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To Look and Pass
If Dan Hendricks had been born thirty or so years later, things would not have happened as they did. In a restless and mobile nation he could have escaped from the past, assumed another identity. But in the close-knit community of South Kenton at the turn of the century, he could not escape. — From his earliest years, Dan seemed marked out by fate as one of its victims. In the eyes of the small respectable American town he was an outcast, a social misfit. His mother was dead; his father was only a blacksmith and , what was worse, a drunkard, and the two of them lived in a two-room shack behind the smithy. When Dan fell in love, it was with a woman twenty-two years older than him; when he got married, it was to a woman who hated him and wanted to make him suffer, and who succeeded - even after her death.
This is the poignant story of a man who chose to do more than to look and pass'; a man who was good, honorable and high of heart, but whose end was lonely and tragic.
This is the poignant story of a man who chose to do more than to look and pass'; a man who was good, honorable and high of heart, but whose end was lonely and tragic.
286 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
77 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Caldwell
152 books555 followers Also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner.
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 4, 2022
I get Wednesday mornings off and I almost always start the day by going for a walk at the park. On one such day in March, I went for my walk and an unexpected shower came up and ran me back to my car. On the way there, I passed the Little Library box, and knowing I had nothing to read in the car, I grabbed this Taylor Caldwell book and sat out the storm reading it. I got several chapters in and decided to leave the book in the car for times when I needed reading material when I was out. Since then, I have gone back to it almost weekly, between errands, waiting for doctors, waiting for my hair appointment.
I remembered Taylor Caldwell from my distant youth, someone I had read then and totally forgotten since. I’m unsure which of her books I might have read, certainly not this one, because I don’t think Dan Hendricks is a character you would ever completely forget. He is unique and the book is a study in the narrow-mindedness of small towns in early 20th Century America and the strength of character that makes a man stand by his own convictions and refuse to cave to crowd pressure. There is some of that still in us, is there not. I see people all the time who want everyone to be like them, think like them, and applaud them, and if they are not, if they do not, they are excluded. It is just harder to completely isolate a person in today’s big city, moving population world, than it would have been in a town where everyone knew you, nobody ever left, and dividing lines were decided at birth, as we find in this pre-depression era world.
Dan Hendricks is such a man. As a boy he is deemed not as good by the reigning adults. His father is a mere blacksmith and his mother is dead. He is somehow different and the children who attempt to torment him become the adults who shun him…until of course his fortunes change and they want to have his ear. But Hendricks is a man of honor and strength; he cannot be cajoled or bought. He has gone his own way, quietly, because it is the right way, and they resent that superiority in him that they recognize and wish to destroy. He can never be one of them, and they will never let him exist in their world in peace.
I found this book fascinating, because, while I would not say it was a great book, I kept going back to it readily and never once wondered where I had left off or what was going on in the last chapter I had read. It stuck to my mind like glue, even in this very weird (for me) and protracted reading situation.
The book is peppered with astute thoughts, particularly from the narrator as he attempts to determine what makes Dan Hendricks different.
He had lived among us but not with us. He had been a stranger who had made no effort to learn our language, not from superior contempt, but from utter indifference. Because he really had not seen us. Yes, perhaps that was it. Mankind can endure any affront except not being noticed.
And to digest his own growth process,
In the spring my father died of apoplexy. As I looked at him in his casket, I had the strange thought that I had never really known him, that he had died in mystery…To me it is the greatest grief of all; that we never in reality see those who are closest to us. Perhaps seeing them after death, we would not recognize them.
This past Wednesday, I finished the last chapter and slid the book back into the Little Library box from which it came. It was a little strange to know that I would not have it to turn to next week, and I will need to supply a replacement.
I’m not sure I will ever seek out another Caldwell. Her writing is dated and her style is somehow slightly unsatisfactory, never quite engaging you with her characters, and yet, I want to give her her due for writing a book that I know I am not ever going to forget…or at least one character for which that is so.
I remembered Taylor Caldwell from my distant youth, someone I had read then and totally forgotten since. I’m unsure which of her books I might have read, certainly not this one, because I don’t think Dan Hendricks is a character you would ever completely forget. He is unique and the book is a study in the narrow-mindedness of small towns in early 20th Century America and the strength of character that makes a man stand by his own convictions and refuse to cave to crowd pressure. There is some of that still in us, is there not. I see people all the time who want everyone to be like them, think like them, and applaud them, and if they are not, if they do not, they are excluded. It is just harder to completely isolate a person in today’s big city, moving population world, than it would have been in a town where everyone knew you, nobody ever left, and dividing lines were decided at birth, as we find in this pre-depression era world.
Dan Hendricks is such a man. As a boy he is deemed not as good by the reigning adults. His father is a mere blacksmith and his mother is dead. He is somehow different and the children who attempt to torment him become the adults who shun him…until of course his fortunes change and they want to have his ear. But Hendricks is a man of honor and strength; he cannot be cajoled or bought. He has gone his own way, quietly, because it is the right way, and they resent that superiority in him that they recognize and wish to destroy. He can never be one of them, and they will never let him exist in their world in peace.
I found this book fascinating, because, while I would not say it was a great book, I kept going back to it readily and never once wondered where I had left off or what was going on in the last chapter I had read. It stuck to my mind like glue, even in this very weird (for me) and protracted reading situation.
The book is peppered with astute thoughts, particularly from the narrator as he attempts to determine what makes Dan Hendricks different.
He had lived among us but not with us. He had been a stranger who had made no effort to learn our language, not from superior contempt, but from utter indifference. Because he really had not seen us. Yes, perhaps that was it. Mankind can endure any affront except not being noticed.
And to digest his own growth process,
In the spring my father died of apoplexy. As I looked at him in his casket, I had the strange thought that I had never really known him, that he had died in mystery…To me it is the greatest grief of all; that we never in reality see those who are closest to us. Perhaps seeing them after death, we would not recognize them.
This past Wednesday, I finished the last chapter and slid the book back into the Little Library box from which it came. It was a little strange to know that I would not have it to turn to next week, and I will need to supply a replacement.
I’m not sure I will ever seek out another Caldwell. Her writing is dated and her style is somehow slightly unsatisfactory, never quite engaging you with her characters, and yet, I want to give her her due for writing a book that I know I am not ever going to forget…or at least one character for which that is so.
April 24, 2015
I struggled with rating this book. Ot's an uncomfortable book to read. Caldwell delves into parts of humanity that are almost unknowable and typically never discussed. I almost intensely disliked everyone in the book. Weakness, greed, ignorance, and fear are everywhere. Regret is everywhere. It was a hard book to keep reading. I wanted to ditch it. It's rare that I don't finish a book. I made myself finish this book. It was wonderful. I was haunted by it. I think part of my mind hovered over the book for days after I'd finished it. I strongly believe that it's possible to be surrounded by mostly limited people like in the book. It's hard to survive growing up in that environment. Also, you can't pick who you love.
A highly recommended read with a caveat. Don't read it if you're having a bad day or feeling down about humanity in general already.
A highly recommended read with a caveat. Don't read it if you're having a bad day or feeling down about humanity in general already.
May 30, 2015
I don't really know what to say about Taylor Caldwell. There are books of hers I have enjoyed immensely, and even this one, with its meager two stars, I finished fairly quickly and was not tempted to abandon it. Her characters are not so much living people as archetypes, and they repeat in every book. The well meaning, rather clumsy young man who means well but causes harm by that very well meaning. The noble yet socially clueless man who comes to grief because he does not understand the malice and hatred of those who are less than he is. The sweet pure woman who is often often misunderstood and hated. The cozy domestic wife. The vicious evil one (can be man or woman) with dancing eyes filled with malice. This particular book was written in 1973 and is at least lacking in the long political conspiracy diatribes about bankers and munitions manufacturers and their great evil. Sometimes I wonder - did she not think we would recognize the exact same polemics even though coming from different characters mouths? But Caldwell is sort of a poor man's Ayn Rand. She is (incredibly) viciously anti woman although I am sure she would deny that. But listen to this quote from this book "Women have no originality, no power, and little fortitude in other than physical matters, and so education is an affectation to women, adding nothing to them except stupidity and arrogance ... giving them an education adds a shrillness and clamor beyond endurance to them." This was said by the noble clueless man and the viewpoint was never challenged - in fact it was proven out by the women in the story. So I can't say that I like her, but I read her books and one of them "Testimony of Two Men" is one of my favorites.
July 5, 2016
Maravilloso relato de la vida de Dan Hendricks, cuya vida se ve rodeada por los prejuicios de una sociedad hipócrita y cruel;conviven con Dan muchos más personajes, algunos son leales y sinceros con él, pero otros lo utilizan para sus perversos moralismos. Esta vida es relatada desde los ojos de Jim el amigo, médico y poco valeroso espectador de la trágica, pero bellisima vida de Dan. Jim hasta muy tarde entendió que Dan es de esos pocos seres que vienen al mundo con una enseñanza bajo el brazo, y que sin aspavientos de predicador logró enseñarle lo que significa el Perdón, la Justicia y el valor. Dan era un ser solitario que no se sometió al canibalismo mental y social de un pueblo lleno de seres egoistas, pretenciosos que formaban un manada de humanos hipócritas que juzgaban que solo lo que ellos decían era lo "correcto", Dan fué un hombre que se reservo para si mismo, y sin embargo cuando fué necesario defendió a quién era tratado injustamente. Un relato que me atrapó con la intriga de la vida de cuatro seres encadenados a sus sentimientos de una manera cruel, y que los llevó a una vida llena de intrigas, sufrimientos y secretos. Lágrimas sinceras .... acompañan la lectura y entendí que en este trance de la vida .... es solo Mirar y Pasar, lo importante .... que hacemos en el trayecto.
September 17, 2011
I am a big Taylor Caldwell fan and had not read one of her books in some time, so I loved this book perhaps simply for the refreshing goodness of getting into her work again. It was a great book, and gave me a handful of new favorite quotes and great things to think about. However, it was not one of my favorites of hers. It seemed to me that Caldwell wrote this book in reaction to something going on in her mind or her life at this time. It did not have the depth of story or the dialogue of ideas that most of her works have. Instead, it was more of a monologue - each character giving a partial view of the same idea instead of a war of ideas. Unfortunate, but I'm still pleased to have it on my bookshelf at home and will definitely be picking it up again.
April 12, 2016
I read this decades ago, and don't remember the details well enough to write a real review. But the main character Dan Hendricks has always haunted me. I recalled him again recently after getting to know a teenager with autism and an adult with Aspergers well. I wonder if today we would think of Dan as someone with an autism spectrum disorder? I would like to read the book again with this question in mind and would be interested in other readers' thoughts on this.
June 20, 2022
My godfather new Taylor Caldwell. I have 2 of her books that he had her sign for me. My all time favorite of hers is "Grandmother and the Priests." This one was new to me. Not one I had ever read. She writes in the fashion of authors who feel the reader has nothing to do but read slowly and savor every word :) Its not a very happy, peppy read, but well worth the time.
February 11, 2012
Very good read. Set at the turn of the last century. Life was so different then. Has some parallels to Jullian Fellows' Past Imperfect. Some of the narrator's thoughts reminded me of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.
October 29, 2007
... TO LOOK AND PASS, breathing deep courage to let you go unknown.
December 1, 2012
This was a great book. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. Taylor Caldwell has amazing insight into human nature. I would recommend any of her books.
March 30, 2023
Read in 1976. I think I read every one of her books, she was one of my favorite authors at the time. I gave this only a good rating at the time.
June 27, 2021
Esto si que fue una sorpresa, que es la vida, quien sabe, que nos da valor como personas, da igual, al final el libro termina, como algún día terminará nuestra existencia , solo que en este caso uno puede reflexionar sobre todo lo anterior o no, ya depende de cada uno.
Creo que ahora entiendo porque está autora fue lo que fue y gozo de un cierto reconocimiento, que no sé si fue mucho o poco, además de la fama de su tiempo y que si hoy ya no sé reeditan algunos de sus libros, salvó las excepciones más reconocidas es por qué los posibles nuevos lectores de su obra aún no existen o todavía no están en condiciones de leer a la autora.
Creo que ahora entiendo porque está autora fue lo que fue y gozo de un cierto reconocimiento, que no sé si fue mucho o poco, además de la fama de su tiempo y que si hoy ya no sé reeditan algunos de sus libros, salvó las excepciones más reconocidas es por qué los posibles nuevos lectores de su obra aún no existen o todavía no están en condiciones de leer a la autora.
January 24, 2025
Really enjoyed this story. The characters were believable and some of the plot was very enjoyable. Quick chapters kept me reading more
July 31, 2019
Bien se dice que en pueblo chico infierno grande, pero si ese pequeño lugar es visto a través de los ojos de Taylor Caldwell, como en este relato ocurre respecto de South Kenton, bueno, el resultado es realmente escandaloso, tan sátiro e infernal que es prácticamente cómico.
To Look and Pass podrá ser una novela corta y ligera, pero no por ello deja de ser toda una joya del pensamiento Caldwelliano, todo un tratado sobre la hipocresía de las sociedades y del pensamiento colectivista. Al final, en palabras de Dan Hendricks, no podemos hacer más que mirar y pasar, llegar a esta vida con el único objetivo de ser testigos de nuestra propia decadencia hasta situarnos en el momento final que, si bien, pudiera tratarse de la culminación de una existencia virtuosa, o bien, ignominiosa y perversa, nos lleva a todos exactamente al mismo destino y lugar. En la muerte del héroe como del villano no hay una gran diferencia, siendo que, de encontrarla, es indudable que el tiempo se encargará de borrarla.
To Look and Pass podrá ser una novela corta y ligera, pero no por ello deja de ser toda una joya del pensamiento Caldwelliano, todo un tratado sobre la hipocresía de las sociedades y del pensamiento colectivista. Al final, en palabras de Dan Hendricks, no podemos hacer más que mirar y pasar, llegar a esta vida con el único objetivo de ser testigos de nuestra propia decadencia hasta situarnos en el momento final que, si bien, pudiera tratarse de la culminación de una existencia virtuosa, o bien, ignominiosa y perversa, nos lleva a todos exactamente al mismo destino y lugar. En la muerte del héroe como del villano no hay una gran diferencia, siendo que, de encontrarla, es indudable que el tiempo se encargará de borrarla.
April 13, 2023
Begins slowly but worth the read
I am thinking this may be an early Caldwell. Starts off a bit slowly but stay with it. It develops into a truly great read. It’s definitely not a ‘feel good’ story but one that touches depths of sorrow yet fully explores ‘the self’ as the whole!
I am thinking this may be an early Caldwell. Starts off a bit slowly but stay with it. It develops into a truly great read. It’s definitely not a ‘feel good’ story but one that touches depths of sorrow yet fully explores ‘the self’ as the whole!
February 8, 2013
Not a review...this was one of the first adult books I read. I was 15, until then it was Nancy Drew.
January 16, 2020
I've never read a Taylor Caldwell book that hasn't been inspiring.
February 2, 2024
Starts out slow and pretty much stays that way. I struggled to get through this read. Certainly not my favorite Taylor Caldwell read
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews