Brookland [Unabridged] [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Emily Barton (Author), Ruth Ann Phimister (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2006

20 discs 23.25 hours

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Recorded Books (2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141939648X
• ISBN-13: 978-1419396489
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.3 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,717,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical look at dreams and failures, April 26, 2006

By 

Mary Reinert (Nevada, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brookland: A Novel (Hardcover)

Good historical fiction must revolve around characters whose thoughts and personalities accurately reflect their time; one of the worst mistakes a writer can make is put modern thoughts, words, and actions into someone living in a totally different era. The idea of a colonial woman running a gin distillery and attempting to build a bridge across the East River at first glance might seem anachronistic-no woman in the 1700's would have even thought about it. But Prudence Winship is totally believable and her quest to build the bridge and its aftermath are convincing.

The Winships are free thinkers who have carved their place by establishing a successful gin distillery. With only girls to inherit the business, Prudence and her sister Temperance take their place learning all aspects of the business while Pearl, a sister unable to speak, takes care of the household. The early death of their parents, puts Prudence in charge of the business sooner than expected, but also gives her the reason and confidence to pursue a dream of building a bridge to link Brooklyn to Manhatten. The bridge soons becomes an obsession which affects the lives of all the sisters and those they care about.

The writing of this unusual look at colonial times is clean and straightforward. The story is told from the viewpoint of Prudence writing to her own grown daughter who wants to know more about the "missing pieces of her family history" - the subject everyone has avoided for so many years - the building of the bridge. The author skillfully interwines Prudence's thoughts to her daughter with the history. Since Pearl cannot speak, she must communicate through writing of notes; Pearl's spelling and wording remain faithful to colonial language.

Although sometimes the details of distilling gin and engineering a bridge are almost more than I wanted to know, they project an authencity necessary for good historical fiction. This is a wonderful book and one that any lover of historical fiction should find fascinating.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical novel, but a modern woman, June 8, 2006

By 

Joy L. Jennings (Dallas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brookland: A Novel (Hardcover)

Is a historical novel only interesting if the heroine is a modern woman? It's set in the late 1700's, but the novel's main character has post-feminist ideals, chafing against Colonial roles for women, staking her own path, etc.

Note: This novel is not about the building of THE Brooklyn Bridge that exists today. The cover of the book is misleading because it shows a drawing of a suspension bridge. The bridge Prue dreams of does not use this design.

I enjoyed this book. The details of the era are extensive, and the story is well told. You may head to your dictionary many times to understand some of the archaic words in the text. This is not a quick read, but it is a rich one. I wouldn't say that I loved it, but it is a satisfying novel, particularly if you enjoy exploring historic or foreign cultures.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making a dream come true, June 21, 2006

By 

Marilyn Dalrymple "MaLing" (Lancaster, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Brookland: A Novel (Hardcover)

A young woman in the 18th -century has a dream. Along with that dream she has the intelligence and wherewithal to accomplish her vision. The novel, Brookland tells her story beautifully.

Prudence Winship, eldest of the three daughters of Matty and Roxana Winship, yearns to take on the running of the very successful distillery owned by her father. Her father trains her and she learns the distillery from top to bottom, insuring the future success of the company. "Prue," as she is called, is not satisfied to own a successful business and by earning the respect of her all-male crew, however. She challenges 18th-century sensibilities and dreams of constructing a bridge that spans the East River, with one leg of the bridge in Brooklyn and the other in Manhattan. This daunting task is a formidable job in itself, but Prue's determination and drive cause chaos in her personal life, complicating the undertaking immensely.

Brookland is a beautifully written story with rich details and engaging characters. Descriptive and interesting, reading the text is very much like watching a movie, as the written words become illustrations in themselves.

A hefty volume of 496 pages, this is not light reading, but it is definitely good reading.

Barton's first novel, The Testament of Yves Gundron, won the Bard Fiction Prize and a Michener-Copernicus Fellowship. She will be a writer-in-residence at the New School from 2005-2006.