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A Novel Of Passion And Wonder In Old New York
Simon & Schuster
September 2009
On Sale: September 1, 2009
Featuring: Nicholas Turner
544 pages
ISBN: 1416549226
EAN: 9781416549222
Paperback
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Historical | Saga
City of God, the latest installment in Beverly
Swerling's gripping saga of old New York, takes readers to
Manhattan's clamorous streets as the nation struggles to
find a compromise between slave and free, but hears the
drums of war. This is New York when one synagogue is no
longer adequate for thousands of Jewish immigrants, when New
Evangelicals rouse complacent Protestants with the promise
of born-again salvation, and when it first sees Catholic
nuns and calls them whores of Satan. It is New York when
ships bring the fabulous wealth of nations to its wharves
and auction houses, while a short distance away rival gangs
fight to the death with broken bottles and teeth filed to
points. Into this churning cauldron comes young Dr.
Nicholas Turner. Nick knows that the discoveries of
antisepsis and anesthesia promise medical miracles beyond
the dreams of ages. He learns that to make such progress
reality he must battle the city's corrupt politics and
survive the snake pit that is Bellevue Hospital, all while
resisting his love for the beautiful Carolina Devrey, his
cousin's wife. Sam Devrey, head of the shipping company that
bears his name and a visionary who believes the future will
be ushered in by mighty clipper ships spreading acres of
sail, battles demons of his own. The life he lives with
Carolina in the elegant brownstone on newly fashionable
Fifth Avenue is a charade meant to disguise his heart's true
home, the secret downtown apartment of the exquisite
Mei-hua, his Chinese child-bride. The worlds of all four are
imperiled when Sam must rely on Nick's skills to save the
woman he loves, and only Nick's honor guards Sam's secret.
On a night when promises of hellfire seem to become reality
and the city nearly burns to the ground, Carolina and
Mei-hua confront the truth of their duplicitous marriages.
Rage and revenge join love and passion as driving forces in
a story played out against the background of the glittering
New York that rises from the ashes, where Delmonico's and
the Astor House host bejeweled women and top-hatted men,
both with the din of commerce in their ears and the glint of
gold in their eyes. As always, Swerling has conjured a
dazzling cast of characters to people her city. Among those
seeking born-again salvation are Addie Bellingham,
befriended by the widow Manon Turner but willing to betray
her, and Lilac Langton, who confesses her sins but avoids
mentioning that she's a skilled abortionist in a city that
has recently made abortion a crime. Ben Klein, a brilliant
young physician, must balance devotion to his mentor and
dedication to research with duty to the Jewish community.
Wilbur Randolf, Carolina's father, indulges her in
everything but fails her when she needs him most. Jenny
Worthington, Wilbur's longtime mistress, is driven by
avarice to make common cause with Fearless Flannagan, a
member of a New York police force as corrupt as the city it
serves. Ah Chee, Mei-hua's devoted servant, struggles
through Manhattan's streets on bound feet and burns incense
to the kitchen god in this place of foreign devils. They are
all here, heroines and saints, villains and victims, and a
vanished New York made to live again in an intricate tale of
old debts and new rivalries.
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