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A Middling Sort
"Fidget’s Mill was a town full of secrets, populated by people who had no idea how to keep them."
It is a time of revolution in the American colonies, an epoch in which men of exceptional talent and ambition agitate to reshape the course of human events. Their names will pass into legend: Washington. Adams. Jefferson. Hamilton. Madison. Monroe.
Denton Hedges is there too, and he’s trying his best.
In the inauspicious year of 1767, he volunteers to visit a no-account Massachusetts seaside town called Fidget’s Mill. His goal is simple: secure a non-importation agreement, so that the colonies might adopt a stronger negotiating position with England. There’s no reason for him to get mixed up with a forbidden love triangle, a witch, demons, or the three moneyed families jockeying for control of the town. And yet…
He really is trying his best.
It is a time of revolution in the American colonies, an epoch in which men of exceptional talent and ambition agitate to reshape the course of human events. Their names will pass into legend: Washington. Adams. Jefferson. Hamilton. Madison. Monroe.
Denton Hedges is there too, and he’s trying his best.
In the inauspicious year of 1767, he volunteers to visit a no-account Massachusetts seaside town called Fidget’s Mill. His goal is simple: secure a non-importation agreement, so that the colonies might adopt a stronger negotiating position with England. There’s no reason for him to get mixed up with a forbidden love triangle, a witch, demons, or the three moneyed families jockeying for control of the town. And yet…
He really is trying his best.
592 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2018
9 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 7, 2019
Original, smart, delightful!
A Middling Sort is as if Christopher Moore grabbed a thesaurus and started writing historical fiction.
It's 1767, and Denton Hedges, a talented but insecure lawyer, heads to Fidget's Mill, a small hamlet near Boston, to convince the three reigning wealthy families, who've made their money on importation, to refuse goods from England. The problem is, no one wants to listen to Denton, and he needs a way in to their inner circle. He's also naive and unsure of himself.
Enter Miss Carsis, resident witch with her own aims for the town; her Familiar, No-Good Bulstrode (a turkey-demon with a British accent and his own motivations); her co-conspirator and underestimated side-kick, Mr. Increase; and members of these wealthy families, some of whom want Denton dead and some who just want to hang out and be friends.
This book made me laugh out loud. The story is original, the writing above par with droll intelligence, and just all-around entertaining. The ending, however, I found somewhat unexpected, but not in a good way.
Recommended for the reader who appreciates smart writing and tomfoolery balanced with tender insight.
A Middling Sort is as if Christopher Moore grabbed a thesaurus and started writing historical fiction.
It's 1767, and Denton Hedges, a talented but insecure lawyer, heads to Fidget's Mill, a small hamlet near Boston, to convince the three reigning wealthy families, who've made their money on importation, to refuse goods from England. The problem is, no one wants to listen to Denton, and he needs a way in to their inner circle. He's also naive and unsure of himself.
Enter Miss Carsis, resident witch with her own aims for the town; her Familiar, No-Good Bulstrode (a turkey-demon with a British accent and his own motivations); her co-conspirator and underestimated side-kick, Mr. Increase; and members of these wealthy families, some of whom want Denton dead and some who just want to hang out and be friends.
This book made me laugh out loud. The story is original, the writing above par with droll intelligence, and just all-around entertaining. The ending, however, I found somewhat unexpected, but not in a good way.
Recommended for the reader who appreciates smart writing and tomfoolery balanced with tender insight.
July 5, 2021
Let me start by saying one thing: this book is not for everyone.
HOWEVER, it seems Jud wrote this book for me!!
The dry, observational humor is top-notch, the fast-paced and sarcastic dialogue is reminiscent of the coffee-fueled exchanges of the Gilmore Girls, and the historic details are not unnoticed. I chuckled to myself a lot and cackled out loud more than once. I could not stop reading after I started - the charming, flawed characters drew me into a winding and absurd tale. I HAD to find resolution! Aside from a few tiny strings, the story ties up quite nicely, but still leaves me wanting more. After investing almost 600 pages into it, it’s hard to leave Fidget’s Mill behind.
Denton Hedges’ story has a lot to say on the nature and expression of freedom, honor, pride, masculinity, and truth, among many other pre-Revolutionary concerns. Watching Denton, Brisby, Increase, Miss Carsis, and others grapple with these concepts and their consequences amid their own selfish scheming is riveting. Everyone has their own motives, ever-changing as they may be. We as readers are also treated to the inner machinations of minor characters, rendering cohesion to the shifting plane that is Fidget’s Mill social landscape. There is hardly a literary satisfaction as wonderful as seeing disparate narrative cogs click into place and start turning together, something Widing treats us to frequently throughout the whole book. I imagine that when I inevitably read it again, I’ll be sure to glean more treasures from the pages.
I met Jud sitting in a shaded booth at a stupidly hot local maker’s market and talked with him for a couple minutes. During the pleasant conversation, he recommended I start with this book. I’m very glad he did.
Oh and Jud, if you’re reading, I hope you have another suggestion for me because I’ll be back for another book soon. Hopefully it’s not as hot as it was last time!
HOWEVER, it seems Jud wrote this book for me!!
The dry, observational humor is top-notch, the fast-paced and sarcastic dialogue is reminiscent of the coffee-fueled exchanges of the Gilmore Girls, and the historic details are not unnoticed. I chuckled to myself a lot and cackled out loud more than once. I could not stop reading after I started - the charming, flawed characters drew me into a winding and absurd tale. I HAD to find resolution! Aside from a few tiny strings, the story ties up quite nicely, but still leaves me wanting more. After investing almost 600 pages into it, it’s hard to leave Fidget’s Mill behind.
Denton Hedges’ story has a lot to say on the nature and expression of freedom, honor, pride, masculinity, and truth, among many other pre-Revolutionary concerns. Watching Denton, Brisby, Increase, Miss Carsis, and others grapple with these concepts and their consequences amid their own selfish scheming is riveting. Everyone has their own motives, ever-changing as they may be. We as readers are also treated to the inner machinations of minor characters, rendering cohesion to the shifting plane that is Fidget’s Mill social landscape. There is hardly a literary satisfaction as wonderful as seeing disparate narrative cogs click into place and start turning together, something Widing treats us to frequently throughout the whole book. I imagine that when I inevitably read it again, I’ll be sure to glean more treasures from the pages.
I met Jud sitting in a shaded booth at a stupidly hot local maker’s market and talked with him for a couple minutes. During the pleasant conversation, he recommended I start with this book. I’m very glad he did.
Oh and Jud, if you’re reading, I hope you have another suggestion for me because I’ll be back for another book soon. Hopefully it’s not as hot as it was last time!
January 4, 2021
A Middling Sort.
This book was given to me free from a giveaway on Goodreads.com.
Sometimes the wording on this is a bit confusing. This author is obviously intelligent with a large exciting vocabulary and a wonderful sense of humor. This was truly a pleasure to read. I enjoyed every moment of this book and learned more than a few new words. Highly recommend this book. If this becomes (or is already) a series then i will gladly read it. Im now off to add any other books by this author to my reading list!
This book was given to me free from a giveaway on Goodreads.com.
Sometimes the wording on this is a bit confusing. This author is obviously intelligent with a large exciting vocabulary and a wonderful sense of humor. This was truly a pleasure to read. I enjoyed every moment of this book and learned more than a few new words. Highly recommend this book. If this becomes (or is already) a series then i will gladly read it. Im now off to add any other books by this author to my reading list!
November 12, 2023
Fun book, the author has a great voice and tone, making the revolutionary era real, funny, and at times terrifying while he spins a very New England-y tale of inflated self importance and matter of fact witchcraft. Great surprise and a really fun read.
September 21, 2024
Absolutely hilarious! So fun to read fiction set in early colonial America - you learn a medium to low amount about the early revolutionary times. But also, there’s a witch and a talking turkey. I don’t really know why I root for the main character since he is constantly incompetent, but I do.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews