VERMILION

by Idwal Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Idwal Jones, in those two of his books I have read, has established himself as a gifted, versatile writer with a great deal to say and the ability to say it supremely well. Now comes this book, already much publicized, a book that will rank high on spring lists. It is closer to The Vineyard (Duell, Sloan & Pearce-1942) than to High Bonnet (Prentice-Hall-1945) for the protagonist of the story is the quicksilver mine at the Rancho Alamos- the mine with which the fortunes and the lives of the Copes, whether they were in California, or Cornwall, or China, was intimately bound. A three generation story this, though the spirit of Pablo, a youth returned from the seas at the start of the story, dominates the whole; a story that spans much of California's history, from the degeneration of vitality under the remote Mexican control, through brief spurts of independence, to the American occupation and annexation. But chiefly it is the story of the Copes, of a pattern that repeats itself, with variants,- always a grand dame, an outsider; always one to whom the love of the ore- the honor of the mine- is a focus of life; always one who wastes his inheritance; always one to whom the vineyard, the ranch, means more than the mine. There is adventure here, and romance, but the thing that breathes through the story is the feel of time and place, the sense of conflict within and without, the sharply drawn characterizations. Overlong, perhaps, but with that abundance of detail that makes the Taylor Caldwell trilogy begun with Dynasty of Death vitally interesting to her audience (and Idwal Jones writes infinitely better).

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Prentice-Hall

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1947

Categories: FICTION