WILDERNESS OF SPRING

by Edgar Pangborn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 27, 1957

From the problematical future (two science fiction stories) to a fairly well-authenticated past- the New England of the early 19th century- this is a substantial if rather lumbering period novel. In the French attack on Deerfield in 1704, Ben and Reuben Cory, two youngsters, lose their parents but make their way to their grandmother's house-she is as formidable as the enemy- and finally to their kindly great Uncle John Kenny in Roxbury. He is a sea captain and as Ben grows up- he wants to join him in the uncertain spice trade, while the more sensitive, studious Reuben learns medicine. The action, injected at intervals but concentrated at close, concerns Ben's running away to sea- to save his uncle's ship pirated by the smooth stranger Shawn who has mad dreams of discovery. Ben, heading the mutiny which will take Shawn's life, brings the ship back home where his uncle has died- but his love for young Charity (the romance is indeed incidental) is returned.... The period here is more successful- and more solid- than the story itself or the characters engaged in it- but for the this market it's acceptable.

Pub Date: Jan. 27, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Rinehart

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1957

Categories: FICTION