"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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