From Publishers Weekly
Stewart's third saga of the Savage family (following The Young Savages and The Magnificent Savages) takes the wealthy Old New York clan from 1897 and the Spanish-American War through the stock market crash of 1929. The main characters are a roster of period types: Johnny Savage, a rich Fifth Avenue banker; his Jewish wife, Rachel; the heartless bootlegger Cesare Savage, Rachel's son and Johnny's stepson; Johnny's daughter Brook Savage, a flapper; Gloria Gilmore, a Hollywood starlet. Supporting characters are often real people: Theodore Roosevelt, William Randolph Hearst, J.P. Morgan, D.W. Griffith, Ernest Hemingway, Chiang Kai-Shek, among others. Cesare takes center stage amid this large cast, as he blackmails members of his family and falls in with the gangster Arnold Rothstein. Johnny loses a leg in Cuba fighting alongside his friend Teddy Roosevelt; later he "discovers" Gloria and introduces her to Griffith. Brook is framed for murder when her rich husband shoots her Greenwich Village lover. Rachel's daughter, Beatrice Savage, a spinster social worker, marries an Italian Fascist, and Nick Savage, a young playboy, hangs out with Hemingway and finds himself in financial trouble. Stewart's settings, his sweeping aims, and his use of historical figures amount to little more than soap opera. The characters speak in clich?s: when Cesare saves Nick from being kidnapped, Nick exclaims, "What a swell brother I have!" Stewart's authorial voice frequently breaks up the action with distracting explication: the Spanish-American War would "lead eventually to Pearl Harbor and Vietnam." A subplot involving Johnny's Chinese half-sister Julie Chin and her daughter Jasmine surfaces periodically with no real connection to other events. Nevertheless, the assortment of adultery, war, murder, organized crime, intrigue, glitter and gluttony swirl together to make a racy drama, not to mention a painless way to learn some American history. Agent, Peter Lampack. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Stewart continues to chronicle the extraordinary adventures of the politically connected and incredibly wealthy Savage clan. As the turn of the century approaches, youthful patriarch Johnny Savage joins Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in Cuba. Although he is prepared to die for the glory of his country, Johnny's enthusiasm wanes when he is shot and permanently injured by a disgruntled socialist journalist. Returning to the U.S. minus one leg, he turns his attention to his devoted wife, his spoiled children, and his thriving business. Continually threatened and harassed by his conniving stepson, Johnny foolishly becomes involved in an ill-conceived Hollywood dalliance before coming to his senses and reasserting his authority over both his personal and his professional life. During the Roaring Tenties, Johnny must protect the next generation of Savages from impending spiritual, financial, and political doom. A hugely entertaining family saga steeped in history and set against a glittering international backdrop.
Margaret Flanagan
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
