From Publishers Weekly
Murder, suicide, elopement, an Algonquian witch's prophecy, a shipwreck, insanity, sudden revelations of paternity, a duel--a welter of incident, large and small, crowds Tryon's ( The Other ) big, old-fashioned historical romance, the first installment in the Kingdom Come cycle. Its star-crossed lovers are Aurora Talcott, pert, confident and just out of convent school, and Sinjin Grimes, rakehell, writer of raunchy, pseudo-Byronic verse, adopted son of sanctimonious lecher Zion Grimes. The real heroine, however, is not airhead Aurora ("I love him--well . . . because he's the captain of a fine ship") but young Georgie Ross, daughter of a half-mad Scottish miller, who grows wise through her multiple tragedies. The Talcotts, gentlemen farmers, and the Grimeses, proud shipping magnates, carry on a vendetta that roils their circa 1828 Connecticut village. Unalloyed pleasure for fans of this genre, Tryon's literate 19th-century soap opera is steeped in the rhythms of Trollope and Scott. 125,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Tryon's first novel after a long hiatus is not a thriller but a juicy historical romance. Set in the 1820s and 1830s in the small Connecticut town of Pequot Landing, the novel tells of the feud between the town's two first families--the Talcotts and the Grimeses. The link between the two families is the miller's daughter, Georgie Ross--childhood friend to the rakish Sinjin Grimes and former servant and close friend to the Talcotts. Georgie is a levelheaded, independent heroine and her experiences highlight the conditions of women in that time. A failed elopement, a successful one, a dramatic shipwreck, and several brightly realized characters add zip to an engaging story. The first in a projected cycle of novels, this is delightful light reading that leaves one hungry for more. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/90.
- Janet Boyarin Blundell, M.L.S., Brookdale Community Coll., Lincroft, Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
