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15th out of 38 books
—
19 voters
Cape Cod
by
William Martin (Goodreads Author)
Originally brought to America's shores by the Mayflower, two families unearth their family skeletons--which have lain buried in Cape history for more than 200 years.
Paperback, 736 pages
Published
July 1st 1992
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published 1991)
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Its not often i read a book over and over again. But this one is the exception. have just finished this book for the 6th time since it was published, and yet again, fropm the very first page i am transported smack into the story.
it starts with ann amazing begining that drew me into a time on the Cape a thousand years before the pilgrams into the mind of an great pilot whale and then threw the pilgrams and well lets just say it seamlessly goes from them to the present and back again. maaking one...more
it starts with ann amazing begining that drew me into a time on the Cape a thousand years before the pilgrams into the mind of an great pilot whale and then threw the pilgrams and well lets just say it seamlessly goes from them to the present and back again. maaking one...more
This was my first William Martin book and I did enjoy it. Follows two families (Hilyards and Bigelows) from crossing on the Mayflower in 1620 to present day. The book is centered on the Cape Cod area and includes many historical events and people that were in the area. There is also a search throughout the book for the Mayflower log which could change the way a family is viewed by the public and the fortunes of the family who finds it. I enjoy historical fiction and now want to visit Cape Cod.
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It was a basic story of generations on Cape Cod 1620- present day. All of the characters were poorly illustrated and unlikeable or unbelievable. Stupid story.
What I did like was the history that was the basis of the story. The older you get, the shorter 100 years seems and therefore the shorter amount of time that America has even existed. I mean the big events in this country 1776 to 1863 is less then 100 years and then jumping ahead to the 1960's another 100 years. And all of you, can remember...more
What I did like was the history that was the basis of the story. The older you get, the shorter 100 years seems and therefore the shorter amount of time that America has even existed. I mean the big events in this country 1776 to 1863 is less then 100 years and then jumping ahead to the 1960's another 100 years. And all of you, can remember...more
The Bigelows and the Hilyards have lived on Cape Cod for going on four centuries, and they began getting on each other's nerves while still on the Mayflower. William Martin, way back in 1992, wrote a saga about these families. Jack Hilyard is a nonconformist trouble maker, and Ezra Bigelow builds his life around what he perceives to be divine providence. Right down to the present day, their descendants have feuded about land, religion, race relations, money, independence, and whatever other issu...more
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I read this one summer in high school. I was drawn to the title, because my family is from Cape Cod, and I wanted to feel a part of that world.I would like to revisit it, because I know more context now than I did then. As an adult, it will be interesting to see how my reading measures up to my past impressions.
Picked this up to make it through Hurricane Sandy. I love history and New England, but this book bored me incredibly. With such a rich history to draw on, the method of presentation was muddled and kept jumping time periods which made it difficult to follow. Very disappointed.
I absolutely loved this book; I could not put it down. This was a very vivid and captivating epic read filled with historical nuance, and suspense. I thought the author wove a wonderful tale which seemlesly traveled in and out of the past and into present day with ease.
A lengthy but intriguing novel of the two families instrumental in the discovery of Cape Cod. The Bigelows and Hilyards both crossed to the New World on the Mayflower, each becoming rivals of the other which carried on from the 1600s to present day. In a fight to protect the Cape shores in both past and presents days these two fueding families bring to life the best of American History.
Good read! I like books about New England and William Martin writes them. He has a repeating character, Peter Fallon, who gets involved looking for a hidden historical object.
What a great insight to the founding families of the Cape region. Highly recommend this book to anyone whose ancestors came over from England on the early crossings in the 1600's.
This was a good whho done it......weaving the present with the past....the group that came on the Mayflower....and who committed the first murder in the US. A good story.
I will never forget this book! Since I am all about historical fiction I loved that I learned a ton and it was soo very interesting.
I really enjoyed this book. I do love historical fiction and Marin is a very easy writer to read...the way he goes back and forth from the past to the books present. I'm descended from the Mayflower, and I like the fact that there were "Saints and Sinners" on the boat. My Pilgrim died the first winter, but his wife and two daughters came on the next boat. His daughter Mary, married a crusty old Sailor...who puts me in mind of the main character of Cape Cod. I also enjoyed this very much because...more
I really enjoyed Martin's Harvard Yard, but this one.....historical books with contemporary sex scenes never seem to work.
Great descriptions of early life on the cape. Great summer read with a little history folded into the fiction.
Jul 29, 2011
Nancy
added it
Love his stuff. Present day combined with history and great characters.
Very long, but very interesting story about Cape Cod and the "first comers".
Intermingling of past history with the present is well done.
Great summer read with historical details. If you travel to Cape Cod year after year as I do, you'll enjoy reading this.
Another good historical fiction by William Martin
Well written . I love historical fiction.
Great historical fiction about a place I love.
I thought it was a great mystery.
intriguing but long.
Great historical fiction
Great summer book!
everything boston
I have enjoyed all of William Martin's books, because there is a well-researched historical component that unfolds in parallel with a related current story. It's like unraveling a mystery along with the characters. And the stories are distinct; he's not just writing the same formula over and over. He's one of the authors that I look for in a bookstore, hoping there is something new on the shelf that I haven't read yet.
Employs Martin's successful style of alternating past and present stories, but I found this one less engaging than the others I have read. I cared less about the characters. Fallon was absent from this story. I liked the complexity of the mystery in this one and how he wove it effectively through the story. I also continue to marvel at how well he distinguishes the time he is writing about through his style in each section.
Another big fat book for me this year, 652 pgs. My favorite genre historical ficton. Great read about the 'first murder' in the US in 1620 when pilgrims/puritans came to Plymouth. Historical references to Gov. Bradford and Jamestown. Story of 100+ year feud between two Mayflower families, the Hilyards and Bigelowes. Mystery, intrigue, history, family trees. Interesting and engaging.
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William Martin is a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels. He is best known for his historical fiction, which has chronicled the lives of the great and the anonymous in American history while bringing to life legendary American locations, from Cape Cod to Annapolis. He has also written an award-winning PBS documentary, one of the cheesiest horror movies ever made, magazine articles, and...more
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