Seaworthy historical fiction at its best.
An exemplary reissue of Hill’s 1975 historical novel about one woman’s life and loves from the end of the American Revolution to the War of 1812.
After the Revolutionary War leaves Hannah Deems a destitute widow, she has no choice but to accept farmer Seth Adams’ offer to take care of her and her young daughter, Molly. Without the benefit of marriage, Hannah becomes little more than a slave, and Seth’s cruelty compels Hannah to save Molly by sending her to live with a kindly Quaker woman, Elizabeth Warden. Molly thrives as a servant under Mrs. Warden’s care, but when word comes that Hannah has drowned herself, Molly makes a life-changing decision: She will never allow someone else to control her destiny. She sets her sights on handsome young sailor Elijah Merrick, but her mother’s infamous past makes Molly look like damaged goods to potential suitors. Still, Elijah is willing to fight for her honor. But Molly cannot contain her desire for Isaac Warden, Elizabeth’s son, even after she marries Elijah. Molly plays a dangerous game—she may very well lose the one man who showed her the meaning of true love. Hill (House of Kingsley, 1978, etc.) creates a lush, vibrant landscape in post-Revolutionary Cape Cod with historical details that blend seamlessly with the narrative. Molly is a compelling, feisty heroine whose journey from orphan to servant to wife of a sea captain aptly shows how the American Revolution broke down class barriers and made it possible for even the lowest-level citizens to climb the social ladder. Elijah’s voyages offer a revealing glimpse into the perils of American shipping and his determination to succeed as a sea captain epitomizes the American self-made man so espoused by Thomas Jefferson. What compels the reader to turn the page, however, is Molly’s uncompromising will to not only survive but thrive in the midst of her persecution and the country’s upheaval. Though the narrative may drag for some who prefer a faster read, others will enjoy Hill’s slowed pace that allows for full immersion in American maritime history.
Seaworthy historical fiction at its best.Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0984441402
Page Count: 454
Publisher: North Road
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...
Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.
After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-345-45071-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
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