Canal Town

by Samuel Hopkins Adams

Samuel Hopkins Adams presents a fictional portrait of an Erie Canal town in the early nineteenth century. This piece of classic literature relates the tale ofa young doctor setting up a practice in the canal town.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels, New York, 19th Century, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

From the book jacket of "Sunrise to Sunset", (c) 1950
At seventy-nine Samuel Hopkins Adams attributes his longevity, vigor and vim to neither smoking nor drinking, except when he feels like it. This is typical of the intelligent attitude toward the vagaries of life that has maintained him through the years in which he has authored more than forty books, written countless magazine articles and, as a crusading reporter, almost single-handedly accounted for the passage of the Federal Food and Drug laws which pave protected millions of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Adams' amazing knowledge of the history of upper New York State is the result of his lifelong interest in the region in which he was born. His home is Wide Waters, on the shore of Owasco, "loveliest of the Finger Lakes." From Wide Waters he still makes forways into the surrounding countryside, attending antique-auction sales "for the purpose of sneering at the prevalent junk," which he says he wouldn't put in his open hearth Franklin stove for fear of insulting it.

A graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, class of 1891, Mr. Adams introduced football to the campus, played tackle on its first team, and won the Intercollegiate Tennis Championship. For these contributions to scholarship, his college conferred on him the degree of L.H.D. in 1926.

Adams also wrote under the pseudonym Warner Fabian.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Hook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so surprised how well I enjoyed this book, which was found in a discard box at the public library. The feel of the era is conveyed easily, the action moves and keeps the reader's attention. The timely subjects of public health, the class struggle, human interest vs. an ethic based on privilege and raging bigotry against the poor and progressive thinkers, it is all there, along with several witty scenarios involving a young and intelligent free thinking girl, and an intelligence young doctor dedicated to science and his profession, all make for an engaging read.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpectedly amazing Amazon deal of the day.

I have the Kindle app on my phone, which makes for easy reading while commuting in the mornings. Canal Town was the deal of the day last week, so I picked it up since it wasn't the usual peddled garbage of romance novels and YA fiction. I had never heard of Canal Town, however it had high reviews and $1.99 isn't that much of a risk for an e-book.

How glad I am to have clicked purchase! This book was surprisingly great. From the first couple pages I was hooked. Dr. Horace Amlie, having just graduated from medical school, moves to Palmyra, New York to start a practice. Dr. Amlie proscribes to some newer medical theories, like cleanliness and vaccination. This upsets a good deal of townsfolk and the established doctor, Dr. Murchinson.

The detail of medical knowledge and practices of the period is astonishing. It's as if it was written in part by an actual doctor. From freak accidents like a tree falling and bear attack to diseases like malaria and typhus, the cures, remedies, and unfortunate deaths are featured in Canal Town. Normally I am not one for medical anything as I don't have the stomach for it, except this was more like a sampling of curiosity rather than an overly detailed, grotesque picture of 19th century medical practice.

I also enjoyed the backdrop of the novel, the construction of the Eerie Canal. As a born and raised West Coast gal, I don't give much thought to the East Coast or the defining historical moments like the Eerie Canal. It was an interesting locale for a novel, and I very much enjoyed learning more about upper New York cities and geography.

If you have the chance to pick up Canal Town, please do so. The vocabulary is flowery and advanced, but my gosh is this a wonderful story (Personally, I take pleasure in novels written like this as it builds the context and characters out in a much richer way than many newer novels do). I will probably reread Canal Town in the future as this has a lot of depth and seems like something I can go back to and discover hidden meaning that I had missed on the first reading.

[Fred Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely. It was written in the 1940's and is set around the building of the Erie Canal in the early 1800's. The characters are "characters" and together they make an interesting story. Adams was a activist writer along the lines of Sinclair Lewis. He was also a prolific writer with a number of his short stories expanded and made into movies for which he received no credit. Check him out on IMDB and Wiki. He was an interesting person. The famous movie, "It Happened One Night" was adapted from a short story of his. I am sorry that our library and the larger area it is a part of have no other works of his. I would suggest reading this and trying to find other works of his.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historic account of a town in the 1800’s during the building of the Erie Canal. Story portrays the impact of a company town and the influence of the family with the money. The story centers on a doctor who came to town during a plague and tries too prove his techniques and approach to sanitary conditions is the correct approach. A romance and The successes and failures of the doctor and his wife are central to the book.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting book. The first 2/3 give a great feel for the time period and a town on the brink of change. Also, loved the character of Araminta and ate up any portion of the book with her in it. The last 1/3 gets a little melodrama-ish and takes away from the canal action a bit. Over all, a pretty good book.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting historical novel, new subject material: building Erie Canal and early doctoring. Great characters. Took the whole first chapter for me to get into it. Olden days writing style, which eventually grew on me. People didn't come right out and SAY things, so had to read into it. The story on the pregnancy got long and ended up unusual. Remarkable book.

[Havilah Reeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this when I was about 12 and completely forgot about it until today, while in the middle of a conversation about pedophilia. The two main characters' love story, although sweet, makes me as uncomfortable as Emma and Knightly being together, which is to say VERY uncomfortable. Other than that, it was a very interesting read, and I probably recommend it.

[Peter McGinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a 1940s copy of this book at a library sale and grabbed it along with a few other old books. This is a good read. There are a lot of characters and they are allowed to develop and show growth over the years the book covers. It deals with a few serious issues but it at its heart a love story between two of the main characters. But a lot goes on around them.

The behavior of the characters reflects the mores and the beliefs of most people during the tie of the action, and it looks like a lot of research was dome to show the state of the medical profession at that time as practiced both by old school and forward thinking doctors.

The title refers to the construction of a canal system in this section of New York State, which was supposed to bring an economic windfall to thw area. To some extent it did, though it is being constructed under the ominous shadow of the ever expanding railroads.

The characters have to overcome some serious problems during the course of the novel, and succeed to a widely varying degree. The dialogue is realistic, though perhaps too much effort is put into writing the dialect phonetically in places.

Overall it is an interesting piece of historical fiction and I found it well worth the read.

[Deb Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being as old as I am, it wasn't easy to find a book written before I was born that was available at the public library! I ended up with this marvelous book written in 1944. On the verso of the title page it says, "This is a Random House Wartime Book. It is manufactured under emergency conditions and complies with the government's request to conserve essential materials in every possible way." The paper in the library's copy is extremely fragile, and the book itself provides a history of mending practices and materials over the last 70+ years.
Canal Town is a wonderful novel set in Palmyra, New York at the time that the Erie Canal was being built. The story provides a clear picture of small town life at that time, and was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I found lots of words that have fallen out of use, and had fun looking those up.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful surprise. I collect old books, not so much because I think I’ll read them, but because I like the way they look and I like the feel of an old book in my hands. I picked this one up off my shelf with really low expectations and couldn’t believe how wrong I was. This is a great book. It has lots of antiquated words to look up, but not so many to make it annoying. There are great characters and relevant themes: class struggles, wealth/power dynamics, medical controversies, moral dilemmas. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction. No, to anyone who appreciates a good book.

[Lucy McCoskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating telling of the story of an Erie Canal town, Palmyra NY, during the building of the Canal. I'm from nearby Rochester, which variously was called Rochestertown & Rochesterville in the book 'til it transformed into just plain Rochester as it grew & prospered due to the Canal. the book was full of familiar places. and it did a wonderful job of illustrating social mores and medical "progress" at the time (end of 1890s)

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

😆 This was such a random read for me, and I'm glad I went for it. It was so fun to immerse my brain in the norms and daily life of a different time period and place. Even knowing that it was written in the 1940s about the 1800s influenced how I understood the storylines. What a different world. And the ending?!?! Holy crap. Talk about a different era. So hilarious the things people worried about then.

[Xena! · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical novel about the pestilential Erie Canal town of Palmyra in the 1820's is somewhat dated, using obscure bits of language. But it was my favorite book when I first read it at age 12, and I loved it again at the age of 73. The history is fine and small-town machinations abound. The hero, a young MD, is overly stubborn but oh so right...