TOWARD WHAT BRIGHT LAND

by Walter Gilkyson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 1947

Period decor and mood for a story of Timothy Rood growing up in a Philadelphia that still clung to the old mores. Timothy was nine, and inherited the earth as it was bounded by his first love, horses, by Chester County, Philadelphia society, the beauty of his untouchable mother, the prestige of his Grandfather Camberton's wealth, the dignity and security of his staunch Quaker Grandfather Rood. Then he finds that life isn't all dancing school and bothersome little girls, or the boys he knows in the chosen circles. It isn't all dependable romance; he has a bad case of calf love- only to find that the girl is using him as a foil. Then dancing school progresses to the Assemblies (Philadelphians with a sense of humor will enjoy this particularly). He discovers some unpalatable truths:- his lovely mother is little better than a society where; his father is a weakling motivated by social and monetary ambition; his grandfather Camberton is a grandiose tyrant and a cheat; and romance is a rocky road. Chivalry nearly wrecks his future. So he is shipped off on the conventional Grand Tour of the early century, and returns to find that romance opens a new door as death closes an old one. As a novel, it is long spun and slow paced; as a period piece, within memory range of those beyond middle age, it has a quiet sort of charm. But I can't see it reaching a very extensive market, outside the locale, where it will sell.

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1947

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1947

Categories: FICTION