Shadowbrook
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Now in mass market paperback, in the epic storytelling tradition of Sara Donati comes a sweeping tale of love, ambition, and a war that ignited a revolution...
1754. In a peaceful glen in the Ohio Country, the firing of a musket ball signals the beginning of the infamous bloody seven-year war that paved the way for the American Revolution...
In Shadowbrook, a cast of unforgettable characters brings to life the bloody conflict between the French and the English that ignited America’s quest for independence and the birth of a new nation: Quentin Hale, the fearless gentleman- turned-scout the Indians call ‘Red Bear’; Cormac Shea, the part-Irish, part-Indian woodsman scarred in battle by his own kin, sworn to drive white man from his land; and Nicole Crane, a beautiful young woman whose struggle to reconcile her earthly desire for Hale and her chaste calling to the nunnery causes her to become a pawn in the British quest for territory.
Centered around Shadowbrook, a prosperous plantation in the northern wilderness, and peopled with characters like a young George Washington, this richly textured tale vividly captures the conflict that marked a turning point in history and the start of an epic battle for freedom. But it is in the powerfully drawn characters, the ordinary men and women living in a world on the brink of extraordinary change, that the story comes alive.
A classic in the making, this is a page-turning tale of war and the transforming power of love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Swerling's sweeping fictional account of the French and Indian War rivals Harold Coyle's 1997 novel, Savage Wilderness, in its masterful treatment of the hardship, brutality and treachery of America's colonial wars. Covering the years 1754 1760, with the British, French and Indians slaughtering each other for king and empire, Swerling tells of two men who straddle the white and red man's worlds, desperate to preserve the best of each culture, but fearful they will lose everything they love. Quentin Hale is a gentleman turned scout whose family owns a prosperous New York plantation called Shadowbrook. He is white, but also follows the Indian ways of his adopted tribe, the Potawatomi. Cormac Shea is part-Irish and part-Indian, nearly a brother to Hale, but he wants all whites driven from Canada. Together these men find themselves caught up in a bloody war neither wants, but they must fight to save the plantation and create a homeland for the Indians. Hale faces treachery at home from his sadistic and greedy elder brother, John; from a scheming one-eyed Scot; and from lying, corrupt politicians who want to steal his legacy; he also has an Indian enemy who wants to cut out his heart. Hale and Shea fight in many battles, mostly massacres, from Louisbourg and Fort William Henry to the climactic battle at Quebec. Surrounding them are colorful historical figures like the young George Washington, the hapless General Braddock and the powerful Ottawa chief, Pontiac. Swerling also cleverly reveals the arrogant influence of the Catholic Church in politics, the duplicity of governmental promises and the forced migration of Acadians from Nova Scotia. The complexity of the history involved may daunt some readers, but most will be captivated by Swerling's intricate plot, colorful characters and convincing descriptions of colonial life.
