Pulaski's Canal

Pulaski Saga #1

by Robert F. Lackey

Ben Pulaski is supposed to be dead. But when he returns to Havre de Grace in 1841, two years after being reported lost at sea, it is not the homecoming he has long dreamed about. His reunion with Sonja and his sons-which kept his hope alive during squalid captive years in China-is replaced by a cruel reality. Ben's return destroys the sense of survival that has sustained Sonja as a widow and mourning mother to a lost infant daughter Ben never knew. Their home is gone, swept away by the Susquehanna ice. Sonja is near destitute and working as a house servant; she is emotionally numb and filled with resentment at Ben's resurrection.

Ben is a stranger to his sons and an intruder to his wife. His desire to become a part of their lives again and rebuild a family that has adjusted without him is a challenge he is determined to face. With the help of former shipmates, Ben builds a business on the canal that crosses from the mouth of the Susquehanna River over the Mason and Dixon Line into Pennsylvania. He can no longer ignore crossing the Line, from slave state to free, even at the peril of his rediscovered life.

Through it all he is haunted by bloody dreams as he fights to contain the brutal beast he became in China. Pulaski's Canal is a remarkably engaging story about a man torn by love and murderous rage as he struggles to rebuild his life in the little town at the head of the Chesapeake Bay.

383 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2013

About the author

ROBERT F. LACKEY draws from his experiences living in 38 locations in the United States and Europe. His longest location was in Havre de Grace, Maryland, which provided him the perspective and understanding to begin his Pulaski Saga. For much of his years in Havre de Grace, he spent many weekend afternoons exploring the remnants of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal. He fell in love with the little town sitting at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and head of the Chesapeake Bay. Among the many historic themes coexisting within the nearby sites and lanes, the Canal Era of the 19th century drew the author’s attention first. Stepping outside technical writing to complete his first novel, 'Pulaski’s Canal', Robert began a family story that has blossomed into a family saga. 'Blood on the Chesapeake' is the first of several sequels to follow 'Pulaski’s Canal'. His third Pulaski novel 'Raven's Risk' is due out September 1, 2017. He is now conducting research in Georgetown, South Carolina, for his next novel's locations, for his fourth Pulaski book, tentatively titled 'Kingdoms in the Marsh' (due out in 2018). Robert plans additional sequels to follow the Pulaski family through the mid to late 1800’s.

Reviews

[Randall Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulaski’s Canal by Robert F. Laskey is a historical novel, and the first of a series centered on barge traffic around Havre de Grace, Maryland near the mouth of the Susquehanna River. The milieu is pre-Civil War and the author has done a fine job evoking time and place. Even though Maryland fought on the Union side during the coming war and had free blacks living there, it was legal to own slaves and many did. While they were technically free, the blacks of Maryland were second-class citizens and mostly kept to themselves.
The story centers around Ben Pulaski, who, after virtual-imprisonment in China, returns to home to his wife, Sonja, who was led to believe that he had died and thus mourned his passing for years. Much has changed since Ben left. His home and fortune are gone and he confronts a bitter, angry wife who cannot forgive him for failing to correspond with her to at least let her know he was still alive.
There are dark secrets about what happened to Ben in China and Sonja has her own secrets she is loath to reveal.
The bulk of the novel is about how Ben becomes a canaller to put bread on his family’s table, a roof over their head and to fulfill the promise to his wife that he’s done with long ocean voyages. To that end, Ben salvages a wrecked barge and with the help of a crusty craftsman, designs and builds an unconventional vessel to use in shipping coal, cotton and other commodities up and down the river. Lackey explains in vivid detail how commerce was conducted and how canal locks work. Life on the river is hard. The Susquehanna is prone to flooding and a harrowing flood nearly destroys the newly united family.
He puts together a ragtag group of men, including two he’s sailed with before, including an articulate free black man and an Irish river rat that turns out to be quite skilled stitching up wounds. On their journey, they meet merchants, fellow canallers, doctors, sheriffs, slave catchers and runaway slaves in whose fates they intervene.
The primary adversary is a loathsome banker who cheats the Pulaskis out of their family fortune and who needs, as Ben says, killing.
Evocative descriptions of life on the river are skillfully painted as well as the moment-to-moment interaction of the characters.
I cared about what happened to the characters and had great affection for several of them. Tension is drawn out with the three final climaxes when at the end a character appears who also has enmity for the Pulaskis. The novel is followed by 4 more at the time of this review.
The book could have used a bit more proofreading and while the occasional lapse is distracting, it doesn’t detract from the overall impression the author meant to convey. I couldn’t put the book down when I reached the last third.

[Marci Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in the Pulaski Family saga & I’m completely hooked. I’m so glad I found this series at Washington Street Books & Music in Havre de Grace.

[Bill Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an unrelenting depressing read. Don't get me wrong, it's well written and all but it never takes a break. Read with booze.

[Kathleen Fair · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love historical sagas, this is a book you should read. You will be introduced to a large number of characters, but all of them are important--not only in this book, but in the books that follow. Ben Pulaski returns home after being held in China during the First Opium War to find his home destroyed and his family scattered. In this book he begins to rebuild both, but against the backdrop of the conflicts of living in a border state at a time when slavery was becoming more of an issue for the United States.

The book and the story might seem to be slow going at first, but it is worth continuing to read--not only this book, but the books that follow.

[Marilyn Benner Sowyak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading. Enjoyed the story.

Loved the characters and the setting. Fun following the adventure. Well researched. I’m planning on reading the rest of the series.

[Andeson Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how real these characters felt. You can sense the pain, love, and moral conflict on every page.

[Sharon Wanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our club was divided on Ben, but that’s what made the discussion so good — he’s flawed, human, and unforgettable.

[Diana Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A richly detailed story of redemption. The 1840s setting felt alive, not just a backdrop.