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Old New York #2
City of Glory
Set against the dramatic backdrop of America's second war for independence, Beverly Swerling's gripping and intricately plotted sequel to the much-loved "City of Dreams" plunges deep into the crowded streets of old New York. Poised between the Manhattan woods and the sea that is her gateway to the world, the city of 1812 is vibrant but raw, a cauldron where the French accents of Creole pirates mingle with the brogues of Irish seamen, and shipments of rare teas and silks from Canton are sold at raucous Pearl Street auctions. Allegiances are more changeable than the tides, love and lust often indistinguishable, the bonds of country weak compared to the temptation of fabulous riches from the East, and only a few farseeing patriots recognize the need not only to protect the city from the redcoats, but to preserve the fragile Constitutional union forged in 1787.
Joyful Patrick Turner, dashing war hero and brilliant surgeon, loses his hand to a British shell, retreats to private life, and hopes to make his fortune in the China trade. To succeed he must run the British blockade; if he fails, he will lose not only a livelihood, but the beautiful Manon, daughter of a Huguenot jeweler who will not accept a pauper as a son-in-law. When stories of a lost treasure and a mysterious diamond draw him into a treacherous maze of deceit and double-cross, and the British set Washington ablaze, Joyful realizes that more than his personal future is at stake. His adversary, Gornt Blakeman, has a lust for power that will not be sated until he claims Joyful's fiancee as his wife and half a nation as his personal fiefdom. Like the Turners before him, Joyful must choose: his dreams or hiscountry.
Swerling's vividly drawn characters illuminate every aspect of the teeming metropolis: John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest man in America, brings the city's first Chinese to staff his palatial Broadway mansion; Lucretia Carter, wife of a respectable craftsman, makes ends meet as an abortionist serving New York's brothels; Thumbless Wu, a mysterious Cantonese stowaway, slinks about on a secret mission; and the bewitching Delight Higgins, proprietress of the town's finest gambling club, lives in terror of the blackbirding gangs who prey on runaway slaves. They are all here, the butchers and shipwrights, the doctors and scriv-eners, the slum dwellers of Five Points and the money men of the infant stock exchange...conspiring by day and carousing by night, while the women must hide their loyalties and ambitions, their very wills, behind pretty sighs and silken skirts.
Joyful Patrick Turner, dashing war hero and brilliant surgeon, loses his hand to a British shell, retreats to private life, and hopes to make his fortune in the China trade. To succeed he must run the British blockade; if he fails, he will lose not only a livelihood, but the beautiful Manon, daughter of a Huguenot jeweler who will not accept a pauper as a son-in-law. When stories of a lost treasure and a mysterious diamond draw him into a treacherous maze of deceit and double-cross, and the British set Washington ablaze, Joyful realizes that more than his personal future is at stake. His adversary, Gornt Blakeman, has a lust for power that will not be sated until he claims Joyful's fiancee as his wife and half a nation as his personal fiefdom. Like the Turners before him, Joyful must choose: his dreams or hiscountry.
Swerling's vividly drawn characters illuminate every aspect of the teeming metropolis: John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest man in America, brings the city's first Chinese to staff his palatial Broadway mansion; Lucretia Carter, wife of a respectable craftsman, makes ends meet as an abortionist serving New York's brothels; Thumbless Wu, a mysterious Cantonese stowaway, slinks about on a secret mission; and the bewitching Delight Higgins, proprietress of the town's finest gambling club, lives in terror of the blackbirding gangs who prey on runaway slaves. They are all here, the butchers and shipwrights, the doctors and scriv-eners, the slum dwellers of Five Points and the money men of the infant stock exchange...conspiring by day and carousing by night, while the women must hide their loyalties and ambitions, their very wills, behind pretty sighs and silken skirts.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2008
63 people are currently reading
1354 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Swerling
23 books250 followersI’m told that a number of critics who have said kind things about my books, have been less kind about the very brief bio on my book jackets. First, don’t blame Simon & Schuster; it’s my fault. Publishers use the data supplied by the author for this kind of thing, and I didn’t supply much. I guess because it seems that almost everything needs a long explanation. Which is probably me being egotistical. What do you care, right? You buy my books to be entertained (and very grateful I am), you don’t give two hoots about me.
But there are those picky critics…
Here then is a somewhat less abbreviated version.
I grew up in the Boston suburb of Revere, and while I won’t tell you when, I will say that it was very different from what it is today. The beach was, as it still is, one of the natural wonders of the state of Massachusetts, but the front was NOT lined with condo high-rises. It was a boardwalk with stands selling fried clams (Massachusetts has the world’s best fried clams – made from the Ipswich soft shells, they remain what I’d choose for my last meal on this earth) and French fries and soft ice cream that we called frozen custard. Plus there were all kinds of gambling games of the sort found at any fairground – pitch ‘til you win, folks! – and a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster and a tunnel of love.
Another feature of Revere back then was that it was almost entirely either Jewish or Italian (my own family is a mixture of both) and because the town had a dog track – Wonderland - and a horse track – Suffolk Downs – there was a lot of what is politely called off-track betting. Which wasn’t legal then, and for all I know still is not. Nonetheless, any number of family members rented rooms to bookies – the chief requirement being that these gentlemen of the turf had to be able to see one or the other of the tote boards with binoculars, (a world without cell phones, remember) and know how much they were liable to pay out, which in turn affected what odds they could offer on the next race.
I went from that upstanding childhood to a small Catholic girls college in the Midwest, then a job in New York as a file clerk to support my writing – all non-fiction at first – until I was able to earn my way as a free lance journalist.
For a time after that I lived in Europe.
Where I got married for a brief and unpleasant period, then came home and wrote more non-fiction. And got married again.
And went back to Europe.
And started writing fiction, and – hallelujah! – selling it.
And came back to New York with my by now long time husband, and began writing City of Dreams…
Which just about catches you up. Except for the bits I’ve left out.
And, oh yes, one other important part of my life and my work: On that so brief bio on the S&S book jacket it mentions that I’m a consultant. Many people have asked me what kind.
Happens that my husband – who has his own website at www.agentresearch.com – runs the world’s number one consultancy for authors looking for new (or sometimes a first) agents. It’s called Agent Research and Evaluation, Inc. and I do some work for some of his clients. I also occasionally mentor new writers – and some who are not so new. What they all have in common is a passion for what they’re writing, so working with them gives me great joy, and most have found it helpful. (Admittedly not all. I set the bar high.) Some of what I have to share about the hows and the whys of this wonderful but very tough business of writing can be found at The Business of Writing page. At other parts of the site you’ll find more about my books, including excerpts from some not yet published work, such as City of Glory, which continues the story of the Turners and the Devreys of City of Dreams. City of Glory will be out in January. We’ve also put up an excerpt from the next book in that series, still little more than a gleam in my eye.
But there are those picky critics…
Here then is a somewhat less abbreviated version.
I grew up in the Boston suburb of Revere, and while I won’t tell you when, I will say that it was very different from what it is today. The beach was, as it still is, one of the natural wonders of the state of Massachusetts, but the front was NOT lined with condo high-rises. It was a boardwalk with stands selling fried clams (Massachusetts has the world’s best fried clams – made from the Ipswich soft shells, they remain what I’d choose for my last meal on this earth) and French fries and soft ice cream that we called frozen custard. Plus there were all kinds of gambling games of the sort found at any fairground – pitch ‘til you win, folks! – and a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster and a tunnel of love.
Another feature of Revere back then was that it was almost entirely either Jewish or Italian (my own family is a mixture of both) and because the town had a dog track – Wonderland - and a horse track – Suffolk Downs – there was a lot of what is politely called off-track betting. Which wasn’t legal then, and for all I know still is not. Nonetheless, any number of family members rented rooms to bookies – the chief requirement being that these gentlemen of the turf had to be able to see one or the other of the tote boards with binoculars, (a world without cell phones, remember) and know how much they were liable to pay out, which in turn affected what odds they could offer on the next race.
I went from that upstanding childhood to a small Catholic girls college in the Midwest, then a job in New York as a file clerk to support my writing – all non-fiction at first – until I was able to earn my way as a free lance journalist.
For a time after that I lived in Europe.
Where I got married for a brief and unpleasant period, then came home and wrote more non-fiction. And got married again.
And went back to Europe.
And started writing fiction, and – hallelujah! – selling it.
And came back to New York with my by now long time husband, and began writing City of Dreams…
Which just about catches you up. Except for the bits I’ve left out.
And, oh yes, one other important part of my life and my work: On that so brief bio on the S&S book jacket it mentions that I’m a consultant. Many people have asked me what kind.
Happens that my husband – who has his own website at www.agentresearch.com – runs the world’s number one consultancy for authors looking for new (or sometimes a first) agents. It’s called Agent Research and Evaluation, Inc. and I do some work for some of his clients. I also occasionally mentor new writers – and some who are not so new. What they all have in common is a passion for what they’re writing, so working with them gives me great joy, and most have found it helpful. (Admittedly not all. I set the bar high.) Some of what I have to share about the hows and the whys of this wonderful but very tough business of writing can be found at The Business of Writing page. At other parts of the site you’ll find more about my books, including excerpts from some not yet published work, such as City of Glory, which continues the story of the Turners and the Devreys of City of Dreams. City of Glory will be out in January. We’ve also put up an excerpt from the next book in that series, still little more than a gleam in my eye.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
December 25, 2013
Beverly Swerling calls her latest epic about the early history of Manhattan "a novel of war and desire," but it contains a lot more desire than war. In fact, war is pretty far down its list of ingredients -- below pirates, prostitutes, runaway slaves, Chinese gangsters, man-eating rats, kidnappings, riots, rapes, amputations, secret engagements, financial panics, buried treasures and crotchless bloomers. Clearly, if Swerling had been my history teacher, I would have paid closer attention. Perhaps the only sign of restraint in this plot is that she doesn't have sharks swimming in the Hudson.
City of Glory takes place some 35 years after the setting of her earlier novel about the American Revolution, City of Dreams. Now the young nation is facing its first international crisis: the War of 1812, a series of skirmishes with Britain and Canada that challenges the Republic's survival from within and without. In addition to being America's most poorly named conflict, the War of 1812 (which actually lasted until 1814) is also its most poorly remembered. Swerling will not do much to correct that problem. As she confesses in an afterword, "The history in this book is true -- except for the bit I made up." That "bit," as it turns out, is the central plot, but there's so much blood, sex and intrigue here that only the dustiest academics could object.
Most of the book takes place in Manhattan during 10 days in the summer of 1814, while a British blockade creates "a frenzied storm of desire driving prices almost beyond reason." Brief, colorful scenes proceed almost hourly: "Chatham Street, 5:30 a.m.," "Maiden Lane, 10 a.m.," "A Meadow Just Below Canal Street, 11 a.m." This narrative tour-guiding allows us to hang on as Swerling races through the various schemes of two dozen outlandish characters (there's an annotated list at the front; keep it handy).
Our hero is a dashing young doctor named Joyful Patrick Turner, who lost his left hand during a naval battle against the British on Lake Erie. Although he managed to sew up his own stump, carry injured sailors, and conduct life-saving operations as the cannonballs flew, he has returned to Manhattan convinced that there's no future for a one-handed surgeon. Instead, he throws himself into the lucrative China trade, but that puts him in direct competition with a ruthless businessman named Gornt Blakeman, who plans to corner the trade himself. In fact (cue the villain music), Blakeman's ambitions are even more sinister: Backed by a goon squad of Manhattan butchers, he plans to exploit widespread discontent with "Madison's war" and install himself as king of a secessionist government, a cure for "this madness called democracy."
But wait, there's more: He's secretly acquired the largest diamond in the world, with which he can buy recognition from the emperor of Austria. All that stands between a Gornt dictatorship and the survival of these United States is the red, white and blue patriotism of a one-handed surgeon. But saving the Union isn't the only thing that makes Joyful joyful: He's also wooing the daughter of the city's best jeweler and sleeping with a prosperous madam named Delight Higgins. (You heard right: Joyful and Delight. In one particularly outrageous scene, they have sex on a balcony overlooking the gaming tables.)
These private and national escapades play out in a great swirl of plots and counter-plots, with everyone spying on everyone else, crossing and double-crossing, gossiping and tattling. Several irresistible female characters struggle to survive and thrive with the meager tools at their disposal, while slaves and freed slaves (predictably noble and patient) negotiate the deadly terms of their existence as best they can. A few real-life characters make appearances, too, particularly a crafty millionaire named John Jacob Astor, who pulls the nation's purse strings from "a chair carved to look like a snarling tiger" in his imposing mansion, which is staffed by Manhattan's only Chinese residents.
Periodically, the story breaks away to the British advance on the Federal District in the recently drained swamp we now call home. Just before the Redcoats burn the Executive Mansion to the ground, Dolley Madison retreats with the president's dishes and curtains with such dignity that you'll either laugh or start belting out "The Star-Spangled Banner." Which is pretty much the way you'll feel throughout this riotously entertaining novel. Joyful's old cousin reminds him, "It wasn't pretty getting to independency," but in Swerling's hands, it's awfully fun hanging on to it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
City of Glory takes place some 35 years after the setting of her earlier novel about the American Revolution, City of Dreams. Now the young nation is facing its first international crisis: the War of 1812, a series of skirmishes with Britain and Canada that challenges the Republic's survival from within and without. In addition to being America's most poorly named conflict, the War of 1812 (which actually lasted until 1814) is also its most poorly remembered. Swerling will not do much to correct that problem. As she confesses in an afterword, "The history in this book is true -- except for the bit I made up." That "bit," as it turns out, is the central plot, but there's so much blood, sex and intrigue here that only the dustiest academics could object.
Most of the book takes place in Manhattan during 10 days in the summer of 1814, while a British blockade creates "a frenzied storm of desire driving prices almost beyond reason." Brief, colorful scenes proceed almost hourly: "Chatham Street, 5:30 a.m.," "Maiden Lane, 10 a.m.," "A Meadow Just Below Canal Street, 11 a.m." This narrative tour-guiding allows us to hang on as Swerling races through the various schemes of two dozen outlandish characters (there's an annotated list at the front; keep it handy).
Our hero is a dashing young doctor named Joyful Patrick Turner, who lost his left hand during a naval battle against the British on Lake Erie. Although he managed to sew up his own stump, carry injured sailors, and conduct life-saving operations as the cannonballs flew, he has returned to Manhattan convinced that there's no future for a one-handed surgeon. Instead, he throws himself into the lucrative China trade, but that puts him in direct competition with a ruthless businessman named Gornt Blakeman, who plans to corner the trade himself. In fact (cue the villain music), Blakeman's ambitions are even more sinister: Backed by a goon squad of Manhattan butchers, he plans to exploit widespread discontent with "Madison's war" and install himself as king of a secessionist government, a cure for "this madness called democracy."
But wait, there's more: He's secretly acquired the largest diamond in the world, with which he can buy recognition from the emperor of Austria. All that stands between a Gornt dictatorship and the survival of these United States is the red, white and blue patriotism of a one-handed surgeon. But saving the Union isn't the only thing that makes Joyful joyful: He's also wooing the daughter of the city's best jeweler and sleeping with a prosperous madam named Delight Higgins. (You heard right: Joyful and Delight. In one particularly outrageous scene, they have sex on a balcony overlooking the gaming tables.)
These private and national escapades play out in a great swirl of plots and counter-plots, with everyone spying on everyone else, crossing and double-crossing, gossiping and tattling. Several irresistible female characters struggle to survive and thrive with the meager tools at their disposal, while slaves and freed slaves (predictably noble and patient) negotiate the deadly terms of their existence as best they can. A few real-life characters make appearances, too, particularly a crafty millionaire named John Jacob Astor, who pulls the nation's purse strings from "a chair carved to look like a snarling tiger" in his imposing mansion, which is staffed by Manhattan's only Chinese residents.
Periodically, the story breaks away to the British advance on the Federal District in the recently drained swamp we now call home. Just before the Redcoats burn the Executive Mansion to the ground, Dolley Madison retreats with the president's dishes and curtains with such dignity that you'll either laugh or start belting out "The Star-Spangled Banner." Which is pretty much the way you'll feel throughout this riotously entertaining novel. Joyful's old cousin reminds him, "It wasn't pretty getting to independency," but in Swerling's hands, it's awfully fun hanging on to it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
September 14, 2016
Swerling’s Old Manhattan of 1812 comes alive on the teeming streets where diverse individuals interact and plan their intrigue. The author paints a brilliant picture of the sights, sounds, and smells that put you in the center of the action.
The British are in force on American soil once again, attempting to destroy the fragile new nation. Their blockade has put a stranglehold over the merchant trade. Power-hungry opportunists are planning a secession from the Union. The Blackbirds are terrorizing Negroes, kidnapping them, torturing them into submission, and selling them. A Chinese man is searching for a source of opium, and Creole pirates have sailed into a hidden harbor.
Joyful Patrick Turner is a surgeon who has had his hand blown off in the naval battle of Commander Perry. His ability to provide for a future wife, namely Manon, has dimmed. He is unable to ask for Manon’s hand in marriage until he can come up with a way to provide for her. This delay opens the door for all sorts of complications.
Joyful, who spent his early years in Canton, plans to use his fluency in the Chinese languages to become a merchant in China as soon as the blockage is ended. While that idea is simmering, he comes into possession of a note left by his privateer father leaving directions to a great treasure.
The action is a non-stop romp, full of secrets, twists and turns, through Old Manhattan.
What a great read! I couldn’t put it down! I read most of it in one sitting, reluctantly stopping at 1 a.m., finishing it the next day.
The British are in force on American soil once again, attempting to destroy the fragile new nation. Their blockade has put a stranglehold over the merchant trade. Power-hungry opportunists are planning a secession from the Union. The Blackbirds are terrorizing Negroes, kidnapping them, torturing them into submission, and selling them. A Chinese man is searching for a source of opium, and Creole pirates have sailed into a hidden harbor.
Joyful Patrick Turner is a surgeon who has had his hand blown off in the naval battle of Commander Perry. His ability to provide for a future wife, namely Manon, has dimmed. He is unable to ask for Manon’s hand in marriage until he can come up with a way to provide for her. This delay opens the door for all sorts of complications.
Joyful, who spent his early years in Canton, plans to use his fluency in the Chinese languages to become a merchant in China as soon as the blockage is ended. While that idea is simmering, he comes into possession of a note left by his privateer father leaving directions to a great treasure.
The action is a non-stop romp, full of secrets, twists and turns, through Old Manhattan.
What a great read! I couldn’t put it down! I read most of it in one sitting, reluctantly stopping at 1 a.m., finishing it the next day.
March 28, 2008
I totally love Beverly Swerling. This book isn't as epic or, really, quite as interesting, as City of Dreams, but it's still extremely entertaining, with a great cast of characters and huge external forces at work, basically everything I want in my historical fiction.
Storywise, I wish that some of the characters from the first book (mostly Jonathan and Molly Devrey) had really carried over more, instead of focusing so much on Joyful Patrick, and I wish that this novel had done more of the flipping between the Turners and the Devrey families the way the first book did. All of that said, this was very entertaining and fun, and I'm already waiting for City of God.
Storywise, I wish that some of the characters from the first book (mostly Jonathan and Molly Devrey) had really carried over more, instead of focusing so much on Joyful Patrick, and I wish that this novel had done more of the flipping between the Turners and the Devrey families the way the first book did. All of that said, this was very entertaining and fun, and I'm already waiting for City of God.
December 21, 2007
This story was unfulfilling, though well researched. I was amazed at the depth of the author's historical information interwoven into the story from so many different cultures (pirates, cantonese, blacks, medical profession, boudoirs, trade and mercantile, to name a few. Despite the historical component, I was extremely repulsed by some of the graphic and gratuitous violence and sexual overtones, which I felt took away from the characters development and the story. It appeared that the author was trying way to hard to appeal to a common mass market instead of refining her characters to depths of feeling. I seldom would care to finish such a book. In this case,the history was what kept me reading. No surprise ending here but all wrapped up predictably tidy, with no moral afterthought of responsibility for the characters actions and the hurt that their selfishness had caused.
July 30, 2008
This started out slowly, and it took a little while to refamiliarize myself with the characters' names (this is a sequel), but it was a phenomenal book. There were so many times reading this book where I had "Aha!" moments about something to do with NYC history. All of a sudden, names of places made sense. The characters were good, the story was good, lots of intrigue. This is the best way to learn history!
June 13, 2008
Interesting, pretty engrossing, mildly trashy historical fiction. The last 100 pages were ri-di-cu-lous but I had fun reading this one, set in 1814 Manhattan with an imagined NY secessionist threat thrown in for dramatic effect.
December 31, 2023
I liked this book though it was not as good as its predecessor. There were a few too many characters, few too many angles and storylines and the pirates and treasure diamond bit felt a little hokey to me (but that’s also just not really my cup of tea). I missed reading about some of the old medical practices and the historical aspects of New York that were such a focus in the first book.
That said, it was still a good, entertaining read and I’m looking forward to reading more of Ms. Swerling.
That said, it was still a good, entertaining read and I’m looking forward to reading more of Ms. Swerling.
January 4, 2021
It was a okay read but nothing memorable or epic about it, nothing much to sink your teeth in but it was entertaining enough to kill some time with. Don't know if I will get the other books in the series a go or not
September 6, 2014
This was one of the exceedingly rare cases where I read a sequel without reading the book that preceded it. Mainly it was because I wanted to read a book about NYC, which is dear to me, and it did seem like City of Dreams and City of Glory could stand alone.
I didn't feel any the poorer for not having read the other book, so that's a plus. I like Swerling's writing, though as someone who overwhelmingly prefers children's and YA lit, I'm realizing there are certain commonalities with adult lit that I don't enjoy. The book was both a lot more violent and included a lot more sex than I am even remotely close to comfortable with. By the end of the book, I skipped all surgery/battle scenes. Also, I feel like I want to call this "A Novel of War and Exploitation in Old Manhattan." Every woman in this book is exploited a lot (which I know partially reflects the times and the reality), and many of the men, especially the poorer ones, are, too.
Overall, it was readable and I enjoyed the ways that Swerling tied the lives of the characters together, though I didn't enjoy some of them. (Joyful is a hero, but ) And I was definitely interested in some storylines a lot more than others; in particular, the women's.
I ended up skimming by the end. So, I don't know. It was okay, but I don't think I would have regretted not reading it.
I didn't feel any the poorer for not having read the other book, so that's a plus. I like Swerling's writing, though as someone who overwhelmingly prefers children's and YA lit, I'm realizing there are certain commonalities with adult lit that I don't enjoy. The book was both a lot more violent and included a lot more sex than I am even remotely close to comfortable with. By the end of the book, I skipped all surgery/battle scenes. Also, I feel like I want to call this "A Novel of War and Exploitation in Old Manhattan." Every woman in this book is exploited a lot (which I know partially reflects the times and the reality), and many of the men, especially the poorer ones, are, too.
Overall, it was readable and I enjoyed the ways that Swerling tied the lives of the characters together, though I didn't enjoy some of them. (Joyful is a hero, but ) And I was definitely interested in some storylines a lot more than others; in particular, the women's.
I ended up skimming by the end. So, I don't know. It was okay, but I don't think I would have regretted not reading it.
Read
October 1, 2011Loved it, as I loved City of Dreams. Was looking for more historic tidbits.. as City of Dreams was full of it-- esp. the medical kind..
Swerlings characters are wonderful and inspiring. Just love curling up with her books. They are educated, and full of a love of history.
When I walk the city of NY, I often look for the landmarks in the book. Next stop, Astor Hotel.. if it's even still there. There is one building that looks like an old 18th Century house on Broadway that I always see when we're driving uptown... I always wondered what it is.. stands out like a sore thumb-- probably a bar... Yay!! I'll stop and have a drink to the Turner and Devrey family.
Wonderful stories-- I've started City of God (did I miss anything by not reading Shadowbrook??) The requested "lily" feet of the pedophile Sam Devrey just knocks me out!!! Oy Vay! Early NY pedophiles.. so, what else is new? :-)
Swerlings characters are wonderful and inspiring. Just love curling up with her books. They are educated, and full of a love of history.
When I walk the city of NY, I often look for the landmarks in the book. Next stop, Astor Hotel.. if it's even still there. There is one building that looks like an old 18th Century house on Broadway that I always see when we're driving uptown... I always wondered what it is.. stands out like a sore thumb-- probably a bar... Yay!! I'll stop and have a drink to the Turner and Devrey family.
Wonderful stories-- I've started City of God (did I miss anything by not reading Shadowbrook??) The requested "lily" feet of the pedophile Sam Devrey just knocks me out!!! Oy Vay! Early NY pedophiles.. so, what else is new? :-)
November 18, 2008
What intrigued me about Swerling's previous book, City of Dreams , was lacking in this follow-up. In the first book, we read about the branches of a family as they live through the beginnings of New York through the Revolution. City of Glory deals with only a few members of the family, and most of these are secondary characters. Interesting details about medicine and surgery, which dominated the family's professional interests in the first book, are all but gone in the second. Finally, the first book's events take place over a hundred years, but the plot moves forward quickly. This story, although ostensibly taking place over a week's time, drags on and on...
Swerling is gifted at characterization, but the subplots wore me out (and I can stick it out through a lot of mundane information). The third book comes out in December, so I'll give her one more shot.
Swerling is gifted at characterization, but the subplots wore me out (and I can stick it out through a lot of mundane information). The third book comes out in December, so I'll give her one more shot.
March 9, 2022
#2 in the series only covers two years and compared to #1 has less of that "put you convincingly in that time and place" factor that I love in historical fiction. I always wonder when I read historical fiction how close to reality is it really? Well, in this case, the author includes an afterword that discusses that. In her words, "The history in this book is true--except for the bit I made up". In this case, the bit she made up was not really made up. It happened, but didn't happen in New York City as it does in the book. She also discusses the historians and books she consulted of various scenes in the book. These revelations made me a little more confident that historical fiction writers really do their best to reflect the times they write about, or at least Swerling did. Two more parts to come!
June 25, 2020
I was pretty excited to find this book in a Goodwill Bookstore. It sounded right up my alley. And then I discovered that it’s the second book in a 4 book series. I went ahead and read it, but ordered the first book and depending on how I like it, I’ll order the last 2.
I thought this book was able to stand on its own and I didn’t need to read the first book to “get” it, but I’m thinking maybe I was wrong. It just took me a little to get the hang of the characters and I get the feeling that I’m missing some history that is important. Now the first book is about the previous generation, so there are completely different characters, but I still feel like I missed something. I did see other reviewers saying that they didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first, so we’ll see how that all goes.
This book does have some Rated R scenes. The one character runs a brothel, so it gets a little interesting. But it’s not too much and easily skipped.
I did enjoy learning more about the War of 1812. That’s a piece of history that isn’t used as a book setting terribly much. I also didn’t know that there were people who wanted to secede from the US at that time.
And the fact that it’s set in New York City is a plus for me. I love that city and love learning more about it. All in all...not a bad book, but I had a hard time staying interested at times. The last 100 pages were for sure the most interesting.
I thought this book was able to stand on its own and I didn’t need to read the first book to “get” it, but I’m thinking maybe I was wrong. It just took me a little to get the hang of the characters and I get the feeling that I’m missing some history that is important. Now the first book is about the previous generation, so there are completely different characters, but I still feel like I missed something. I did see other reviewers saying that they didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first, so we’ll see how that all goes.
This book does have some Rated R scenes. The one character runs a brothel, so it gets a little interesting. But it’s not too much and easily skipped.
I did enjoy learning more about the War of 1812. That’s a piece of history that isn’t used as a book setting terribly much. I also didn’t know that there were people who wanted to secede from the US at that time.
And the fact that it’s set in New York City is a plus for me. I love that city and love learning more about it. All in all...not a bad book, but I had a hard time staying interested at times. The last 100 pages were for sure the most interesting.
September 1, 2018
If I based my review off of how well researched the book is, Beverly Swerling would get a 10/5 but this book, in general, was a let down compared to City of Dreams. The cast of characters were not fleshed out in the least and there were too many to keep track. Christ! Joss! Poxed! All words so overused it made me start openly cringing by page 100. Every character had the same type of dialogue unless they had an accent. The story itself was sub par and too good vs evil. Which is strange coming from Swerling who so beautifully wove in gray areas throughout City of Dreams. The story was unbelievable and unrealistic. A one handed man, two old men and two twelve year olds take down an entire pirate ship? Okay.
Overall, an unfortunate book.
City of Dreams, however, remains one of my favorite books of all time.
Overall, an unfortunate book.
City of Dreams, however, remains one of my favorite books of all time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2017
I agree with others who said this was not as good as the first. It was still good though! There wasn't nearly as much surgery or medical stuff in this one, though there were plenty of missing limbs. And instead of focusing on one family over several generations, this focused on one member of that family over several days. I found some of the politics and alliances a bit confusing, but I guess they made sense at the end. A nice piece of historical fiction.
June 27, 2020
Second in a New York series, it continues the strife between later generations of the Turner and Devrey families. Set during the latter part of the War if 1812, it speaks of a secessionist movement to break up the fledgling USA into a New York and New England separate country rather than going back to being a British colony. Lots of intertwined narratives that only resolve in the last few pages.
October 11, 2019
This is the second book in a trilogy about New York City. This one takes place over a week or two during the War of 1812.
Unlike the first book, this one is short on history. It is full of adventure, heroes, villains, pirates, etc.
I did not enjoy it as much as City of Dreams, but it was entertaining.
Unlike the first book, this one is short on history. It is full of adventure, heroes, villains, pirates, etc.
I did not enjoy it as much as City of Dreams, but it was entertaining.
May 23, 2020
This is the second of Beverly Swerling's four cleverly crafted tales of the founding of New York City and simultaneously our nation. Swerling's research adds gravitas to her fictional accounting of the most major events (in this volume, the war of 1812) of our young nation played out in its most significant city.
November 25, 2023
Another good story from Swerling. You don't necessarily need to read City of Dreams (another good book) first but helps a little with some background.
Unlike City of Dreams, this story resolves mostly around 2 characters with the other characters interacting and taking sides. It also takes place in a very short period of time.
Sterling does a good job of moving the story quickly along historic timeline & events while capturing diverging views of young nation.
Unlike City of Dreams, this story resolves mostly around 2 characters with the other characters interacting and taking sides. It also takes place in a very short period of time.
Sterling does a good job of moving the story quickly along historic timeline & events while capturing diverging views of young nation.
November 26, 2018
It took about half the book to understand the characters and their relationships, after that it was great.
September 6, 2019
Still going bananas over these. They’re amazing!
January 18, 2020
As good as the first book (City of Dreams) but written very differently. This one only covers a short time (less than two weeks) so the style is different but I enjoyed watching the plot unfold.
July 19, 2020
Started interesting. Lots of characters and threads to keep track of. Slow in the middle. Last 60 pages picked up. Will still try the next book in the series.
November 23, 2021
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, City of Dreams, and felt this book was less historically compelling. Still it was a swashbuckling read and I will move on to #3.
December 17, 2021
Conall read. It was OK, kind of clunky at times. Not keen to read any more by this author.
October 12, 2022
The plot just didn't work for me but I feel like I learned a lot about New York in this time period.
June 3, 2024
I couldn’t of loved the first book more, but waited over a year to read the second and couldn’t follow it. Gave up about 100 pages before the end.
August 2, 2025
Meh. This book was nothing like City of Dreams. Only took place over 10 days, didn’t nearly get the history that I wanted and the story wasn’t that compelling.
August 27, 2021
If you thought the first book was gory, hold your bowels! She cuts right to the chase in the first chapter.
Update: lost interest and am not about to waste time finishing a nearly 500-page book, lol.
Update: lost interest and am not about to waste time finishing a nearly 500-page book, lol.
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