Publication
Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1983.
Collection
Call number
Fiction P
Physical description
595 p.; 22 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
"Orphaned Mark Browning was only twenty when he renounced his father's fortune and sailed to Savannah, his mother's birthplace. and the home of two remarkable women. The first is Eliza McQueen Mackay, his mentor's beautiful wife, whom Mark loves with a deep, pure love that can never be spoken. The other is lovely young Caroline Cameron, whose life is blighted by a secret that has tormented her grandparents for half a century--a secret that affects Mark more closely than he imagines. Desiring one woman, loved by another, Mark must confront the ghosts of a previous generation, and face the evil smoldering hate, before he can truly call Savannah his home. "--
Subjects
Series
User reviews
LibraryThing member SusieQ228
This is the first in a series of four books. It's so wonderfully written that you get immersed in the story and the romance, and don't even realize what a huge dose of history and biography you're getting. The saga's main characters are fictitious, but supporting characters, including significant
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historical figures, are often real. Show Less
LibraryThing member countrylife
I’ve just returned from another time (1812-1825) and place (Savannah, Georgia). This trip was taken without pen and paper at hand; it is rare for me to read without taking notes all along the way. But this trip was for the pleasure of the journey itself. I’ve wandered the squares of Savannah,
The story centers on the fictional character of Mark Browning, a young man recently orphaned, who moves to Savannah. It weaves his story into the lives of real persons, famous in their time. Ms. Price’s research and love of the area shine through her finished work. It was a lovely, lovely beach read.
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walked along the river paths on plantations, worked on the wharf, and alongside my mistress in the kitchens. This book is brimming with an atmosphere of place and time. The story centers on the fictional character of Mark Browning, a young man recently orphaned, who moves to Savannah. It weaves his story into the lives of real persons, famous in their time. Ms. Price’s research and love of the area shine through her finished work. It was a lovely, lovely beach read.
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LibraryThing member JaneSteen
Where I got the book: review copy supplied by the publisher. My feature article on the Savannah Quartet appears on the Historical Novel Society website.
On the eve of the War of 1812, Mark Browning moves to Savannah. On the way he meets Robert Mackay, a successful Savannah merchant, and the two hit
I’m going to stop here and explain that Robert Mackay was a real person, while Mark Browning is fictional. The weaving of fiction and fact is pretty seamless—Price uses the real lives of the characters as plot points, inventing a sort of love triangle that is a major factor in the book’s last third. Price was a Christian writer and this is reflected in the text, but I didn’t find it particularly preachy or intrusive since nineteenth-century Americans of that class were pretty much automatically religious.
Price’s main fault is repetition—she has a tendency to belabor plot points by having first one set of characters and then another discuss them. Also, I wanted to smack Mark for keeping Caroline hanging around while he moons over Eliza—if he were a woman there’d be a name for his behavior. But he’s portrayed as so perfect—many of Price’s ‘good’ characters are good to the point of weakness—that we’re evidently supposed to sympathize with his predicament. I didn’t.
Having said that, Savannah is a really good read with plenty of historical interest and something always about to happen round the next corner (often heavily foreshadowed). It’s the kind of book you can just sit a long time with, preferably on a verandah with a tall glass of cold liquid. Recommended.
On the eve of the War of 1812, Mark Browning moves to Savannah. On the way he meets Robert Mackay, a successful Savannah merchant, and the two hit
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it off so well that Mackay invites Mark to stay in his home, thus leading to a lifelong friendship. Against the background of the war, Mark discovers his past and his future.I’m going to stop here and explain that Robert Mackay was a real person, while Mark Browning is fictional. The weaving of fiction and fact is pretty seamless—Price uses the real lives of the characters as plot points, inventing a sort of love triangle that is a major factor in the book’s last third. Price was a Christian writer and this is reflected in the text, but I didn’t find it particularly preachy or intrusive since nineteenth-century Americans of that class were pretty much automatically religious.
Price’s main fault is repetition—she has a tendency to belabor plot points by having first one set of characters and then another discuss them. Also, I wanted to smack Mark for keeping Caroline hanging around while he moons over Eliza—if he were a woman there’d be a name for his behavior. But he’s portrayed as so perfect—many of Price’s ‘good’ characters are good to the point of weakness—that we’re evidently supposed to sympathize with his predicament. I didn’t.
Having said that, Savannah is a really good read with plenty of historical interest and something always about to happen round the next corner (often heavily foreshadowed). It’s the kind of book you can just sit a long time with, preferably on a verandah with a tall glass of cold liquid. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member nancynova
long epic novel about a young man's early years in Savannah in the early 1800's
Language
Original publication date
1983
ISBN
0385152744 / 9780385152747