Mountain Shadows: Regional Fiction about the Adirondacks

Mountain Shadows, by Patricia Reiss Brooks, is an interesting regional historical fiction novel that highlights a unique period in American history. Through the setting – upper New York State in 1926 – we get a look at both the Prohibition-era "rum runners" and the tuberculosis "cure cottages" of Saranac Lake.

Irish Catholic Joe Devlin struggles to pay for his wife’s ever-increasing medical bills at a cure cottage. Along the way he ends up working with the rum runners, leading a very confused double-life –a mechanic at the Club in Lake Placid during the week, a rum runner going up to Canada on weekends, mixed in with visits to his sick wife.

The regional history research is outstanding, particularly about the troopers’ special unit and their escapades with the "rum runners." The cure cottage scenes also portray the strange world of "lungers" sleeping outside on porches while enjoying the carefree, morally loose "Roaring Twenties." Mountain Shadows doesn’t really elaborate on the history (prior to 1925) of the tuberculosis "cure" in Saranac Lake, or of the detailed care available at the sanatoriums. Rather, the story gives a glimpse at one sample "cure cottage," and what daily life may have been like, complete with the list of "the rules" the patients followed. The overall climate, the special community feeling, of Saranac Lake is also well contrasted with the outside world. Lake Placid in particular was quite clear about keeping the diseases out; the story even hints at the standard prejudice of the time, referencing a sign marked "no jews or lungers."

The author’s website, www.mountainshadowsbook.com, has additional research material as well as background related to this novel.

The story itself is well-written, with a decent, suspenseful page-turning plot. Other than Joe, the characters are not all well-defined and seem rather stereotyped in some cases. The ending seems a bit rushed, as it takes the easiest way out of the many problems to get to a neat conclusion. Still, the story and overall dialog works great, keeping the story moving. Mountain Shadows is an entertaining read and interesting for its look at this unusual period of New York State history.

The Dawning of Deliverance: The Russians, Book 5

The Dawning of Deliverance, Book 5 in Judith Pella’s "The Russians," continues the story of the Russian Federcenko family. Begun in 1876, this saga now covers the early years of the 20th century – 1904, in particular. Also, after focusing more on Anna and Sergei during the earlier books, The Dawning of Deliverance focuses primarily on the younger generation: Mariana Remizov, and Anna and Sergei’s sons Yuri and Andrei.

The major historical people and events now include the Russo-Japanese war and the beginnings of labor unrest back home, culminating in the tragic events of "Bloody Sunday" in January 1905. Mariana goes to the war front as a nurse, and through her experiences we learn of the bungled Russian war operation, the great humiliation that Russia suffered at the hands of the smaller, less powerful Japan. Back home, Sergei helps to teach factory workers, becoming acquainted with the laborers and early unions. Along the way, we meet such historical figures as General Stoessel (in Asia) and Father Gapon, the peaceful priest involved with the labor movement, and even a young Alexander Kerensky, future Soviet leader.

The Federcenko clan has lost its earlier influence with the Tsar, but directly and indirectly we get a glimpse of the Romanov family, including its family secret and the beginning of Alexandra’s relationship with Rasputin. Anna’s brother Paul is rarely seen, and still interacts with Lenin and the revolutionaries – yet now shows signs of maturity.

Some of the plots seem a bit worn, especially the continued villainy from Basil Anickin and Cyril Vlasenko. After nearly 25 years and several books, it seems time to bring in some new antagonists. Instead, both Basil and Cyril stick around, still consumed with their plots to destroy the Federcenko family. Mariana also finds herself, once again, desired by two men – the American reporter Daniel Trent, and a young Russian nobleman she meets at the war front. The love plot is resolved and brought to closure, though, and the two villains thankfully do not dominate the story overall.

Despite the predictable revenge plots, though, the overall story is enjoyable and educational. Particularly intriguing are new character developments in the sons Yuri (now 14 to 15) and Andrei (age 12), who will take on further prominence in the next book in the series (White Nights, Red Morning). The Dawning of Deliverance is entertaining historical fiction about a family living through troubled times in pre-Revolutionary Russia.

In My Father's House: Post-World War I America

Bodie Thoene’s "Shiloh Legacy" begins with In My Father’s House. Starting near the end of World War I, In My Father’s House covers a tumultuous period of history: the horrors of the Great War, the Flu Epidemic, and then the racial violence of the post-war years.

The story follows the lives of several young soldiers in France at the war’s end – their last battles, the Armistice celebrations, welcoming home and their adjustments to post-war life. The story at first includes Max Meyer and his affair with a young Irish woman, but that particular plot gets to a certain point and then stops (to be resumed, apparently, in the next book in the series). In particular, In My Father’s House details the lives of Ellis Warne in Ohio, and several other characters – farmboy Birch Tucker, black soldier Jefferson Canfield, and Jewish Trudy Meyer – residing in Western Arkansas. Through the two settings – Ohio and Arkansas – we see the major issues confronting both regions, including the Ku Klux Klan’s influence in both the Jim Crow South and the politics of suburban Ohio.

The "Shiloh Legacy" series is said to include some of the characters referenced later in the Zion book series. Having read the "Zion Covenant" pre-World War II series, it was nice to meet the younger Theo Lindheim, if only briefly.

As with their other novels, the Thoenes again bring a well-researched story rich with information about the time period. The year 1919 was among the more violent in race riots, and the story makes reference to such things as the Chicago riot and the general anti-immigrant, isolationist attitude of most Americans. President Woodrow Wilson even makes a brief appearance, and characters later follow-up with the news of Wilson’s unsuccessful attempt to have the U.S. join the "League of Nations."

The one weakness is the author’s tendency – so common in modern-day historical fiction works – to project today’s politically correct ideas, especially concerning racial issues, onto the major characters of an earlier time period. At times it seems that some of the characters (especially Trudy Meyer and Birch Tucker) are mere transplants from our day, with seemingly no clue about black-white relationships in the early twentieth century. Even Doc Warne seems amazingly out of step with his contemporaries, considering the economic and social circumstances.

As the first part of a series, this first novel has a seemingly abrupt ending, one that leaves too many unresolved plot threads. The next two books in the series continue the story over the next decade. In My Father’s House is an excellent start to a trilogy about these World War I veterans and their families, in their lives after the Great War.

The Flames of Rome

The Flames of Rome, by Paul L. Maier and first published in 1981, is an excellently researched historical novel about Rome in the days of Nero, including the years preceding and following the Great Fire of A.D. 64. Beginning in 47 A.D., in the last years of Claudius, the story relates the great political and moral corruption of Rome, and the sordid events surrounding those in Rome’s highest power. Here we meet Claudius’ third wife, Messalina, followed by his last wife, his niece Agrippina – and her son Domitius (later renamed Nero). Throughout the next twenty years, the story follows the life of Rome’s leaders, alternating between the story at Caesar’s palace – a cast including Nero, Agrippina, and the great philosopher Seneca – as well as the household of Aulus Plautius, one of Rome’s political leaders and war heroes. Special focus is placed on Aulus’ son-in-law, Flavius Sabinus (older brother to the future emperor Vespasian), who was Mayor of Rome during the Great Fire. After a many-character beginning, Sabinus in particular becomes the major focus and thrust of the story.

Christian characters also have a role, albeit a smaller one, in this story told from a Roman’s perspective. The fledgling Christian "cult" is first associated in their minds with the Jews, one of many religions allowed under Roman law, and of no consequence. One will not find serious, in-depth early Christian teaching here, either. A few of the Roman women are said to convert, but we really don’t see the events from their perspectives, or any details about the church meetings they attend. Yet throughout the twenty years of The Flames of Rome we get a nice chronology, a fascinating correlation of Roman history with many events listed in the book of Acts, plus the subsequent events up through Peter’s and Paul’s martyrdoms. It is insightful to learn, for instance, that Paul and his shipmates, after their shipwreck and wintering on Malta, most likely were in the same area, during the very week when Nero had his mother executed, near Naples in the early spring of A.D. 61.

Maier takes a serious approach to his historical work. All the characters named were actual known Romans. Also, unlike most historical fiction books, The Flames of Rome has extensive chapter-by-chapter notes. Of course, in dealing with such a topic -- ancient history of which so little is known -- the author does not hesitate to extrapolate what might have happened, complete with dialogue. The author takes pains to portray his best guess, but in the end we really don’t know the details of the Apostle Paul’s first trial before Nero – or how the fire in Rome really started. Yet through this fascinating blend of history and story, an intriguing plot develops, in which we see the major players of both the ruling Romans and the early Christian leaders.

Paul L. Maier’s The Flames of Rome is an excellent addition to good historical novels, ones that have good plots and well-researched history.

Perpetua: Historical Fiction About an Early Church Martyr

Perpetua: A Bride, A Passion, A Martyr, by first-time author Amy Rachel Peterson, tells a fascinating story which is made all the more interesting because it is based on a true one. In 203 A.D., five recently converted Christians in Carthage were turned over to the authorities for the crime of converting to Christianity, during the reign of Septimius Severus. These five included 22-year-old Perpetua, a noble woman with a baby; also two slaves, Felicitas and Revocatus; and Secundus and Saturninus. Saturus, their leader/mentor, soon turned himself in, to join these catechumen (converted less than three years before) in martyrdom. Perpetua is perhaps most remembered because she kept a diary during her capture. Her written account, and a subsequent eyewitness account, tells us of the imprisonment and martyrdom, but little is known about Perpetua (or her companions) before that point.

This novel attempts to fill that unknown part, depicting with great detail a fictional story about Perpetua’s last three years of life. From a dramatic conversion experience, through early days of immaturity followed by spiritual growth and understanding, Perpetua approaches her destiny even as she experiences the normal stages of young life. The 19-year-old living at her parents’ home soon falls in love, marrying and becoming a mother to a young son.

Two of the other martyred Christians appear prominently: Saturninus as Perpetua’s brother, and Saturus as her husband. Though these relationships are most likely fictional, the story is interesting and thus involves the other martyred characters. Felicitas and Revocatus also have an interesting story, at first on the sidelines but revealed later on as martyrdom approaches. A cast of mostly fictional characters completes the world of ancient Carthage, as Perpetua in her daily life moves among the different social circles – her wealthy pagan friends from the years past along with her new friends (mostly from the lower social classes), that meet in small house-churches. The early church leader Tertullian is also present, a minor character (in terms of actual dialogue) but a major part of the early Christians’ lives, as they discuss his ideas.

The author has done an excellent job, too, with her historical research, blending in the social and religious dynamics of Carthage, creating a world that Perpetua might very well have experienced. The Punic influence still abides, harkening back to an earlier civilization (originally settled by Tyre) crushed by Rome. This later society speaks both Latin and Punic, and some of Punic descent mingle with the pure-blooded Romans. The author wonderfully describes Carthage’s plethora of gods and goddesses with a wry sort of humor, exposing the moral hypocrisy of the times. As one character puts it, a woman can partake in sexual immorality to please Venus at night, and then give offerings to Isis (for the women who deny such pleasures) the next morning: "please Venus at night, Isis in the morning." Other aspects of the story likewise reflect the Carthaginian spirit: festivals for their god Tanit, and even the dark underworld of pagans still practicing the old religion of child sacrifice.

The story’s outcome, martyrdom, is known and clear from the beginning; and perhaps the theme of impending martyrdom is overdone, as though the characters knew from the very beginning what would happen. Still, Christians of that time no doubt considered such things, given the hostile climate they faced in a land that did not understand such "freedom of religion" American concepts we so take for granted.

The author skillfully blends the fictional with the true story, fitting all the pieces together even to the ending, which is largely based on the actual document of "The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas." In a clever, interesting way the author creates rich details of real characters behind the names of those only mentioned in that document, such as Quintus and Jocundus. Perhaps to avoid publishing bad doctrine, this novel also offers a more theologically-sound twist on the real Perpetua’s dreams about her lost brother, Dinocrates, who had died of cancer at a young age. Perpetua: A Bride, A Martyr, a Passion is an excellent book that focuses attention on a story we don’t hear much about today, while enlightening us about ancient Rome -- a setting further back than most historical novels care to consider.