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≡ PDF Gratis Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books

Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books



Download As PDF : Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books

Download PDF Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books


Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books

I don't know how I didn't discover Beverly Swerling until now, but wow--Shadowbrook was right up my alley! Scouring Amazon for 18th Century fiction paid off!

Shadowbrook takes place during the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), and for anyone who doesn't know, I have an obsession with the Daniel Day-Lewis version of Last of the Mohicans so of course I dove right into this story. If you do as well, you will love Shadowbrook. It's also very Diana Gabaldon and Sara Donati, and I wonder if Beverly Swerling was influence by either when she wrote this novel?

Shadowbrook starts on the eve of the war between France and Britain, with Quentin Hale and his half-Potawatomi, half-Irish adopted brother Cormac Shae caught in the middle, along with a young woman named Nicole Crane who wishes to become a nun in Quebec. Things quickly go awry as the three of them get swept up in the tumult of the Ohio Valley, where we also meet a young and inexperienced George Washington. Quentin and Nicole begin to form a close relationship at his family seat, Shadowbrook, and Nicole struggles with her wish to become a nun.

Much of Shadowbrook delves into the politics among the tribes stretching from the Ohio Valley, across to Delaware, and up into Canada, and what they will do when Britain and France finally declare war. We see much of the politicking and cultural differences through Cormac, and also a bit through Quentin who is an adopted member of Cormac's Potawatomi tribe. Having written something similar, I very much appreciated Swerling's research and differentiation between each tribe culturally. I did not feel as if Swerling resorted to stereotypes, but rather relied on her research.

Anyway, the characters strive toward a pact I only knew a bit about during this time and that was a deal made with the British that if they won the war against France, the indigenous peoples would get Canada and the promise that the settlers would not go beyond the Appalachian mountains. We know now, of course, that despite their aid of Britain during the war, this deal was destroyed (and this, as we all know, continued to happen.)

Shadowbrook is a meandering narrative, and although I enjoyed it, I have read longer books that seemed to go back faster/read much faster than this one. Swerling often deviates from the A and B plots to these random side characters I didn't really care about, and could have done without their little off shoots, because we ended up not really knowing them at all in the end. Another thing I wasn't crazy about is the POV head hopping within the same scene. This choice often left me disoriented until I figured out whose thoughts I was reading as opposed to whose thoughts I was reading maybe only two lines up. I was most connected to and interested in the relationship between Quentin and Nicole, whose relationship is quite star-crossed, and I often wanted to get through the meandering conversations between Jesuit priests and French Generals to get back to that story.

That said, Shadowbrook is a sweeping, epic tale of war and love spanning 1754 to 1769, delving into the little known political machinations and social history of the French and Indian War--a war that was integral in setting the stage for the coming Revolution.

Read Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books

Tags : Amazon.com: Shadowbrook: A Novel of Love, War, and the Birth of America (9780743228138): Beverly Swerling: Books,Beverly Swerling,Shadowbrook: A Novel of Love, War, and the Birth of America,Simon & Schuster,0743228138,Historical,Sagas,War & Military,Indians of North America - Wars - 1750-1815,Love stories,Ohio - History - To 1787,United States - History - French and Indian War, 1755-1763,War stories,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Sagas,FICTION War & Military,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Historical,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,Historical fiction,eighteenth century; 1700s; plantation; Ohio; France; Great Britain; Iroquois; George Washington; American Independence; French and Indian War; historical fiction; city of dreams; war of 1812

Shadowbrook A Novel of Love War and the Birth of America Beverly Swerling Books Reviews


This author really does her research. So interesting on many levels.
I started reading this book thinking it could be no better than the author's previous work, "City of Dreams" but soon found out I was wrong. I had made that assumption initially because this novel is based around the lives of two men and a war I was totally unfamiliar with, the French and Indian war. Call me sexists, but as a woman I didn't really want to read a book about two guys in a war-I mean, it sounded a little boring, and I've never really been one from American History, especially historical fiction about American History.

I was wrong. This book is amazing and even better than "City of Dreams." The story is that these two men, Quentin Hale and Cormac Shea are brothers in spirit and fight to save the Indian nations from the British and French. Quentin (Quent) is the second son of a large land owner (the land is Shadowbrook) was partially raised by the Indian tribe of his father's Indian mistress. The mistress' son, Cormac Shea ( called Corm, whose father got eaten in "City of Dreams") is his best friend and blood brother, and they both believe that the only way for the Indian people to survive with the English and French moving into North America is for the Indian people to have the sole right to live in Canada. But, Canada is occupied by the French.

And so starts political wealing and dealing, mystical dreams that foretell the future, and a love story of epic scope. While Quent and Corm fight to achieve their goal, the English and French governments begin to fight over the Ohio territory and soon come to war blows. Mixed up in all of this are two priests, one a Franciscan and one a Jesuit, who work behind the scenes, sometimes in ways that murder and damage people horribly, to insure the future they want for New France. And there is a woman named Nicole, who wants to be a nun despite the love she bears for Quent ever since meeting him in Ohio country and traveling with for a time.

This is an amazing novel, with not one boring page in the whole thing. I am really shocked that this author is not better known. I was never one much for American history, it always seemed like little too much focused on wars and less like the fabulous lives of kings back in old Europe, but this novel has, along with "City of Dreams" made me realize that American history can be just as amazing and exciting and wonderful as European-if it is well written. And this novel literally could not have been written any better. It's exciting, romantic, and mysterious and chopped full of real history about the beginning of the end for Native Americans, and the French and Indian war, which I can now say I understand a little bit. This also contains a ton of information about the state of the Catholic Church in Quebec, and the history of the rivalry between the Jesuits and the Franciscans. If I was a history teacher, I would have all my students read this book to get them excited about learning about this period in history.

Five stars and I can't wait for this author's next book. I recommend this novel to everyone. It is the "Gone with the Wind" of the French and Indian war.
Shadowbrook has given me a much greater understanding of the French and Indian War and has inspired me to read more about this complex and pivotal time in history. The historical detail in the book is excellent and requires careful reading. Swerling effectively lays out the complexity of the issues and motivations of the various groups that were involved in the conflict. She pairs all of this with a story line that is at times a little too convenient but satisfying nevertheless. I found the use of the character's interior monologue as a narrative devise a little confusing at first, but got used to it after a while. Some characters were beautifully drawn but others were one dimensional. Overall, I would recommend this book as a well researched, interesting and satisfying historical fiction.
This book has it all - history, politics, religion, love, family fueds and bonds, war... all described in come-alive detail. Beverly Swerling clearly did extensive research - I learned more from this book about the cultures of the Native American peoples who lived on the land where I was raised than I ever did in school, and more about the "birth of our nation" as well. Swerling has great talent for storytelling - I read this book in about 3 days. The people, places, smells, everything... it all sprang to life.

I could not put Shadowbrook down. I hope she continues to author entrancing books such as this; I will be a lifelong reader if she does. She has managed to turn my eye away from historical fiction set in Europe toward that set in America.
I don't know how I didn't discover Beverly Swerling until now, but wow--Shadowbrook was right up my alley! Scouring for 18th Century fiction paid off!

Shadowbrook takes place during the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), and for anyone who doesn't know, I have an obsession with the Daniel Day-Lewis version of Last of the Mohicans so of course I dove right into this story. If you do as well, you will love Shadowbrook. It's also very Diana Gabaldon and Sara Donati, and I wonder if Beverly Swerling was influence by either when she wrote this novel?

Shadowbrook starts on the eve of the war between France and Britain, with Quentin Hale and his half-Potawatomi, half-Irish adopted brother Cormac Shae caught in the middle, along with a young woman named Nicole Crane who wishes to become a nun in Quebec. Things quickly go awry as the three of them get swept up in the tumult of the Ohio Valley, where we also meet a young and inexperienced George Washington. Quentin and Nicole begin to form a close relationship at his family seat, Shadowbrook, and Nicole struggles with her wish to become a nun.

Much of Shadowbrook delves into the politics among the tribes stretching from the Ohio Valley, across to Delaware, and up into Canada, and what they will do when Britain and France finally declare war. We see much of the politicking and cultural differences through Cormac, and also a bit through Quentin who is an adopted member of Cormac's Potawatomi tribe. Having written something similar, I very much appreciated Swerling's research and differentiation between each tribe culturally. I did not feel as if Swerling resorted to stereotypes, but rather relied on her research.

Anyway, the characters strive toward a pact I only knew a bit about during this time and that was a deal made with the British that if they won the war against France, the indigenous peoples would get Canada and the promise that the settlers would not go beyond the Appalachian mountains. We know now, of course, that despite their aid of Britain during the war, this deal was destroyed (and this, as we all know, continued to happen.)

Shadowbrook is a meandering narrative, and although I enjoyed it, I have read longer books that seemed to go back faster/read much faster than this one. Swerling often deviates from the A and B plots to these random side characters I didn't really care about, and could have done without their little off shoots, because we ended up not really knowing them at all in the end. Another thing I wasn't crazy about is the POV head hopping within the same scene. This choice often left me disoriented until I figured out whose thoughts I was reading as opposed to whose thoughts I was reading maybe only two lines up. I was most connected to and interested in the relationship between Quentin and Nicole, whose relationship is quite star-crossed, and I often wanted to get through the meandering conversations between Jesuit priests and French Generals to get back to that story.

That said, Shadowbrook is a sweeping, epic tale of war and love spanning 1754 to 1769, delving into the little known political machinations and social history of the French and Indian War--a war that was integral in setting the stage for the coming Revolution.
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