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bookwarm_220's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
LONG, but satisfying storytelling with interesting characters. Pays homage to business and the role it plays in driving progress in society. Takes place in Victorian Britain during the industrial revolution.
This novel is a rather romanticized view of business and the way it serves progress and develops the characters of the people who strive to better themselves, their families and their communities. It's a rather Pollyanna-ish view, speaking as the jaded and bitter ex-salesman and veteran of 21st Century Corporate America that I am. My view from inside was of corruption, employee abuse, and absurd performance expectations. I only wish I had ever worked for an employer like Adam Swann.
The story and characters kept my interest, although it romanticized capitalism, but the prose were
Bland and without style.
This novel is a rather romanticized view of business and the way it serves progress and develops the characters of the people who strive to better themselves, their families and their communities. It's a rather Pollyanna-ish view, speaking as the jaded and bitter ex-salesman and veteran of 21st Century Corporate America that I am. My view from inside was of corruption, employee abuse, and absurd performance expectations. I only wish I had ever worked for an employer like Adam Swann.
The story and characters kept my interest, although it romanticized capitalism, but the prose were
Bland and without style.
lauriestein's review against another edition
2.0
I read this because I quite liked To Serve Them All My Days, but looking back I realize the subject matter of that novel (anti-war WWI book about a boys school) masked a lot of what frustrated me about this one. The concept of tracing a family business is intriguing, but to put it bluntly the book is governed by so much messianic paternalism that I wanted to vomit.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
An engrossing historical family saga that follows a young solider from the battlefields of India back to England where he decides to start a business hauling goods.
phillysaurus's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Nice enough read, but not the most exciting plot. Could have done with more characters or more events. I understand the rest of the series will develop the children, but I don't know if I'm invested enough to read another.
jsaint2002's review against another edition
4.0
I was torn between 3 or 4 stars. Ultimately I have a soft spot for historical fiction, especially when it’s chalk full of interesting characters, descriptive and well researched.
ma1's review against another edition
This was my favorite series when I was in high school. Not really sure why, now.
dashausfrau's review
2.0
Long & dramatic. Sort of Thornbirds?
Meh.
It's worth noting that this author didn't think the industrial revolution did anyone any good. Factory towns are sort of idealized in the US, not in bucolic England.
Meh.
It's worth noting that this author didn't think the industrial revolution did anyone any good. Factory towns are sort of idealized in the US, not in bucolic England.
lnatal's review
5.0
Just arrived from USA through BM.
This is the first volume of the Swann Family Saga series in the period of 1857 to 1866.
After returning from the wars in the Crimea and India, Adam Swann decided to leave the army and started his own business - "Swann-on-Wheels". The company's name was suggested by Henrietta Rawlinson, daughter of a local mill owner, who will become his beloved wife.
Their life will change drastically after a train crash. By coincidence or not, the Swann's family just met the famous British writer Charles Dickens who was already well known at that time.
The title of this book comes from Adam's returning to England after a very painful period of his life, in the quay of Calais, "where he saw every other ship flew the British flag and quays were piled with packing cases, some of them stenciled with names he recognized." (page 781)
A lot of British writers are mentioned along this book in addition to Charles Dickens, such as Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Charlotte Mary Yonge, Wilkie Collins. However, a special attention is given to East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood with is cited several times along the narrative and was mostly related to Henrietta character while the firs ones were related to their children's education.
This saga continues with Theirs Was the Kingdom and Give Us This Day.
This is the first volume of the Swann Family Saga series in the period of 1857 to 1866.
After returning from the wars in the Crimea and India, Adam Swann decided to leave the army and started his own business - "Swann-on-Wheels". The company's name was suggested by Henrietta Rawlinson, daughter of a local mill owner, who will become his beloved wife.
Their life will change drastically after a train crash. By coincidence or not, the Swann's family just met the famous British writer Charles Dickens who was already well known at that time.
The title of this book comes from Adam's returning to England after a very painful period of his life, in the quay of Calais, "where he saw every other ship flew the British flag and quays were piled with packing cases, some of them stenciled with names he recognized." (page 781)
A lot of British writers are mentioned along this book in addition to Charles Dickens, such as Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Charlotte Mary Yonge, Wilkie Collins. However, a special attention is given to East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood with is cited several times along the narrative and was mostly related to Henrietta character while the firs ones were related to their children's education.
This saga continues with Theirs Was the Kingdom and Give Us This Day.
raehink's review
4.0
Adam Swann returns from Army service in the Crimea to found a business of freight-hauling coaches. He also marries Henrietta Rawlinson, daughter of a local mill owner. The novel depicts Victorian England with some local history. The sequels to this are Theirs Was the Kindom and Give Us This Day.
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