Haverstraw

by Margaret Williams

A beautifully realized historical novel set at the turn of the twentieth century in New York's Hudson Valley, where a town of immigrant brickworkers is on the brink of disaster and a young Canadian woman, in a loveless marriage, struggles to find herself.

When duty to her father reduces Anne Beauvois, a sophisticated young Canadian woman, to farm drudgery, she escapes into a loveless marriage to an illiterate Irish brick-worker, Liam O’Connor. In Haverstraw, a town on the brink of disaster, she finds friends and discovers her inner strength.

This quietly beautiful novel tracks the fortunes and misfortunes of a young woman in search of selfhood. After her mother unexpectedly dies, Anne Beauvois must leave her aunt's elegant home in Quebec City to keep house for her brutish, illiterate father on his hardscrabble farm in New York State. Severely limited by early-twentieth-century gender constraints, she realizes her only escape is marriage. Hastily accepting a proposal from a callow young Irish bricklayer, she moves to the bustling river port city of Haverstraw, determined to forge a new life for herself. Having made a bad bargain in the marriage department, she pursues her own dreams and desires despite her husband's provincial ideas. When tragedy strikes the town, Anne's options are extended far beyond her initial expectations. Williams manages to effortlessly conjure up the tenor and the timbre of another time and place in the powerfully evocative debut novel.

For both YA and M audiences: for high-school students looking for a gentle historical read.

How vividly Margaret Williams re-creates the world of shops and boarding houses, clay pits and brick ovens that was Haverstraw, NY in the early 1900's! And she has a wonderfully compelling story to tell -- of deception and loss, self-discovery and love. You won't want to put it down.

187 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tiny novel is a real gem! Since I live in the Tri-State area and am familiar with the setting I found the historical aspects of the book very interesting. Also, the development of the characters, the action of the plot and each character's history was very well done and thoroughly researched. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the Quebec setting and the descriptions of the etiquette of society during the late 1800's. It was a quick read that really held my attention. Not bad for a 50 cents library book sale find!

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne is an educated and sophisticated young woman stuck in a mostly illiterate world at the turn of the 20th century. She leaves the farm only to wind up in Haverstraw NY, a town on the Hudson Valley, where everyone makes brix. The inevitable disaster strikes, and Anne grows into the woman she was meant to be.

[Sharon Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dug up this obscure little novel when I was researching my great-great grandfather who worked in the brick yards. So I was pleased that it included some interesting descriptions of what life was like there and how the brickyards operated. Other than that it was a pretty mediocre but still likeable story.

[Sandra D · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author did a really good job of evoking a time and place, including a real-life tragedy that struck the town of Haverstraw, NY, in 1906, but the heroine of this novel was just too unbelievable for me. For a young Catholic woman who considered divorce an impossibility, I couldn't imagine that she would jump so lightly into marriage with a man she didn't love and barely knew. Also, there were some proofreading errors, which are always annoying.

[Chelle Cordero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Williams beautifully described the Haverstraw area and the reader can genuinely feel the "times".

The story, even if a bit predictable at times, kept me turning pages and intrigued.

The end seemed a little flat. I would have liked to see a little more interaction between the main characters at that point.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I do recommend it.

[Mariesreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice sweet story that ends the way I wanted it to! :)