Three Books by Beverly Swerling
Requirements: ePUB/Mobi Reader, 6.13 MB
Overview: Beverly Swerling is the author of five previous novels, including the City of Dreams series, a four-volume historical saga set in old New York. She is also a consultant to other authors and an amateur historian. She lives in Philadelphia.
Genre: General Fiction
Bristol House – In the tradition of Kate Mosse, a swiftly-paced mystery that stretches from modern London to Tudor England. In modern-day London, architectural historian and recovering alcoholic Annie Kendall hopes to turn her life around and restart her career by locating several long-missing pieces of ancient Judaica. Geoff Harris, an investigative reporter, is soon drawn into her quest, both by romantic interest and suspicions about the head of the Shalom Foundation, the organization sponsoring her work. He’s also a dead ringer for the ghost of a monk Annie believes she has seen at the flat she is subletting in Bristol House.
In 1535, Tudor London is a very different city, one in which monks are being executed by Henry VIII and Jews are banished. In this treacherous environment of religious persecution, Dom Justin, a Carthusian monk, and a goldsmith known as the Jew of Holborn must navigate a shadowy world of intrigue involving Thomas Cromwell, Jewish treasure, and sexual secrets. Their struggles shed light on the mysteries Annie and Geoff aim to puzzle out—at their own peril.
This riveting dual-period narrative seamlessly blends a haunting supernatural thriller with vivid historical fiction. Beverly Swerling, widely acclaimed for her City of Dreams series, delivers a bewitching and epic story of a historian and a monk, half a millennium apart, whose destinies are on a collision course.
City of Dreams – The early history of Manhattan is chronicled through six generations of a remarkable clan of surgeons, physicians, and apothecaries. Hounded out of England for illegally practicing surgery, gifted Lucas Turner and his sister, Sally, immigrate to the New World. Landing in New Amsterdam in 1661, Lucas employs a combination of daring and skill to establish his reputation as a surgeon, and Sally begins planting and gathering the herbs, plants, and flowers she needs to concoct the medicinal potions and drugs necessary for his practice. Though their future seems bright, the arrival of an unscrupulous and inept Dutch physician threatens both their security and their relationship. When Jacob Van der Vies succeeds in his vile blackmail effort, he causes an irreparable rift between the two siblings. For more than 100 years, the Turner and the Van der Vies branches of the family participate in both the evolution of the art and science of medicine and the transition of Manhattan from a fledgling colonial outpost to a bustling, thriving metropolis on the brink of revolution.
City of Glory – In this smartly executed, highly entertaining sequel to City of Dreams, Swerling continues tracing the physical, social, and moral development of Manhattan through the stories of the fictional Turner and Devrey families. Nearly all the action occurs over 10 days in mid-August 1814, a critical period during America’s "second war of independence." The numerous characters, all fascinating and distinct, include a mulatto brothel owner, a sly merchant prince, an Irish ship’s captain, and a devious young widow, not to mention John Jacob Astor himself. At their center is Joyful Patrick Turner, a multilingual trader, businessman, and ex-surgeon who sets out to preserve the family shipping company, save his country from secessionists, and win the hand of Manon Vionne, a jeweler’s lovely daughter, in the bargain. As the characters scheme among themselves, hoping to leave their mark on the growing city, the plot fairly gallops along, and historical-novel fans will relish the bountiful period details of old New York. The perfect antidote for readers who mistakenly believe American history is either boring or unromantic.
Download Instructions:
http://corneey.com/wK9V4F
Mirrors:
http://corneey.com/wK9V4V
http://corneey.com/wK9V43
