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Nashborough: A Novel [Hardcover]

Elsie Burch Donald (Author)
2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


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Book Description

July 31, 2001
A novel of unusual grace and intelligence, Nashborough is the story of two aristocratic Southern families -- their triumphs and tragedies -- set against the backdrop of an era of sweeping changes and new ideals.

For generations, the Nash and Douglas families have been the leading citizens of the town of Nashborough. In the 1920s, the comfortable traditions and entrenched hierarchies of the South seem firmly fixed in place. The younger generation has no reason to think that life will not go on like this forever.

But buffeting changes are about to sweep across the American landscape. Over the next three decades, the Depression, World War II, the rising influence of Hollywood, and the burgeoning Civil Rights movement will have a profound effect on both families. Yet the most shattering effects of all will come from an increasing desire for personal freedom and its resulting clash with traditional family life.

Seneca Nash, a brilliant lawyer, and his beautiful, courageous, but thoroughly undomesticated wife, Dartania née Douglas, epitomize the rising generation. Theirs is a marriage built upon a compelling infatuation -- for each other and, equally, for their own individual longings. As the country moves further into the modern century, the Nashes and Douglases are witness to enormous change and upheaval that threaten a fast-disappearing way of life.

With Nashborough, Elsie Burch Donald has created a richly imagined tale, weaving together historical events, compelling characters, and a gripping plot in an unforgettable story of the power of family.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elsie Burch Donald was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a member of one of America's oldest families, the Polks. She was educated at Sweet Briar College in Virginia and Edinburgh University. She is the creator and editor of Debrett's Etiquette and Modern Manners and the author of The French Farmhouse: Its History, Construction and Regional Styles. She now divides her time between England and France. Nashborough is her first novel.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (July 31, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 006018633X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060186333
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,115,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
2.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Could have been much better.........., September 8, 2002
By 
I usually love long family sagas and had great expectations for Nashborough. This novel started out well enough, but I just skimmed the final third...

My main problem was that none of the principal characters were likable or even that interesting. The sister, jasmine, who sleeps with her brother-in-law (all the while emphasizing the value of family!) critisizes her sister's wedding. The family is rather cold amongst each other, yet places themselves above all others. To them anyone else is an outider. When an alcoholic brother leaves his young bride and their children they assume the wife must have been boring!? What kind of family is this!?

Other than such meanness (clannishness they call it). Not a lot happens. This is surprising since the novel spans much of the turbulent twentieth century. Major events such as WWII and the Depression are mentioned, but really do not impact these selfish people.

I wish this had been better. By the way, Rona Jaffe's The Road Takes is a much more pleasant family saga!

This was simple mean spirited & tedious.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A smooth sip of a cool drink, August 7, 2001
By 
This review is from: Nashborough: A Novel (Hardcover)
"Nashborough" goes down as smoothly as a nip of mint julep on a hot Tennessee day. It is a fine, stately novel, written with a grace and intelligence that makes it read more like an English family saga than an American one. Not surprising, considering that author Elsie Burch Donald is a transplanted southerner living in England and France.

There's something satisfyingly old fashioned about this book, which is refreshing in this day of the overheated Southern family saga. Characters are developed with care into surprising people, and while the plot covers a lot of ground it does so at the right pace. Donald has caught the rhythms of the long hot afternoons, the family expectations, and the maneuvering to keep up with a changing world.

There are plenty of unexpected turns in "Nashborough" and the novel will keep you engaged from start to finish. Take this book and find a good hammock. This is an elegant way to pass some late summer afternoons.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars No epic, but an admirable freshman debut, November 25, 2001
This review is from: Nashborough: A Novel (Hardcover)
Nashborough, in television mini-series fashion, follows the lives of two early prominent families in the fictional Southern town of Nashborough. It follows the two families from their pre-Roaring '20s days of wealthy privilege, through the crash of the great depression and all the way up to an unidentified recent time period.
It is a grand attempt (400+ pages) at an epic novel that covers historical fiction of the South, an interesting plot, and social commentary of the issues that faced the South in the 20th century.
At moments, it does each of these very well. The final 100 or so pages present page-turning fiction at its best. It deftly presents social commentary in spurts throughout the book (I especially enjoyed the book's subtle but effective treatment of Blacks in the South). And it's capture of certain historical elements is impressive.
This book, however, does not do any of the above consistently enough to make it a recommended read. The book begins dreadfully slowly with little real action or intrigue until its midpoint. Only through dogged determination and professional pride did I reach the last part of this book that made the novel worthwhile.
I never found a character that was truly likeable. As the characters deal with life's ups and downs, admirable traits are greatly overshadowed by human failings. As a general rule, the characters never resolve the errors that bring them such personal grief and end up dead or unfulfilled.
Realistic though this novel may be, its plot becomes depressing and hopeless. Even the only antebellum mansion that gets restored to its former beauty becomes a ruin in the end.
The author seems to have strived for an epic novel but took on more than can be done well in one novel. The brief glimpses of the historical periods were unfulfilling and disappointingly brief. The use of historical snippets to bolster the setting are too brief to provide a true setting. And the dropping of historical names becomes irritating.
An impressive freshman debut, Nashborough leaves me looking forward to future, less-ambitious projects by Elsie Burch Donald. But, in Nashborough, she took on more than can be handled deftly.
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First Sentence:
EVEN IN THE ATTIC ROOMS THAT MORNING, BLURRED AND intermittent noises of activity could be heard. Read the first page
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Blue Hills, Miss Allen, Alice Nash, Miss Alice, New York, Miss Stein, Mary Ann, Robin Douglas, Red Mason, Frank Noland, Prince of Wales, Miss Allie, Pete Weaver, Jane Douglas, Georgia Mason, Madeleine Ames, Miss Toklas, Mountain Springs, Tom Ferris, Cook Anna, Bertha Fenton, East Nashborough, Jenny Dinson, Hamilton Douglas, Good God
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