SWEAR BY APOLLO

by Shirley Barker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 1958

Report repeated from page 93 of the February 1st bulletin, as follows: ""I like Shirley Barker's type of historical and period romance. To me she has pace, vitality, atmosphere, authentic people who live and move and shape their destinies. Her control of her historical material seems assured; her selection shows originality. And yet she has not yet made the mark her novels rate: Liza Bowe with its Mermaid Tavern setting; Fire and the Hammer, an unusual tale of Tories in the Revolution; two earlier books, Peace, My Daughters and Rivers Parting, both many cuts above average. Now comes Swear By Apollo, a tale of a New Hampshire youth, whose medical training under his father in New Hampshire was being extended through schooling in Edinburgh, which he found dull, and too theoretical. So he took a summer assignment at the behest of a laird of a Scottish isle- and there he found what he sought, a chance to experiment with a variety of ailments, to try out the new antitoxin for smallpox, to put theory to test. But he found more:-things of the spirit, of tradition, that could not be measured in ordinary terms; he found disillusionment, agony of spirit, and he found love. It is a stirring story, which builds up to a climax as word of Concord and Lexington shows him where his future lies. Well researched, well written, worth reading.

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 1958

ISBN: 0548451397

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1958

Categories: FICTION