Ann Lawrence of Old New York

by Gladys Malvern, Corinne Malvern (Illustrator), Susan Houston (Editor)

Ann loved the old farmhouse. Since the death of her parents, she had struggled to keep her brothers and sisters together there. Life on the farm was hard and the boys were always threatening to leave. Ann lived in dread of the day which she knew must come when the family would be broken up, and her one consolation was the farmhouse. But New York was growing fast, spreading farther and farther north. The farms that stood in the way were to be torn down and that meant the Lawrence house too! The farmers banded together, Ann and her brothers among them, to fight for the right to keep their homes. Ann’s friend, Peter Elliott, was one of the city planners and she felt sure he would intercede for them. But Peter believed in progress and expansion. The sacrifice of a few small homes to make way for hundreds more was to him a necessary thing. Ann had to fight alone—a bitter, ugly fight, but nothing was so hopeless to Ann as her estrangement from Peter. When Peter himself was faced with tragedy, Ann knew that she and Peter belonged together. This is a dramatic, heartwarming story of New York in the days when Daniel Webster and young Washington Irving walked its cobbled streets. This is a 1947 Junior Literary Guild selection, chosen as an outstanding book for older readers.

Genres: Historical Fiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Gladys Malvern wrote almost four dozen books in her prolific career as a writer of historical and biographical Young Adult fiction. She was born in Newark, New Jersey on July 17, 1897. Her family roots were in Virginia and her ancestors include such historic American names as Lee, Rolfe, Randolph, and Custis.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've discovered a new author! I just couldn't stop reading this historical novel that takes place on Manhattan Island in 1811. Ann and her siblings live on a farm on Manhattan Island just north of New York City. Their vegetables feed the people of NYC. However, the city planners, being visionaries, have decided that they need to plan for the city's expansion as more and more people come there to live, so they determine to buy up the farms north of the city to lay out new streets and neighborhoods. The farmers can't imagine the city ever being that big, and they feel tied to the land and the livelihood they make from it. The story raises questions about progress versus the rights of the individual--I could see both sides of the issue. Trouble is, the people making the decisions are the wealthy ones whose lives won't be affected, who won't be uprooted, by this "vision." I've never read anything about this issue at this time, and I'm absolutely fascinated. Of course, now we know that the visionaries were right, and NYC extends far, far beyond what they foresaw. I've got to find a non-fiction book now that will tell me more about this time and place. Too bad Malvern doesn't provide a list of sources she used to do her research.

I also enjoyed the character Ann, from whose point of view the story is told. I really felt for her at the end of the book, because her happiness was tightly tied to her family, and when the family was split up, it was as if someone took the floor out from under her. How do you reinvent yourself when choices are so limited for women? Of course, I could have predicted the ending. The only way that Ann could ever hope to marry the wealthy Peter is if something happened to make them more socially/economically equal.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and can't wait to read more of her books written about this time period and place. Highly recommended!

Addendum: I just discovered a web site where a bunch of Malvern's books have been scanned in as PDF files and can be read online. Check it out: http://www.shouston.com/gladys_malver...

[Margaret Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as other titles in Gladys Malvern's YA universe, but still an interesting read. I was inspired to re-watch Ric Burns New York documentary (Episode One) after finishing this book. I was interested in the historic details of the imposition of the grid on the island of Manhattan. Malvern did a good job weaving facts into her fictional account. This book brings home how the creation of the grid affected the common farmers to the north of the original city. As the city continued to be reinvented over the centuries, this story repeated itself: people uprooted and thrown off their land or out of their houses to make way for new roads and buildings. Modernization came at a cost, and the people who paid the price never seemed to be compensated justly. Not a surprise, since the very establishment of the colony by the Dutch was based on the elimination of its native population.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet young adult read, set near growing NYC 200 years ago.