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Hers the Kingdom
MISTRESS OF THE MALIBU
When beautiful young Willa Reade first saw the wild California coast called the Malibu, she knew she had come home. It was here, with her handsome aristocratic husband, Owen, and her crippled sister Lena, that Willa would build her empire.
The Malibu, where the mountains meet the sea. A sprawling ranch pounded by the raging Pacific, it would grow to shelter the generations of a might California dynasty.
Willa's dynasty. Through the boom days of the railroads, from the dance halls of San Francisco, to the revolutionary fires of China, through the bitter losses of war and the terrible secrets of a forbidden love, Willa would fight. For pride, for passion, for her children and her men...for the vast cherished acres of the Malibu, her kingdom, her home, her destiny.
Like GONE WITH THE WIND and THE THORN BIRDS, a once-in-adecade story that will sweep you away into another woman's life.
When beautiful young Willa Reade first saw the wild California coast called the Malibu, she knew she had come home. It was here, with her handsome aristocratic husband, Owen, and her crippled sister Lena, that Willa would build her empire.
The Malibu, where the mountains meet the sea. A sprawling ranch pounded by the raging Pacific, it would grow to shelter the generations of a might California dynasty.
Willa's dynasty. Through the boom days of the railroads, from the dance halls of San Francisco, to the revolutionary fires of China, through the bitter losses of war and the terrible secrets of a forbidden love, Willa would fight. For pride, for passion, for her children and her men...for the vast cherished acres of the Malibu, her kingdom, her home, her destiny.
Like GONE WITH THE WIND and THE THORN BIRDS, a once-in-adecade story that will sweep you away into another woman's life.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
597 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
1 person is currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Shirley Streshinsky
9 books7 followersShirley Streshinsky is a novelist, biographer,and journalist who has been widely published in the U.S. and abroad.
Her non-fiction books include the biography AUDUBON, LIFE AND ART IN THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS. Her first book was AND I ALONE SURVIVED, based on the experience of the sole survivor of a small plane crash in the Sierra Nevada mountains, (with Lauren Elder), Literary Guild selection, Reader's Digest condensation, 18 foreign editions, and NBC movie for television; and OATS! A BOOK OF WHIMSY (with Maria Streshinsky).
Her historical novels include: THE SHORES OF PARADISE, GIFT OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN, A TIME BETWEEN, and HERS THE KINGDOM. All were published originally in hardback by Putnam and paperback by Berkley, there were several editions in Europe, and three were best sellers in paperback. These titles along with the Audubon biography are all being reissued by Turner Publishing in 2013.
In a career that spans 40 years, Streshinsky's articles have been published regularly in such magazines as Redbook, the Ladies Home Journal, the Los Angeles Times magazine, and Glamour. Her travel stories have appeared in Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and scores of other publications. She has contributed to American Heritage, Preservation Magazine, AARP The Magazine and The American Scholar.
Her travel essays have been featured on National Public Radio's Savvy Traveler.
She is the recipient of the Society of Magazine Writer's Award for Excellence; the National Council for the Advancement of Education Writing award; she was cited by The Educational Press Association of America for "superlative achievement in features."
Streshinsky is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She was married to the late Ted Streshinsky, a photojournalist with whom she often collaborated. They have three grown children. She lives in Kensington, California, not far from the Oppenheimer's home at 1 Eagle Hill.
Her non-fiction books include the biography AUDUBON, LIFE AND ART IN THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS. Her first book was AND I ALONE SURVIVED, based on the experience of the sole survivor of a small plane crash in the Sierra Nevada mountains, (with Lauren Elder), Literary Guild selection, Reader's Digest condensation, 18 foreign editions, and NBC movie for television; and OATS! A BOOK OF WHIMSY (with Maria Streshinsky).
Her historical novels include: THE SHORES OF PARADISE, GIFT OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN, A TIME BETWEEN, and HERS THE KINGDOM. All were published originally in hardback by Putnam and paperback by Berkley, there were several editions in Europe, and three were best sellers in paperback. These titles along with the Audubon biography are all being reissued by Turner Publishing in 2013.
In a career that spans 40 years, Streshinsky's articles have been published regularly in such magazines as Redbook, the Ladies Home Journal, the Los Angeles Times magazine, and Glamour. Her travel stories have appeared in Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and scores of other publications. She has contributed to American Heritage, Preservation Magazine, AARP The Magazine and The American Scholar.
Her travel essays have been featured on National Public Radio's Savvy Traveler.
She is the recipient of the Society of Magazine Writer's Award for Excellence; the National Council for the Advancement of Education Writing award; she was cited by The Educational Press Association of America for "superlative achievement in features."
Streshinsky is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She was married to the late Ted Streshinsky, a photojournalist with whom she often collaborated. They have three grown children. She lives in Kensington, California, not far from the Oppenheimer's home at 1 Eagle Hill.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 22, 2009
I really loved this book. This is a sprawling saga filled with family, social and political conflicts as well as deep secrets. Enjoyed the characters, especially "crippled" Lena and Wing Soong who share a forbidden love. The story covered a wide sweep of history from 1887 thru 1939 covering the early days of land speculation and settlement of the California coast, especially Malibu. There is wonderful description of the natural beauty of the region as well as its dangers. Read this first around publication date (1982) and probably again in the 90's and certain scenes have stayed with me. There is also a sequel, Gift of the Golden Mountain, but it is no-where as satisfying a read.
December 5, 2022
This book started out really well but then just meandered off into a bore and suffers from being way too long. I did read it all and, basically, enjoyed it but it just totally lost its way about three quarters of the way through and it is a very long book with a small font!
Most of the characters are just blah... nothing compelling.
This book bills itself as a Gone With The Wind / The ThornBirds type of epic masterpiece - not at all. Not at all.
Most of the characters are just blah... nothing compelling.
This book bills itself as a Gone With The Wind / The ThornBirds type of epic masterpiece - not at all. Not at all.
September 12, 2022
DNF'ed at page 488.
July 14, 2020
Great saga
Read
August 8, 2011If one were to blend adjectives like enthralling, enchanting, and riveting together, the resulting term would still be too tame a to summarize my feeling for this totally engrossing narrative.
The story begins in the post-Civil War era on the plains of an Illinois farm, owned by the Porter family since it was first settled. Eleven siblings – only two of them female lived – lived with hard working parents during happy times. Enter Owen Reade, a man of great substance, who has been introduced to the farm’s matriarch by a letter of introduction from her close childhood friend. Willa, the eldest daughter, after a week of courtship, marries Reade and leaves. The remaining daughter, Lena, crippled by a birth defect of the hip, deeply misses her sister.
Move now to California in its early settlement days. Reade purchases a vast quantity of California coastline and they construct the “Rancho Malibu y Sequit.” Lena comes west to assist her sister with childbirth, and their friendships with ranch staff and California society weave a fascinating tale that totally drew me into this saga.
I’ve added this marvelous book to my Top Ten List. I couldn’t put it down.
The story begins in the post-Civil War era on the plains of an Illinois farm, owned by the Porter family since it was first settled. Eleven siblings – only two of them female lived – lived with hard working parents during happy times. Enter Owen Reade, a man of great substance, who has been introduced to the farm’s matriarch by a letter of introduction from her close childhood friend. Willa, the eldest daughter, after a week of courtship, marries Reade and leaves. The remaining daughter, Lena, crippled by a birth defect of the hip, deeply misses her sister.
Move now to California in its early settlement days. Reade purchases a vast quantity of California coastline and they construct the “Rancho Malibu y Sequit.” Lena comes west to assist her sister with childbirth, and their friendships with ranch staff and California society weave a fascinating tale that totally drew me into this saga.
I’ve added this marvelous book to my Top Ten List. I couldn’t put it down.
July 16, 2013
This is a long, long saga of two sisters who were born before the turn of the century and lived on a ranch on the California coast, the Malibu. It is like reading a century long soap opera. The characters are a little too romantic, too shallow to be real, but it was interesting enough that I finished it, even though, toward the end, I kept thinking "Will this ever end?"
There is a similarity between the Reade's of this book and the Rindge family, who did own a Rancho Malibu, and there was a widow who tried to keep roads and the railroad off her property. So I guess it could be classified almost as historical fiction.
There is a similarity between the Reade's of this book and the Rindge family, who did own a Rancho Malibu, and there was a widow who tried to keep roads and the railroad off her property. So I guess it could be classified almost as historical fiction.
December 17, 2013
sweeping saga of my most favorite sort! breezy read. great characters in a marvelous setting. would have given it 5 stars, but the writing lacks the depth i so crave. all the same, a read which carried me away for days.
abandoned
March 28, 2010I know I read this years ago. Anything else I've completely forgotten.
April 10, 2011
Loved this book -- read it several years ago! The plot is amazing, the characters dazzingly vivid and the details just captivating!
February 8, 2014
I love a good family saga and this is probably the best I have ever read. This has such a depth of character and events the author must be recounting a real family.
September 29, 2013
An old favorite saga that has stayed in my mind over many years.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews