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The Family Quarrel
A journey through the years of the American Revolution
- GenresHistory
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Elswyth Thane
43 books140 followersThane is most famous for her "Williamsburg" series of historical fiction. The books cover several generations of a single family from the American Revolutionary War up to World War II. The action moves from Williamsburg in later books to England, New York City and Richmond, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 1, 2026
Written in 1959. Her project was to follow Benson Lossing's journey beginning in 1848 that traveled the track of the American Revolution and to record what the men who were involved had seen at that time. It was supposed to be focused on the southern campaign (below the Potomac) during 1780-81.
However, Thane didn't get to that part of the war until chapter VI almost 100 pages into the book. And yet still would discuss events prior to 1780 to set up how the patriots got to the "current" situation, whether that was a battle or other scenarios. The whole thing was not written in a linear format and that aggravated me and slowed down the reading. I had to set it aside from time to time.
i I liked that there was lots of information on various people involved in the American Revolution both main players and those on the periphery. Lossing was able to "interview" some people who were still alive when he began is journey, many who had just been children at the time but had been witness to history.
I always appreciate any nonfiction that adds to my knowledge and understanding of the topics and there were some tidbits that I had not known or had forgotten that I wrote down in my notes.
However, Thane didn't get to that part of the war until chapter VI almost 100 pages into the book. And yet still would discuss events prior to 1780 to set up how the patriots got to the "current" situation, whether that was a battle or other scenarios. The whole thing was not written in a linear format and that aggravated me and slowed down the reading. I had to set it aside from time to time.
i I liked that there was lots of information on various people involved in the American Revolution both main players and those on the periphery. Lossing was able to "interview" some people who were still alive when he began is journey, many who had just been children at the time but had been witness to history.
I always appreciate any nonfiction that adds to my knowledge and understanding of the topics and there were some tidbits that I had not known or had forgotten that I wrote down in my notes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review