Land So Fair (Paperback)

by Firth Haring Fabend (Author)
Key Phrases: groote kamer, spar kill, copper candelabra, Land So Fair, New York, John Haring (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Land So Fair opens in 1737 on a Hudson Valley farm, where the family’s land, “sought, bought, cleared, planted, harvested, bequeathed, fought over, challenged, confiscated, and laced with bones and blood,” is threatened anew each generation. Three strong-minded Dutch-American women, related to each other by marriage, deal with the privations of life in a wilderness community, the deaths of beloved family members, threats to their land by outside usurpers, and a dawning realization that slavery, once considered “necessary”, is leading inexorably to tragedy. Troubles within the Dutch church, combined with violent uprisings by slaves, make life a test of endurance, physically, emotionally, and morally.

As the struggle for independence from England versus loyalty to the Crown heats up, war erupts, and daily life takes on an ever-more desperate character. A fierce local “civil war” intensifies the looting, plundering, massacre, battles, and treason of the Revolution. In the end, the futility of war is clear when the English commander in chief acknowledges to George Washington in 1783 that the conflict should have ended with the American victory at Trenton seven years before, in 1776.

“Fabend’s evocative prose recreates a vivid New World. A poignant and gripping story, richly researched.”

About the Author
Firth Haring Fabend is the author of five novels. A historian, she is also the author of two works of history about the Dutch colony of New Netherland, many articles, and a historical poem published in book form. She lives in Montclair, NJ.

Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (January 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595473164
• ISBN-13: 978-0595473168
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #739,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, September 1, 2008

By	J. Beau (NJ) - See all my reviews

This book is truly a masterpiece. Only an author who has dedicated their entire life to research and their craft could accomplish such a work. This book brings American history to life and if you live in the North Jersey or in the Hudson Valley, NY regions of our country it is even more special and an absolute must read. (There are streets and places I visit and have visited for years that go back to the 1700's. Streets & towns with names that date back to the first Dutch settlers and this all comes out through the historical story telling of the author. I wish my history teachers could have told the history of our area (I am from North Jersey) with the intrigue and detail of Firth Haring Fabend. I think all American history teachers in New Jersey and New York should have their students read this book. I can't say enough good things about "Land so Fair" - I absolutely loved it. Firth Haring Fabend is an author who deserves much recognition and I thank her for this major contribution.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful recreation of early American history, April 7, 2009

By	Jean Naggar "Nile Girl" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Read LAND SO FAIR, it will both entertain and inform you. It is the work of a novelist turned historian, blending the best elements of fiction and history to record the lives and loves of the early Dutch settlers in the New York region.
Based on the author's own history, it traces the female line through the generations, vividly recreating with superb scholarship a time and a place, the hardships and rewards, the sheer grit and triumphs of the individuals that came from Holland to settle on the banks of the Hudson, and the deep personal losses and wars that engulfed this stalwart community of hardy pioneers.
It brings to vibrant life a little known chapter of American history.