In 1843, newlyweds Nathan and Mary Kingsley envisioned a good life in their new house in the pioneer community of Livonia, Michigan--until a runaway slave on the Underground Railroad takes refuge in their cellar, and Mary must make a desperate attempt to save her wounded husband and the slave from hunters who are pursuing them.
Drawing on her own family history, Arliss Ryan has written a classic American tale: the richly imagined story of five generations--from Nathan's son Horace, a born schemer who is all too ready to sacrifice his birthright; to Emma, who helps maintain the family through a heartbreaking diphtheria epidemic; to Nathan's great-great-granddaughter Laura, who falls in love with a daredevil pilot. By the time the wilderness where Nathan built his home has grown into a suburb of Detroit, the Kingsley House has seen wicked deeds, a summer of lost childhood, a suicide, and a chance to fall in love a second time.
Arliss Ryan vividly brings over one hundred years of American history to life through the unforgettable story of a simple family house--and the generations whose lives passed within its walls.
Originally published in 2000 by St. Martin's Press, this is the 2012 electronic version of the original novel.
Reviews of The Kingsley House:
"Good historical fiction brings the past to life. In The Kingsley House, Arliss Ryan gives us wars, the Ford assembly line, the Depression, the spread of the auto industry through southeastern Michigan and modern commercial development, but most importantly, she makes us see the past through the lives of good people we can't help but care about."
-Linnea Lannon, Detroit Free Press
"[A] charming, old-fashioned, heart-warming family chronicle...Ryan's buoyant, spritely prose does not turn away from death and evil, but her style is so life-affirming that we know they cannot possible lie at the ultimate center of the universe."
-Sam Coale, Providence Sunday Journal
"The old Ryan home, the Kingsley House, still stands...and now Ryan shares a fictionalized version of her family's fascinating history...[a] wonderful tale about ordinary people who lived more than ordinary lives..."
-Patty Engelmann, Booklist
"The author...has created in The Kingsley House an unforgettable portrait of her own family...All family members are true-to-life individuals, with plenty of flaws and foibles, and as with every family, there's the occasional black sheep. It's remarkable that in a tale of over 400 pages, the story never drags: the action-filled storyline and the personalities of the characters keep it alive. I enjoyed every minute."
-Sarah Johnson, Historical Novels Review
Genre: Historical
Drawing on her own family history, Arliss Ryan has written a classic American tale: the richly imagined story of five generations--from Nathan's son Horace, a born schemer who is all too ready to sacrifice his birthright; to Emma, who helps maintain the family through a heartbreaking diphtheria epidemic; to Nathan's great-great-granddaughter Laura, who falls in love with a daredevil pilot. By the time the wilderness where Nathan built his home has grown into a suburb of Detroit, the Kingsley House has seen wicked deeds, a summer of lost childhood, a suicide, and a chance to fall in love a second time.
Arliss Ryan vividly brings over one hundred years of American history to life through the unforgettable story of a simple family house--and the generations whose lives passed within its walls.
Originally published in 2000 by St. Martin's Press, this is the 2012 electronic version of the original novel.
Reviews of The Kingsley House:
"Good historical fiction brings the past to life. In The Kingsley House, Arliss Ryan gives us wars, the Ford assembly line, the Depression, the spread of the auto industry through southeastern Michigan and modern commercial development, but most importantly, she makes us see the past through the lives of good people we can't help but care about."
-Linnea Lannon, Detroit Free Press
"[A] charming, old-fashioned, heart-warming family chronicle...Ryan's buoyant, spritely prose does not turn away from death and evil, but her style is so life-affirming that we know they cannot possible lie at the ultimate center of the universe."
-Sam Coale, Providence Sunday Journal
"The old Ryan home, the Kingsley House, still stands...and now Ryan shares a fictionalized version of her family's fascinating history...[a] wonderful tale about ordinary people who lived more than ordinary lives..."
-Patty Engelmann, Booklist
"The author...has created in The Kingsley House an unforgettable portrait of her own family...All family members are true-to-life individuals, with plenty of flaws and foibles, and as with every family, there's the occasional black sheep. It's remarkable that in a tale of over 400 pages, the story never drags: the action-filled storyline and the personalities of the characters keep it alive. I enjoyed every minute."
-Sarah Johnson, Historical Novels Review
Genre: Historical
Used availability for Arliss Ryan's The Kingsley House