, which is a major topic throughout the book. Follows two major families, not particularly exciting, but it did keep me reading.

[Muphyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the weaving storytelling about life in early New York, the medical procedures, and Swerling's ability to transport you into the back alleys of a grimy city that screams profit, profit, profit. But the vulgarity felt unnecessary at times and was a bit too much for my liking.

[Beth Sponzilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an epic historical fiction novel of the very beginnings of New York City from the 1640’s to about 1800. There are very brutal and lustful events through out, FYI, but great characters that you follow thru generations. I found it very interesting to see how certain aspects of the city came to be through time and war.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very long historical novel but very good. The beginnings of Manhattan and New York are explored through the lives of apothecaries, surgeons, and physicians and their practices. Amazing book.

[Marleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started City of Dreams I had such high expectations. This book had been on on my wish-list for the past 24 months. I sort of expected a magical and amazing reading experience, but unfortunately all I’m left with is mixed feelings. There were times - for a few paragraphs - I thought the story was superbly exciting, and then it felt back into a rather tedious narrative about diseases and lots and lots of primitive healing or (medieval) surgical procedures, amongst others. I think the main flaw with this book it that it spans over a too long a time - about 150 years, more or less. The reader gets invested into certain characters; more precisely a certain generation of the Turners or the Devreys; and then just at that moment the author jumps some decades to tell the tale of the next generation. That was a bit disturbing.
Usually I would review my appreciation of the characters, but there are too many. Where do I start? As for my own bias to which side of the family I would lean to; the physicians, the surgeons or the apothecaries; I’d say the Turners, but then all of them had flaws. It’s a pity in general that the author didn’t give the readers more time to enjoy a certain selection of characters; just one or two generations; not 5 or 6.
Admittedly this is a very well written work, that pulls the reader in, and introduces a world of pioneers, of new possibilities and that tugs at the heart-strings. It needs to be noted that the author had a great talent to render the authenticity of the 17th and 18th New York. That was actually quite interesting to have a New York described (earlier Nieuw Amsterdam) where only a few thousands people lived and that Broad way was just a dusty country road to begin with.

Besides finding it a tad too long, I enjoyed this book most of the time, and it felt like smaller stories in one book. Let’s say I'd rate it between "2,5” and “3” : it was okay most of the time – and - I enjoyed it alot, well, just here and there.

[Carolyn Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those huge novels that follow a family through major historical events, in the style of a soap opera. It starts in the 1660s, with Lucas Turner and his sister coming over from England, by way of Holland, and settling in New Amsterdam. Their descendants move through conquest by England, Indian wars, slave uprisings, and the American Revolution, but these events take a back seat to all the backstabbing, conspiring, and pairing up that goes on. A few actually historical people make appearances or get name checked along the way.

The story is interesting enough to keep plowing through the 600-odd pages, but I'm not motivated to follow these people through another THREE books of equal length. For one thing, it is exhausting to read about all the sexual assault that goes on - stranger rape, marital rape, pedophilia, prostitution, statutory rape - it all makes an appearance and in many cases is told in brutal detail. Very few women make it through the book without having some kind of horrible sexual experience, which they then bounce back from alarmingly easily. Yes, attitudes about sexual agency were different in the past, but I also feel like some authors like to throw in some rape as a cheap way to add a sense of "historical authenticity" to their book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of medicine, as the Turner family maintains this occupation through the centuries. There is a mention of: surgeons vs barbers vs physicians, the four humors, tourniquets, cancer, malaria, trepanning, pest houses, autopsies, blood transfusions, contraception, abortion, herbalism, laudanum, etc. That part of it seemed to be well researched, but I'm really not sure about the rest of the book.

[Varda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to give this an extra half star but Good Reads doesn't allow that. I am a huge fan of historical fiction, particularly NYC. This book delivered and I am about to start the next in the 4 novels of this series. The writing is solid, the characters developed well and have a staying power. A few images were quite vivid and frightening but I checked and some of the barbarism mentioned actually occurred. This author did all her research and made earliest Nieuw Amsterdam and New York not only come to life but filled with excitement, danger and promise. Her vivid descriptions were so real that I often thought I smelled whiffs of the smells she described.

I have read several books fiction and non about the 1600s to the Revolution in NYC and I know a lot about the era. Swerling brought some new information to light and also a new slant by introducing doctors, barbers, surgeons, physicians and other healers as protaganists. My cousin Carol introduced me to this author and I have a feeling that Swerling's talents as a writer will have me reaching beyond this series, too.

[Jen Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for something mindless set in old Manhattan, and that's what this was - fun to read, a good distraction etc. I wouldn't put it in the same group as Follett or McCullough, but that's ok. Wouldn't recommend to anyone, but I'm not sorry I read it.

[Irene]

Just started this but am really enjoying it so far. Susan recommended it. (Actually, it is her book.)