Dawn's Early Light [Abridged] [Hardcover]

Elswyth Thane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1971

Volume 1 of The Williamsburg Series

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: E P Dutton (June 1971)
• ISBN-10: 0801519500
• ISBN-13: 978-0801519505
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,674,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thane at Her Literary Peak, June 10, 2001

By 

Ellen McDaniel-Weissler (LaVale, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dawn's Early Light (Hardcover)

The first of Thane's "Williamsburg Novels" and the first I ever read, "Dawn's Early Light" is a master construction of plot, personalities, history and eloquent atmosphere. The main fictional characters interact casually and naturally with their famous (and factual) neighbors, and the candlelit or dusty summer day ambience rings true and compelling. Thane's research is not only above reproach, but she details battle scenes, geographical locations, actual historical characters, political and ideological viewpoints and dialogue so comprehensively that reading her novels is akin to dreaming your way (very vividly) back in time. Naturally the reader in 2001 must overlook or take in context Ms. Thane's inevitable early 20th century biases, but this is not difficult to any person with historical perspective and cultural awareness. Ms. Thane's main fictional characters -- Julian Day, the uncomfortable Tory newcomer in a hotbed of rebels; Tabitha Mawes, the child of disgrace and poverty who adores the new young schoolmaster with a very unchildlike love; St. John Sprague the firebrand patriot whose friendship with Julian brings him a rival in love as well as at long last a comrade in arms, and so many more -- are brought to life to the point where visiting Williamsburg one almost expects to bump into them in Francis Street. But perhaps Thane's greatest accomplishment is to have taken a host of Founding Fathers such as Washington, Lafayette, Jefferson, Francis Marion, George Wythe and others out of the category of glorified but wooden history book images and turned them into believably human presences. An excellent story, characters of poignant clarity, set into the backdrop of the American Revolution. An unbeatable book.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old books are like old friends..., January 6, 2000

By 

susan B. Miller (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dawn's Early Light (The Williamsburg Novels) (Hardcover)

The first book of the the "Williamsburg Series" I ever read was "Ever After", tucked away with other of my mother's books. I fell in love with the characters and England at the age of 12. After finishing the book I hied to the library and one by one picked up the other books in the series which were still available in the 1960's. During the 70's I visited Williamsburg three times, reliving the area through Ms. Thane's books. My greatest joy was having my oldest son choose the College of William and Mary for his undergraduate degree. The highlight of my literary life occurred when I discovered the bookstore in Williamsburg carried all of Ms. Thane's books, which were all purchased immediately. I have read and reread these books for over 30 years and now I am so pleased to have my daughter experience them. The Days, Spragues, Campions, and their worlds gave me and my son an incredible lust for history, both American and English. I still get a lump in my throat every time I see, hear, read, etc. anything about Williamsburg. Anyone who intends to visit the area should be introduced to these books before they go (although I do have to admit that these books are "chick stuff"!)

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dawn's Early Light, December 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dawn's Early Light (Hardcover)

I first read Dawn's Early Light and the other novels in the Williamsburg series 40 or 45 years ago, when we took them out of the library over and over again and read and reread them until I still could probably reconstruct large chunks of them verbatim if I were stuck on a desert island. The characterizations are so good that even years after my last rereading I can keep the complex family trees straight without effort. The well researched settings are so well done that even today they form the basis for a lot of my general knowledge of American (and later English) history in the periods they cover. The story pulls you right in, the characters are realistic, lovable, and intelligent, the dialogue is witty, the writing excellent--the Days, Spragues, and in the later books the Campions have always felt like members of my own family. What could be a better indicator of a great read? I'm glad to have thought of looking for them on amazon and am pleased but not surprised to find they're still in print.