The Vanishing Point [Paperback]

This is a tale of two sisters. One treats her sexuality as any man of any time would do: openly and without restraint of regard for social constructs. Her name is May, and this same sexual behavior has her unmarrigable in England and setting sail for Maryland to marry the son of her father's cousin. She regards this as an adventure though they have never met, and she is four years older than her soon to be husband Gabriel Washbrook. May has a younger sister, Hannah, who also does not fit into society because of the extensive medical education her physician father gave her. She stays in England to care for her aging father, but when he dies she heads off to join her sister in Maryland.

Only Hannah finds that upon reaching her sisters plantation that not only was the family's prosperity mentioned in her cousins letters false, but her sister is dead. Only Gabriel is left on the plantation, and he is half mad from grief, anger, and being totally isolated. Like Gabriel, Hannah is a born loner and her grief for her sister soon turns into love for her sister's widow. But still she has not received a satisfactory answer as to what happened to May.

This is a very well written book. The author has a lovely voice in her writing style. It is kind of a small, story and plot oriented novel, which was a relief after all the historical fiction novels I've read that tell people's whole life story with no desirable plot.

Chapters alternate as to the narrator (though it's all in third person except for the second to last chapter) which allows the story to unfold, and the mystery of May's death to be told in a very suspenseful manner. You won't find out what happened `till the end. I also quite liked the way the book was laid out-going back and forward in time from Hannah or Gabriel when they were together in 1692-1695 or May, Gabriel and Adele (the maidservant) when they were in 1689-1691.

I also liked, how for all their unusual (for the time) traits, Hannah and May pretty much were still stuck with what society excepted of them. There was no amazing feminist attitudes (which did not exists in this time) cropping up as in some other books with a strong female lead who turns into a crusader for women's rights. These were all normal people, and they fit into society as the time period dictated. They did deviate a little from the normal women of their time (adventures in the wilderness, wandering around woods on their own, dressing like boys), but in the end they still were women of the time.

Really the only things I didn't like about this book was that the devotion between Hannah and May was never really shown or explained, it was just implied that you would except it. I did feel that Hannah and May's feelings about the new world weren't as significant of a presence as they should have been, considering that they were in a totally new, very rough and mostly uninhabited world. Also I felt the love between Hannah and Gabriel was quite rushed at first and didn't develop to its full potential.

Other than that, it's a very good book. I recommend it to historical fiction fans.

Four point five stars.

For other reading on the early colonial days of North America check out "A Place Called Freedom" by Ken Follett, "Virgin Earth" by Philippa Gregory ("Earthly Joys" for the back story on that) and "Now Face to Face" by Karleen Koen (though you should read "Through a Glass Darkly first for the back story.)

Mary Sharratt's The Vanishing Point is a wonderful example of historical fiction that grips you from the first words, twisting and turning into unexpected character development and bringing to life colonial America in ways seldom seen. Sharratt's characterizations carefully build on the seeds she plants at the beginning of the novel, and she tells the stories using several narratives to shed light on the complexities of life for planters during the late 1600s.

This is the story of Hannah Powers, whose elder sister May is the town wanton in an English village. Unable (and unwilling) to find a suitable marriage due to her loose ways, May accepts the offer of marriage to a distant cousin in America as a way to escape her past. After their father dies a couple of years later, Hannah decides to join her beloved elder sister and makes her way to May's home in the colonies. Upon arrival, she discovers her sister dead, the servants gone, and her brother-in-law Gabriel mourning his wife all alone in the isolated area. From there we follow Hannah as she develops feelings for Gabriel yet struggles with the inconsistencies in his stories over what really happened to May. Sharratt tells the story by revealing a layer at a time, meticulously using historical detail to bring the era to life and fill out the shadows that surround Hannah. This is a well-told tale, and makes me look forward to reading more by this outstanding author. Highly recommended both as historical fiction and as a quality mystery.

What a great story from Mary Sharratt! I finished the book in the near-dawn hours of morning because I simply couldn't put it down until the end. And when the book ended, with the kind of ending that clenches at your chest because of a most bittersweet ending for all the people involved, I still couldn't even stop thinking about it.

This book takes you back to the times of America's beginning, with the first colonizations into Maryland with the tale of two sisters, as different as night and day in every possible way, and shows how the way they live affects the other.

Mary Sharratt's style of writing is appealing in the best sense. Her careful prose and choice of words were befitting for the colonial times she wrote about and eased me into the time period. There was never a moment I felt ripped from the time period because she was so fluent in using many of the period's expressions and words. As you read The Vanishing Point, you can tell Sharratt researched for this book patiently and thoroughly.

Allusions and themes run smoothly through the book and at times were so deeply woven with insinuation, I wondered if I'd ever grasp all of the imagery presented. And hours after finishing the book, still contemplating its impeccable style and tale, I find there are likely more suggestions of deeper thought than I was comprehending in reading it. This is a book I seriously plan on reading again very soon to pick up on more details I may have missed the first time.

Sharratt, you are likely one of the finest writers of the times and hope to read future works.

A highly recommended, 5-star read to any lover of historical fiction at its best.

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