Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the Building of Boston's Golden Age

by Ted Clarke

Venture back to the Boston of the 1800s, when Back Bay was just a wide expanse of water to the west of the Shawmut Peninsula and merchants peddled their wares to sailors along the docks. Witness the beginning of the American Industrial Revolution; learn how a series of cultural movements made Boston the focal point of abolitionism in America, with leaders like William Lloyd Garrison; and see the golden age of the arts ushered in with notables Longfellow, Holmes, Copley, Sargent and Isabella Stewart Gardner. Travel with local historian Ted Clarke down the cobbled streets of Boston to discover its history in the golden age.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2010

About the author

"Taking the High Ground: How Boston Broke thee British Grip\r
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'Boston Curiosities'\r
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'Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the Building of Boston""

Reviews

[Sue Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

great summary

Great summary of Boston from the end of the Revolutionary War through its golden days, citing Back Bay, the subway system, art, medicine and educational excellence.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as well-written as you would hope, and the text wanders around a bit, but there's a lot of good and interesting information here about the building of Boston's Beacon Hill and the Back Bay. Several nice photographs and old postcards are included. Inexplicably, "The Rise of Silas Lapham," the great Back Bay novel by William Dean Howells, is not mentioned.

[Irwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great history of Beacon Hill & Back Bay, and even a great chapter on the birth of Lowell (first planned mill town in America). Author could have used an editor- his writing was weak, but the presentation of the history made up for any writing weaknesses.