This fiercely beautiful novel tells the true story of Charles Radcliff, a Catholic nobleman who joined the short-lived Jacobite rebellion of 1715, and of Jenny, his daughter by a secret marriage.
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This fiercely beautiful novel tells the true story of Charles Radcliff, a Catholic nobleman who joined the short-lived Jacobite rebellion of 1715, and of Jenny, his daughter by a secret marriage.
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Add this copy of Devil Water: a Novel to cart. $5.89, good condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Houghton Mifflin.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 544 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Devil Water to cart. $16.80, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Houghton Mifflin.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 544 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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I first attempted to read Devil Water about 20 years ago, but was unable to even get through chapter one. It is testament to how my reading tastes have matured, I suppose, that this time around when I picked it up, I found the story completely engrossing right from the start until its conclusion 500 pages later.
It was Anya Seton's particular gift as a writer, to be able to discover some all-but-forgotten person in history, take what little bits of information was known about them, and develop it into a full, detailed, rich and completely credible story. And nowhere does she display that gift more thoroughly than in Devil Water. In fact, as she tells in her notes at the end, there is understandably no documented evidence of Jenny at all. The only "proof" of her existence is in the legends passed down through the Snowdon and Radcliffe families. And yet, from these little scraps of folklore, her prodigious research into the lives of people who really did exist, and her own prolific imagination, Anya Seton creates a wonderfully full story of Jenny's life complete with a full cast of minor characters.
Jenny is the most admirable of all the Seton heroines I have read about so far. She is not only beautiful (as all the Seton heroines are) but she is brave, fearless, and with a mind of her own. I like that Seton doesn't have Jenny flouting these qualities all the time; indeed, most of the time she is obedient, charming, and pliable as she has been trained to be. It is only at critical moments, when it deeply matters to her, that Jenny displays her backbone of steel and doesn't cave in to the pressure of the men in her life. She also displays her independent mind in that she never buys into her father's Catholicism or belief in the Jacobite cause; she loves her father but often quietly disagrees with him. Jenny is also remarkable because, in spite of her inauspicious beginnings, difficult childhood, and odd relationship with her father, she manages to remain whole and unscathed. It is not until she marries at age 17 that she finally has a place of her own in the world, and feels that she truly belongs instead of living on someone else's favor. And yet, she is never bitter, never "warped", and indeed at times displays much better sense than either her father or her husband.
The underlying theme of Devil Water is loyalty. It is the one quality that dominates the lives of both Charles and Jenny, and indeed binds all of the major characters together. It is loyalty that ties Charles to the losing Jacobite cause that dominates his life. Perhaps it is even loyalty that causes him to love Jenny after his fashion and to occasionally attempt to make her life better. It is loyalty that drives Jenny, also, perhaps loyalty that she inherited from her father; nearly all of her actions are driven by loyalty to her father, her husband, or to the dear friends who have been good to her and helped her.
As usual, Seton creates a wonderful sense of time and place; Northumberland, London and Colonial Virginia all come alive in these pages and the reader is transported to each place. This is a book I could hardly put down. There was never a slow spot, the story and the pace never lagged. The book is bittersweet from beginning to end, and Jenny is a heroine that truly inspires admiration.
WEG55
Sep 27, 2007
DEVIL WATER
BOOK WAS OK.. NOT AS GOOD AS ANTICIPATED. VER SLOW MOVING IN PLACES.. ABOUT 50 PAGES TO LONG
