America in the early 1800s was a cultural blank canvas, a barren landscape awaiting texture in the form of learning, literature and the arts. Geraldine Priest creates this fictional historical memoir of Eliza Rupp, the embodiment of the many Americans striving to fill that void. The story of Eliza's family and her study of piano are interwoven with those of the leading literati, artists and educators of the day. Like so many of them, she journeys to Europe to further her studies and make her own cultural contribution to America's Barren Landscape.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Journey Through 19th Century American Culture,
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This review is from: A BARREN LANDSCAPE: In Search of an American Culture 1811 - 1861; A Memoir of Eliza Rupp (Paperback)
Geraldine Priest does a wonderful job of introducing the reader to the cultural landscape of early 19th century America (1811 to 1861), with a story line focused on New York, Boston and Leipzig, Germany. The author uses a historical fiction memoir format, following the developments through the eyes of Eliza Rupp, a promising pianist whose family is engaged with the cultural leaders of the period.Traveling with Eliza, we have the opportunity to meet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, European musicians, the landscape painter Thomas Cole, the Peabody sisters, the noted educator Horace Mann, and dozens more. One of the striking elements was the close interaction of these icons in New York and Boston, in what were relatively small and tight knit cultural communities, as well as the interaction with the cultural leaders in Europe. A Barren Landscape is a moving family story and a reminder to readers of the many ways in which literature and the arts began to take root in the United States. It also portrays the role of literature in the national debate that moved to the Civil War. We strongly recommend this book for any reader. It provides a compelling overview of a unique period in American history, and would be a perfect starting point for students or others wanting to understand the evolution of 19th century American culture. Many of the books referenced in the story are also available to the reader on the Kindle at no charge, since they are all now in the public domain.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully crafted, a joy to read...,
This review is from: A BARREN LANDSCAPE: In Search of an American Culture 1811 - 1861; A Memoir of Eliza Rupp (Paperback)
Mrs. Priest is a gifted writer and story-teller, but also an historian of the arts as they intersect with other areas of our lives and with the general history of our country. I enjoyed every page of the book.Mrs. Priest's book reminds me of a genre perhaps best typified by the works of E. L. Doctorow, and particularly two of his books which I enjoyed perhaps as much as any fiction I have read - Ragtime and The Waterworks. Doctorow was a writer of fiction, but he wove into his stories actual historical characters, events, and places. This is what Mrs. Priest does. The main characters of her book, including the protagonist whose story is told in the first person, are fictional. However, their stories are inextricably interwoven with those of some of the literary giants of the 19th century - Hawthorne, Longfellow, Melville, etc. - as well as great composers, musical performers, and architects of the time. This little book is only 160 pages long. You can read it in just a few sittings. You will be very glad that you did.
4.0 out of 5 stars
MEMORIES,
This review is from: A BARREN LANDSCAPE: In Search of an American Culture 1811 - 1861; A Memoir of Eliza Rupp (Paperback)
Ms Priest has written a wonderful, well researched tale of the maturing of America just prior to the Civil War. The memoir format used takes her heroin, Liza Rupp, from,a growing New York City to Boston and Leipzig, Germany. As Liza grows so does the cultural sense of America as it struggles to shake off the European influence. This is a history buffs read.
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