Customer Reviews

The Valley Of Decision

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just bought my third copy of this amazing book. I first read it nearly 30 years ago, when it had been re-released in paperback, and had the presence of mind to buy a second copy. One copy is now gone, and one is in tatters. This is a book to which I return when I need my spine stiffened and my resolve strengthened. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, and it makes me think. The people in this book are as real to me as if I had met them in person instead of in Ms. Davenport's words, and I constantly return to visit them, finding new and interesting aspects of each character each time. I am grateful for Marcia Davenport's presence in my life, and grateful that I found another copy of one of my all time favorite reads!

Marcia Davenpot, a music critic, often chose musical themes as subjects for her novels. That's not the case here in this huge (over 600 pages), ambitious, and vividly written novel that is concerned with a Pittsburgh industrial family over the course of about 70 years. Mary, the "Irish peasant girl from Shantytown" is the main character, and she's wonderfully drawn by Davenport. Her goal in life is to hold the Scott family together: "she was hellbent that nothing should ever happen to reflect on this family," says Paul, the head of the family and the man she's loved (and who has loved her back) but wouldn't marry, feeling his real love was his steel mill. The book spans a very large canvas from Pittsburgh to Eastern Europe and a large cast of characters; Davenport's skill at manipulating events and people is on full display in this novel, and despite its length the book is interesting from cover to cover.

I first read this book during final exam week in college over twenty years ago; I've read it about ten times since then. As a history teacher that was reared in a steel mill family just outside Pittsburgh, I find the account of the industry and people who populate the area where I grew up to be accurate and interesting. However, what really captures me each time I read it is the humanity and reality of the characters throughout the chapters. I read it again whenever I need to be reminded of home, whenever I want a good "cry" over a book, or whenever I need to be reminded that there is a bigger purpose to life than just what I want; mostly, I read it just because I consider it to be one of the top five books I've ever read.

I found The Valley of Decision in a box of old books in a yard sale. I started to read it one evening when I was bored, not expecting much. Was I surprised. The writing is tight and clean. The plot has more twists than a pretzel. And the characters are so real and believable you'd think the book was a biography rather than fiction.
This is the story of 3 generations and spans the time from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of WWII. It is the story of extreme wealth and utter poverty. It is the story of morals and pride and what happens when the two collide.
I was so impressed with the book that I came here in the faint hope that I could find other books by Marcia Davenport. I will be definitely increasing my Davenport library. I even found on the web that this book was made into a movie in 1945.
Well worth reading.

I first read this as a teenager (I'm now 50) and re-read it several times before I lost it sometime in my twenties. For years I tried to find it in second hand shops, or to order it from book shops, all to no avail. So I was not overly hopeful when I typed the title and author into Amazon's search engine - and was amazed and very excited when I got a picture of it in front of me within ten seconds! I had it in my hands just a week later and after all those years of thinking about it, was finally able to read it again. And I wasn't disappointed at all - it was as majestical, magical, emotional, compulsive and wonderful as I remembered, even after a gap of nearly 30 years. It's such a touching tale, spans such a great historical era and has such truly memorable characters, it still ranks as one of my very favourite books of all time.

My father had this on his bookshelf when I was growing up in Pittsburgh. I read it as a teenager in the mid-60s and was bowled over by its storyline and history of my town. When I graduated from college in California in the '70s, I bought my own copy. I still read it from time and time, and the magic of the book hasn't faded; the romance, the immigrants' stories, the underlying power of the mills over the lives of every character, they all still enchant.

This is the best book I have ever read on the background of the Steel City. Being a native of the area I found it to be an accurate and fascinating read on the area. To me the storyline of the maid and the son of the steel mogul was very well done. I found I could not put it down and find I want to read this novel over and over again. I recommend it for anyone interested in the steel industry and pittsburgh in particular.

Very true to life story of the watershed moments in our lives when one must make that one decision that will impact and alter the rest of their life here on earth. Well written novel. I could hardly put it down. Very sobering real to life story about life, true love and its sometimes not so live happily ever after ending

Pittsburgh, steel mills/iron works, unions, wealthy families, servants, 1800's....a great story about Pittsburgh.

The book has something for history buffs and also those readers who are interested in the lives of the people during that time period which stretches from the 1800's to December 1941...the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.

The book talks about the steel mills...specifically the Scott Iron Works...and how they grew and how the lives of its owners and workers were totally immersed and devoted. It also discusses unions and how difficult it was to get them started, and how the classes were more apt to snub each other which gave an indication of how life was in the 1800's.

I was not really expecting the book to be what it was, so don't get discouraged from the title and the subject matter. You will enjoy it. It doesn't get too technical...it is more about the Scott family and their lives through the generations. My rating is a 5/5

The Scott family and their history will keep your interest. The love and loyalty between Mary Rafferty and the Scott family was the main theme carried through up to the last pages of the book.

Mary, the main character, was about the same age as William Scott's daughters when she arrived for service at the Scott residence. Mary was a strong girl who held her poor, working class family together even though she only saw them once a week since she had to remain as a live-in servant at the Scott residence. She along with her brother, who worked at the Scott Iron Works, were the breadwinners since their father had been paralyzed by a mill accident a few years before. As Mary's brother James continued to work long hours each day in the mill he also was desperately trying to get a union started in hopes of better working conditions.

Mary's brother and Paul Scott, the son of William Scott, worked together on an invention to help steel production even though Paul was the owner and James was a steelworker. Meanwhile Paul begins to fall in love with Mary and she with him. This is not an acceptable match of course, and Mary tries to discourage it; but they both know that is difficult.

One of Mary's MANY duties was her responsibility for Constance, the daughter of William and Clarissa Scott. This was a very trying situation because Constance was a handful. Mary's "side job" was to TRY to keep her in line.

Constance then does something unthinkable, and the family, especially her father, would like to disown her. She moves away, and Clarissa Scott insists that she take Mary with her as her personal servant. Mary and Paul are heartbroken. Mary remains with Constance for four years and then is summoned home....both she and Paul are thrilled.

As the months pass, a strike occurs at the mill, and it wasn't a pleasant affair. Paul and Mary continue to struggle with their relationship. Many good and bad things continue to happen to the Scott family both personal and business.

Life went on for the Scott family, and when the parents were gone, the children were left to live their lives as a distant family.....they didn't get along too well. Constance returned from London for a visit, Elizabeth and her husband were still uppity, and William Scott, Jr. and his wife also felt they were too good for the rest of the family. Jealousy and greed were a large part of this family's structure.

During all of this, the mill was flourishing, and Paul and Edgar were responsible for its success, but accidents and deaths in the mill were occurring and Edgar had other plans.

Relationships were starting to get edgy...especially Paul and Louise's marriage.

Mary held all the characters together and was the "glue" and stronghold that got the family through everything that happened in the lives of the Scott family....all the happiness, heartache, tragedies, decisions, births, and deaths. Every Scott loved Mary as if she had been a family member...she was the matriarch.

The story was wonderful....I admired Mary for her strength and loved how Marci Davenport allowed this female character to hold such a strong position throughout the book. It makes you want to be a part of that family and have the care and love that Mary brought to all of them. And....pairing up Mary and Claire made a power-house ending.

I DON'T GO INTO A SYNOPSIS OF A BOOK THAT I HAVE READ IF THERE ARE ALREADY OTHERS WHO HAVE GIVEN ONE. HOWEVER, I MUST SAY THAT IN THIS CASE, I MUST CHALLENGE THE COMMENT THAT THE SON REFUSED TO MARRY THE MAIN CHARACTER BECAUSE HE LOVED THE STEEL MILL MORE. MARY RAFFERTY REFUSED TO MARRY HIM BECAUSE SHE LOVED HIM SO MUCH THAT SHE WAS MORE CONCERNED FOR HIS FAMILY AND CAREER THAN SHE WAS FOR HERSELF.