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Up The Hill To Home
Charming, lyrical, evocative, by turns funny and heartbreaking, Up The Hill To Home sketches an enduring portrait of four generations of the Miller/Beck/Voith clan against the backdrop of Washington, DC as the city grow from a dusty pre-Civil War cowtown to a national capital in the throes of the Great Depression.
475 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2015
11 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Bort Yacovissi
1 book37 followersJenny Yacovissi grew up just a bit farther up the hill from Washington, D.C.
Her debut novel, Up the Hill to Home, is a fictionalized account of her mother’s family.
Today Jenny owns a small project management and engineering consulting firm. In addition to writing and reading historical and contemporary literary fiction, Jenny enjoys gardening and being on the water. She lives with her husband Jim in Crownsville, Maryland.
To learn more about the families in Up the Hill to Home and see photos and artifacts from their lives, visit http://www.jbyacovissi.com.
Her debut novel, Up the Hill to Home, is a fictionalized account of her mother’s family.
Today Jenny owns a small project management and engineering consulting firm. In addition to writing and reading historical and contemporary literary fiction, Jenny enjoys gardening and being on the water. She lives with her husband Jim in Crownsville, Maryland.
To learn more about the families in Up the Hill to Home and see photos and artifacts from their lives, visit http://www.jbyacovissi.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 3, 2019
Once in a while I come across historical fiction, and I have to say this is one of the most interesting stories. The description is vivid and the dialogue feels very real. The research for this book shows! A long but beautiful read.
May 3, 2015
UP THE HILL TO HOME – Jennifer Bort Yacovissi
Washington City, District of Columbia – 1890s to 1930s
It all starts with Charley Beck, stalwart employee of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who spies a woman that he cannot forget. She is quite obviously an intelligent, independent woman for this day, and Charley is intrigued. When he finally manages to meet her, he’s even more convinced that this is the woman he wants to settle down with, despite their age difference. Emma is thirty-seven to Charley’s twenty-six. To Emma, this late in life love is a true miracle. To Charley, he knows he’s made the right choice.
Charley wants their marriage to start out just right. Having been a frugal saver over the years, he has just enough to buy some land outside the city and he and Emma plan their new house. Seven forty-one is the house number, and soon, their only daughter Lillie is born there. Charley is a natural at fixing things, building things, and gardening, and he is also a natural at being a father. He and Emma adore their only child, and she shines in that light.
Thirty years later, Lillie is married to her beloved Ferd (Ferdinand Voith), the mother of nine, and pregnant with their tenth child. They live at seven forty-one with Charley and Emma. She and Ferd have a tradition that whenever she learns she is pregnant, she asks Ferd to bring her memory box down from the attic. Their lives are full with family, church, and the house.
While taking laundry down to the basement one day, Lillie falls, lands on her back, and thinks nothing of it. But something is terribly wrong when she develops a serious cough, and has trouble breathing. As Lillie lies in bed, the memories of a full, loving life swim through her thoughts.
UP THE HILL TO HOME is a debut novel based on the author’s family. The big house has seen love, births, sadness, and most of all holds the memories of the entire family. Lillie and Ferd and their brood have made the lives of Emma and Charley full.
Beautifully and lovingly written, this sweet story is well researched, brings Emma, Charley, Lillie, Ferd, and all of the children to life as the world changes around them. From Victorian turn of the century days to the Great Depression, readers will be drawn to the everyday lives of these average Americans who have made this country what it is today.
I highly recommend UP THE HILL TO HOME and feel it deserves a Perfect 10 for the pure enjoyment of getting to know this family.
Washington City, District of Columbia – 1890s to 1930s
It all starts with Charley Beck, stalwart employee of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who spies a woman that he cannot forget. She is quite obviously an intelligent, independent woman for this day, and Charley is intrigued. When he finally manages to meet her, he’s even more convinced that this is the woman he wants to settle down with, despite their age difference. Emma is thirty-seven to Charley’s twenty-six. To Emma, this late in life love is a true miracle. To Charley, he knows he’s made the right choice.
Charley wants their marriage to start out just right. Having been a frugal saver over the years, he has just enough to buy some land outside the city and he and Emma plan their new house. Seven forty-one is the house number, and soon, their only daughter Lillie is born there. Charley is a natural at fixing things, building things, and gardening, and he is also a natural at being a father. He and Emma adore their only child, and she shines in that light.
Thirty years later, Lillie is married to her beloved Ferd (Ferdinand Voith), the mother of nine, and pregnant with their tenth child. They live at seven forty-one with Charley and Emma. She and Ferd have a tradition that whenever she learns she is pregnant, she asks Ferd to bring her memory box down from the attic. Their lives are full with family, church, and the house.
While taking laundry down to the basement one day, Lillie falls, lands on her back, and thinks nothing of it. But something is terribly wrong when she develops a serious cough, and has trouble breathing. As Lillie lies in bed, the memories of a full, loving life swim through her thoughts.
UP THE HILL TO HOME is a debut novel based on the author’s family. The big house has seen love, births, sadness, and most of all holds the memories of the entire family. Lillie and Ferd and their brood have made the lives of Emma and Charley full.
Beautifully and lovingly written, this sweet story is well researched, brings Emma, Charley, Lillie, Ferd, and all of the children to life as the world changes around them. From Victorian turn of the century days to the Great Depression, readers will be drawn to the everyday lives of these average Americans who have made this country what it is today.
I highly recommend UP THE HILL TO HOME and feel it deserves a Perfect 10 for the pure enjoyment of getting to know this family.
November 10, 2015
Up the Hill to Home was a pleasure to read, for someone with lifelong connections to Washington, D.C. My grandfather worked for the USDA Forest Service in the Agriculture Building, and later for what was then called the Bureau of the Budget. My uncle followed in his footsteps. I am Catholic and attended Holy Cross Academy forty-three years later than Lillie Voith, the central figure. Coming from a large family, I was gratified finally to read a novel that lovingly describes life in such a household, even down to telling what it’s like to raise children with distinct personalities. Learning something of the history of Washington City (I hadn’t known it was called that); living through a miserably hot and humid August day during the Civil War, with Union troops marching through the city to engage Confederate troops in battle; these were a plus. The letters home from the reluctant Union physician Christian were priceless. The structure of the novel is brilliant, but it comes with the price of sadness. William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying comes to mind; Jennifer Yacovissi seems to have developed the possibilities in Faulkner’s title. However, in the end, my greatest appreciation is for the novel’s rich description of Catholic customs, everyday domesticity and married love.
March 2, 2017
Up the Hill to Home is a must-read for people who live in or near Washington DC or are interested in American history. It is a fictionalized account of the author's family in Washington between the 1860's and the 1930's, and offers a detailed portrayal of everyday life as well as historical events like the Battle of Fort Stevens. Not only does the author craft an immersive narrative of life during the Civil War and Great Depression, but as real people whose lives were written down in letters and diaries, the characters are truly multi-dimensional. The book is also suspenseful. The main character, Lillie, is badly hurt in a fall (much of the narrative consists of flashbacks). Will Lillie live or die? And what will the effect be on her large family? Highly recommended.
April 6, 2018
I knew I was going to love this family history when Charley falls in love with much older Emma because her bearing signals self-possession and strong character. His antics to win her heart are hysterical. Their negotiations as they consider matrimony should be taught in school!
If one quote captures the book's theme, it might be Professor Dettweiller's word's to Charley and Emma's only child Lillie, "Remember, Lillie: good and bad both, our history conspires to make us who we are.” No one is wholly good or wholly bad, he tells her. Indeed, a callous streak that runs through the generations illustrates this point. It begins with Lillie's grandfather, who fails to consider the effects on his family when he voluntarily stays away too long during the Civil War. And it is visible in Emma and Lillie, who show disregard for Lillie's husband Ferd when they plan Lillie's future to suit themselves.
The episodes in Lillie's life show a sweep of history that makes us glad of progress in some areas (most notably, medicine and opportunities for women to use their educations) and sad for the losses growth has wrought. We might well mourn the passing of intimate family and community ties that a slower pace of life fostered.
The reproduction of letters Lillie's grandfather wrote to his abandoned wife told that part of the story well, but I found myself more intrigued by Lillie's academic talent. Under her professor's tutelage, she pieced together the mystery of her grandfather's absence from his family. Still, she either has no ambition to use that talent or, more likely, cannot see her way past her destiny to marry and raise a large family. Such were the times.
Yacovissi tells her family's story with deep respect, love, and precious little sentimentality. That approach serves the story well.
If one quote captures the book's theme, it might be Professor Dettweiller's word's to Charley and Emma's only child Lillie, "Remember, Lillie: good and bad both, our history conspires to make us who we are.” No one is wholly good or wholly bad, he tells her. Indeed, a callous streak that runs through the generations illustrates this point. It begins with Lillie's grandfather, who fails to consider the effects on his family when he voluntarily stays away too long during the Civil War. And it is visible in Emma and Lillie, who show disregard for Lillie's husband Ferd when they plan Lillie's future to suit themselves.
The episodes in Lillie's life show a sweep of history that makes us glad of progress in some areas (most notably, medicine and opportunities for women to use their educations) and sad for the losses growth has wrought. We might well mourn the passing of intimate family and community ties that a slower pace of life fostered.
The reproduction of letters Lillie's grandfather wrote to his abandoned wife told that part of the story well, but I found myself more intrigued by Lillie's academic talent. Under her professor's tutelage, she pieced together the mystery of her grandfather's absence from his family. Still, she either has no ambition to use that talent or, more likely, cannot see her way past her destiny to marry and raise a large family. Such were the times.
Yacovissi tells her family's story with deep respect, love, and precious little sentimentality. That approach serves the story well.
October 4, 2018
From page one of this stunning novel, I was pulled into the warmth and friction of the Voith and Beck families, a multi-generational household spinning with activity and suspense. Author Jennifer Bort Yacovissi has obviously done her research in the culture of the early 20th century in Washington, D.C., and in the many members of her mother’s family. Bort shows each family member—from stern but loving grandmother Emma Beck through nine grandchildren to infant Thomas Voith—as a robust individual, embracing life on his or her own terms. At the center of the whirlwind is Lillie Voith, daughter of Emma and mother of the growing brood. Lillie is the glue that holds the household together until suddenly she’s taken ill. Now it’s up to the other people in the house to figure out what their roles have to be to keep the family going. Yacovissi does an excellent job showing the spirit of each character as well as the interlocking pains and joys of the family, all of which are influenced by another character, Washington, D.C.
May 7, 2015
Up the Hill to Home
Jennifer Bort Yacovissi
Review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
"Over the course of nine pregnancies, Lillie develops her own little rituals in preparing for a new baby’s arrival into the family. One of the first things she does is to have Ferd go up into the attic and bring down her memory box. In fact, she sometimes breaks the happy news to him by smiling and simply saying, ‘It’s time to get the box again.’ For his part, Ferd responds with some combination of a smile or laugh, a kiss, and a sweeping, feet-off-the-floor embrace before he heads to the attic. "
In this fictional account of a family, based on the lives of real folk, author & reviewer for Washington Independent Review of Books Jennifer Bort Yacovissi has taken events, memories and family lore surrounding her parents and grandparents, and fashioned a multi-generational patchwork quilt— something like a wedding ring pattern, with interlinking circles. The chapters include diary entries, old love letters, and the up-to-the-minute happenings that swirl around a very busy, at times chaotic household in crisis.
At the center is Lille Voith, whose accidental fall on a Passion Sunday morning in April, 1933, begins the book. The story ends one week later, on Palm Sunday. In between are recollections that span American events from the Civil War to the beginning years of the Great Depression on a little farmstead originally located on the outskirts of Washington, DC. The memories come not only from Lillie, who is pregnant with her tenth child and now suddenly bedridden, but also from Ferd, her devoted husband, and Charley and Emma, her aging parents. While Lillie languishes in her room, struggling to recuperate, her parents, her spouse, and her nine children are plunged into new routines and chores they never expected to take on.
We learn of the family’s determination to balance traditional farm life with the increasing demands for cash and the encroachment of the city. In recollection we see Confederate Jubal Early’s march into Washington and suffer the distress of Lillie's grandmother Mary during long days of fear and gunfire. Through the letters of her Grandfather Miller, an army doctor, Lillie comes to understand war in all its gore, its scarce glory.
Yacovissi has planned her book carefully, and the result is nothing short of remarkable. We are gently lulled into thinking it is something rather simple, then watch it expand and become more nuanced, until the ending gradually slides into focus. The author deftly cultivates our interest in the historical background while keeping our sentiments trained on her very human cast of characters.
The book is peppered with archaic language and folksy idioms that keep us in the timeframe, contributing nostalgia without saccharine. The letters are charmingly redolent of their era; the observations of Charley and Ferd, both trying to manage nine young’uns while fostering constant concern on the ailing mother, are plausible and often amusing. And bridging all, Lillie’s thoughts, her memories and her fading sense of reality, are convincing and affecting.
(This review first appeared on Curled Up with a Good Book).
Jennifer Bort Yacovissi
Review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
"Over the course of nine pregnancies, Lillie develops her own little rituals in preparing for a new baby’s arrival into the family. One of the first things she does is to have Ferd go up into the attic and bring down her memory box. In fact, she sometimes breaks the happy news to him by smiling and simply saying, ‘It’s time to get the box again.’ For his part, Ferd responds with some combination of a smile or laugh, a kiss, and a sweeping, feet-off-the-floor embrace before he heads to the attic. "
In this fictional account of a family, based on the lives of real folk, author & reviewer for Washington Independent Review of Books Jennifer Bort Yacovissi has taken events, memories and family lore surrounding her parents and grandparents, and fashioned a multi-generational patchwork quilt— something like a wedding ring pattern, with interlinking circles. The chapters include diary entries, old love letters, and the up-to-the-minute happenings that swirl around a very busy, at times chaotic household in crisis.
At the center is Lille Voith, whose accidental fall on a Passion Sunday morning in April, 1933, begins the book. The story ends one week later, on Palm Sunday. In between are recollections that span American events from the Civil War to the beginning years of the Great Depression on a little farmstead originally located on the outskirts of Washington, DC. The memories come not only from Lillie, who is pregnant with her tenth child and now suddenly bedridden, but also from Ferd, her devoted husband, and Charley and Emma, her aging parents. While Lillie languishes in her room, struggling to recuperate, her parents, her spouse, and her nine children are plunged into new routines and chores they never expected to take on.
We learn of the family’s determination to balance traditional farm life with the increasing demands for cash and the encroachment of the city. In recollection we see Confederate Jubal Early’s march into Washington and suffer the distress of Lillie's grandmother Mary during long days of fear and gunfire. Through the letters of her Grandfather Miller, an army doctor, Lillie comes to understand war in all its gore, its scarce glory.
Yacovissi has planned her book carefully, and the result is nothing short of remarkable. We are gently lulled into thinking it is something rather simple, then watch it expand and become more nuanced, until the ending gradually slides into focus. The author deftly cultivates our interest in the historical background while keeping our sentiments trained on her very human cast of characters.
The book is peppered with archaic language and folksy idioms that keep us in the timeframe, contributing nostalgia without saccharine. The letters are charmingly redolent of their era; the observations of Charley and Ferd, both trying to manage nine young’uns while fostering constant concern on the ailing mother, are plausible and often amusing. And bridging all, Lillie’s thoughts, her memories and her fading sense of reality, are convincing and affecting.
(This review first appeared on Curled Up with a Good Book).
July 7, 2018
Up the Hill to Home is a fascinating story that sheds new light on how the lives of family generations and events are connected. It tells of the lives of many generations of one family and the house in which the shared. Anyone who is interested in genealogy or family history should read his book, as it will inspire you to discover what your ancestors experienced. These are fascinating characters, and it was clever how present and past tense were shared and used; the former especially makes one feel as if they are living history. My only concerns are that some of the minor characters I had trouble keeping track of who they were, and though there were references to historical events like the Civil War I would have liked to see perhaps some more clearer references to the Great Depression, which the main generation of characters were living in.
August 27, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. I found it very easy to get attached to the characters. The author is really good at painting word pictures. There are a lot of humorous moments where I was laughing out loud.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews