Golden Hill : A Novel of Old New York (Paperback)

from bodachliath

t is hard to believe that this wonderfully picaresque romp through 18th century New York is Spufford's first novel. It manages to echo and gently parody many of the tropes of 18th century fiction, while mixing it with enough hindsight to make it appeal to a modern audience, and despite the richne...

from

I don't often leave five-star reviews, and almost never for fiction, because I read like a writer as well as like a fan. I've got to be pleased on a sentence level: no culpably clunky syntax, misused words, or poor punctuation. Preferably, it should teach me a few words I don't know, without usin...

from maryreinert

The language took a bit to get used to as this is written in the style of the times: early 1700's. New York isn't a city yet, but an outpost of England. Mr. Smith arrives carrying an order for a thousand pounds which is a huge sum and he won't reveal why or how he can make the claim. Suspicion is...

from wandering_star

New York, 1746. A young man steps off the transatlantic boat, keen to explore this strange new city. But the city is just as keen to explore his intentions, because political tensions are high between the governor and city assembly, and there are things about his behaviour which seem almost desig...

from Opinionated

For once, the publicity blurb for a book proves correct. "The best 18th century novel since the 18th century" and indeed, so it proves to be. Mr Smith arrives in 1746 New York, a small settlement of 7000 people, hugging the southern tip of Manhatten (or Manahatta as the characters in this novel w...