Picking up where his runaway bestseller "Back Bay" left off, William Martin returns to Boston, this time bringing the history of Harvard University vibrantly to life.
Harvard Yard: A Novel (Peter Fallon)
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From Publishers Weekly
Martin, who introduced antiquarian Peter Fallon in his debut novel Back Bay (1979), brings him back for a second quest in this sprawling bibliomystery, which traces the tightly interlaced histories of the fictional Wedge family and Harvard University. Fallon, a proud Harvard grad, assists in the university's annual fund-raising appeals. One call, to Ridley Wedge Royce, lands him not a donation but a tip. The intriguing possibility that the Wedge family once owned a rare and unknown Shakespeare manuscript-a text purportedly linking Will Shakespeare and Harvard's founder-is enough to hook Fallon. But others are on the same scent and willing to go to any lengths to root out the manuscript if it still exists. How it came into the possession of the Wedges, and what happened to it next is gradually revealed as Martin spins through 300 years of American history-from the Salem witch trials and the Boston Tea Party to the Civil War and up to the radical late 1960s-telling a tale of Harvard the institution growing from a tiny establishment under beastly first master Nathaniel Eaton to become America's premier university. Fallon's search takes a back seat to the historical material, but the novel provides good entertainment and copious Crimson lore.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Martin continues to entertain with the successful formula he perfected in best-sellers Back Bay (1979) and Cape Cod (1991). The author races back and forth through time in order to solve a bookish mystery rooted in historical events. When antiquarian bookseller Peter Fallon follows the clues he hopes will lead him to recover a lost Shakespeare play written in the bard's own hand, he himself becomes the target of both underworld thugs and unscrupulous academics. The most compelling action takes place in the past as he traces the utterly fascinating evolution of Harvard University by interweaving it with the intimate history of one of New England's first families. Bound by oath to preserve John Harvard's library, Issac Wedge takes care to squirrel away the Shakespearean quarto the dying Harvard entrusted to his care. Realizing that Puritan reactionaries would most certainly destroy the play, Wedge hands it down for safekeeping to his own son, establishing a pattern that is repeated by each succeeding generation until it appears that the manuscript has been lost. Or has it? It is up to Fallon to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The unexpected twists and turns through history will keep readers guessing and the pages turning. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Jeffrey Swystun
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I recently read City of Dreams and enjoyed author Martin's twist of history and mystery. The adventures of antiquarian Peter Fallon ("Indiana Jones in a monogrammed shirt") are both entertaining and educational. In this outing we are treated to the history of Harvard University and a missing work of Shakespeare. Along the way many seminal events in U.S. history are covered including the Salem witch trials, the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and the protest era of the 1960s.
I was fascinated by the story of commonplace books and their role in the novel. These are basically scrapbooks whose owners filled with them with items of every kind: medical recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas - basically they are aids for remembering useful concepts or facts.
Also interesting is Martin's take on the upper crust of Harvard through the years ("...some guys never get over the fact that they didn't get into Harvard, and some guys never get over the fact that they did"). Great lines abound throughout including: "To have order in society, there must be a chain of being", "I've always believed that any club is useless, unless it exists to keep somebody out", and the one that is key to the plot..."A man, he knew, would be known by his books."
I was fascinated by the story of commonplace books and their role in the novel. These are basically scrapbooks whose owners filled with them with items of every kind: medical recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas - basically they are aids for remembering useful concepts or facts.
Also interesting is Martin's take on the upper crust of Harvard through the years ("...some guys never get over the fact that they didn't get into Harvard, and some guys never get over the fact that they did"). Great lines abound throughout including: "To have order in society, there must be a chain of being", "I've always believed that any club is useless, unless it exists to keep somebody out", and the one that is key to the plot..."A man, he knew, would be known by his books."
Format:Hardcover
This is a really fun romp through the history of Harvard, which, as it turns out, is quite inextricable from the history of this continent. Martin manages to combine a truly original premise, an intriguing quest narrative, and a modern detective story into a single well-paced book. If you've ever been through Boston, or gazed at the ivy-covered brick of Harvard Yard, you'll really enjoy this book.
By A. T. DAMICO
Format:Hardcover
Whenever I feel the need to read a pure work of historical fiction, I look to see what Mr. Martin has written. I have read all of his stories, and there is one consistency throughout; The stories are phenomenal! It's almost like reading two books simultaneously, only to find that they are intertwined entirely. I have tried my hand at fictional writing, and usually got tripped up on keeping my details straight somewhere around page 6! Mr. Martin keeps hundreds of details in perfect order throughout the book. I hope he is right when he says "a man is known by his books" because I proudly have Mr. Martin's collection of gems in my library.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
venerable Veritas
Ah, Harvard! If you've spent time in Cambridge or at the college, then this book will very likely resonate with you. Read more
Published on April 7 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great read
I waited a long time since Citizen Washington for Bill Martin's next book and was not disappointed. I read it in about two days,only putting it down long enough to go to work. Read more
Published on Feb 13 2004 by John Hastings
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literary and Historical Labors Won
The saga of the Wedge family is absolutely fascinating. If you want to know what a Boston Brahmin is (I don't blame you if you don't), read Harvard Yard. Read more
Published on Jan 10 2004 by Christopher Jackson
2.0 out of 5 stars
did i read the same book as the rest of you???
i wanted to love Harvard Yard as much as Back Bay and Cape Cod (2 of Martin's earlier books) but something about it fell terribly flat. Read more
Published on Jan 8 2004 by karen mulhern
5.0 out of 5 stars
Martin at his best
Harvard Yard is entralling. It melds history, fact and fiction in an exquisitely dramatic way. I could not put this book down and, as is true with any excellent novel, at the end I... Read more
Published on Jan 6 2004 by S Crawford
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Page-Turner -- As Visual as a Movie!
In "Harvard Yard", author William Martin does a remarkable job of bringing history to life in a way that will leave you thinking you have just watched an epic film! Read more
Published on Jan 1 2004 by Gina Podlesak
1.0 out of 5 stars
A STUPID, TERRIBLE BOOK!
A book must be really BAD if I can't even read the second chapter!! I can't believe that paper was wasted publishing this atrocious mess!
Published on Dec 30 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous historical novel
ive always enjoyed bill martins books starting with back bay. harvard yard is by far his best opus . i highly recomend it .
Published on Dec 12 2003 by paul szep
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous!
I've been a fan of William Martin's fiction ever since BACK BAY, and have been waiting since CITIZEN WASHINGTON for his next novel. And was it worth the wait. Read more
Published on Dec 11 2003 by Max de la Sancho
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous
I've been a fan of William Martin's fiction ever since BACK BAY, and have been waiting since CITIZEN WASHINGTON for his next novel. And was it worth the wait. Read more
Published on Dec 11 2003 by Max de la Sancho
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