A VOICE IN THE STREETS

by John Tebbel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 9, 1954

A lengthy pursuit of the life and times of both New York City and one Timothy Duncan Stevens, which covers almost three decades, is exhaustive in its attention to period detail and atmosphere and to contemporary issues. Stevens' career has its Algerish touches. Timothy, a starving immigrant from Ireland, is befriended by banker Temple who helps him achieve his dream -- a penny newspaper; a fire wipes the Guardian out and Rynders, a Tammany wheel, gets him political backing, but Timothy does not promise to uphold the party; he marries Temple's daughter and, with his paper, becomes influential in financial and civic affairs. Ready to crusade against misery and poverty, he wins enemies in all camps; his wife can never take the place of Jean, whose virtue is dubious but whose love is constant; he takes a stand on Catholic Church's attitude towards the growing mobs, electioneers for Buchanan, for a mayor, on slavery and secession, is nearly mobbed and finds an answer when his wife is killed in the Draft Riots of 1863. A clear picture of a city of mounting rebellion is a panoramic background for stubborn but almost honest man whose fate was not always in his own hands. Earnest.

Pub Date: Aug. 9, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1954

Categories: FICTION