The Americans by John Jakes

The last and final installment in the Kent Family Chronicles was released in 1980 - four years beyond the original target date of ending the family's adventures. It is also far short of the original goal of following the descendants of Philip Kent all the way through to the Bicentennial. 

I have to believe, after having read all of the books in such a short span of time, that Jakes himself had grown tired of the characters. Too often, the same storylines were carried through from book to book; from character to character. It almost seemed at times as if he were just transplanting the same scenarios to different times in history. 

The Americans, unfortunately, is no different. Although I found the book to be a great read, I was frustrated at way too many times feeling like I'd read it all before. A trademark of Jakes' books seems to be a person who holds a grudge against the protagonist for little or no reason and spends a good deal of time and trouble trying to avenge himself. In this novel we see that not once, but twice - with two different characters. 

The novel takes place in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Gideon Kent is leading the rich man's life in Boston along with his wife Julia (his cousin's ex-wife). Throughout the story, Gideon is continually troubled by what he sees as the indifference of his and Julia's children to the legacy left to the family by Philip Kent.

Gideon's daughter Eleanor is an actress at a time when that was synonymous with being a prostitute. She is married to Leo Goldman and suffers a great deal of turmoil, culminating in a fantastic tale of survival during the infamous Johnstown Flood. Some of the demons are in her own mind, put there by the atrocities she suffered in the previous novel and has never confessed to anyone. Others are there as a result of the anti-semitism that she and her husband experience. 

Will Kent's journey was probably the most in-depth in this novel. I don't know if the fact that it is given the most attention is what makes it the most interesting, but the historical background of how people lived in tenements while the rich partied on the backs of people who were sick and dying really gripped me. Will has decided to become a doctor, which was not a revered profession at the time. Society doctors spent most of their time treating women's fainting spells and making a fortune doing it. However, they practiced little real medicine. 

The time he spends in the tenements begins to open his eyes, and he is torn between working with people who will benefit the most from his knowledge, and becoming successful the way his step-brother defines success: lots and lots of money. 

Carter Kent leaves behind a Harvard education to try to find his own way out west. For a long time, he simply wanders aimlessly until his charming personality managed to get him ingratiated with the Democratic Party Boss in San Francisco. 

I found the historical background here interesting - especially in light of the 2000 Presidential election. It seems like a hundred years ago, these bosses consistently manipulated election to the desired - and paid for - outcome. The novel hints at Carter's own rise in the party to Washington politics. 

In fact, most of the history presented in The Americans made me think that many of the problems we face now in this country have plagued us for almost as long as the country has existed. In some ways, that made me sad. When I thought of it a bit more, I felt reassured that if we'd survived these conditions for the last hundred years, we'd survive it a while longer. 

Where the novel ends is at Gideon's death. We have no idea of what becomes of the Kent family in the 20th Century. We don't know what happens with Carter's political career; who will run the family newspaper and publishing business, or a whole host of other loose ends. 

One thing I disliked in the last novel was how certain things we had read were changed to suit the story Jakes developed, and he did the same here. Once again, the abuse Will was subjected to at the hands of his mentally ill mother seemed to become worse when written about now, over what was written during the time this was happening. 

Still, reading about Will's adventures out in Montana with Theodore Roosevelt, and the historical background of the New York City tenements made up for the shortcomings I felt were in the characters. This is a good ending to the series, and if the novels are not read so close together, there is a deeper appreciation for the story. 

A Review of the novel Love and War by John Jakes

This novel is the second in Jakes' Civil War trilogy. Love and War picks up the lives of the Main and Hazard families right where North and South left off. 

The Mains are rice planters in South Carolina. The Hazards are steel manufacturers in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The Civil War is just beginning. Brett Main has just married Billy Hazard. 

The families are linked not just by their marriage, but by the strong friendship forged between Orry Main and George Hazard while attending West Point. This bond transcends even the worst moments of the War as the families reach out and help one another on numerous occasions. 

In the Afterword, Jakes compares his writing of this novel to Gone With the Wind. He admits to loving the story, but laments the fact that the slaves are depicted as content to be slaves, and also with comic relief - social values which really don't hold up any longer. Even the war is depicted without too much blood and guts, mostly referred to on cue cards. The only true impact of suffering is the depot scene showing a seemingly endless sea of wounded men. 

This novel shows that war is pure hell. Particularly notable is the change in Charles Main through the book as what he witnesses and experiences changes him. The evolution is not swift or abrupt, but very gradual. It make it totally believable. The battlefields are described in great detail giving the reader the feeling that they are experiencing it right along with the characters. Everything in Jakes' writing rings so true that I felt as if I were reading a biography of these two families. 

Instead of focusing on the notable parts of the War, such as the battle at Gettysburg, Jakes takes us to Carolina and Liverpool shipyards, Libby Prison, Confederate encampments, and the politicking in both Washington D.C. and Richmond, VA. This gives the novel more depth than focusing just on the more infamous parts of the War. 

Neither side is exempt from special interests or those who seek to profit on the blood of others. Both families have people who are up to no good. In the case of Ashton Main - Brett and Orry's sister - she is inherently evil here. While trying to help her husband rise politically in Confederate circles, she joins with a group at first attempting to take control of the government. In the process she almost destroys Orry's marriage and his good name, is responsible for the drowning of her nephew, and still carries a great deal of anger at being rejected by Billy Hazard in favor of her sister. 

Of course no Jakes novel would be complete without the evil man harboring a grudge due to some slight years ago. In here it is Elkanah Bent. Bent seems to spend the majority of the novel scheming at how to get back at the two families, all the while managing to mess up every chance he has in his own life. Much is made of his parentage here, but though it is hinted at, it is never revealed. It is one bit of frustration I really would have like to have been resolved. 

In this novel, slavery is not depicted as a happy existence. As the war presses on, many of the slaves at the Mains' plantation run off. Orry's wife Madeline goes to great lengths to try and make it better for them, even beginning a school. Her belief is that they will be freed and need their education. This is a believable way to show the feelings of loyalty some of the slaves - and freedmen who live at the plantation - have for the family. 

In the North, Brett works with black children at an orphanage started by George's wife, Constance. Having the opportunity to interact outside of the plantation with the black children and adults causes Brett to rethink her own beliefs she has had all her life. It also gives her a good direction and sense of purpose, rather than sitting in a house through the whole novel worried about her husband. 

The families are not exempt from tragedy. Several lives are lost. There is nothing pretty about the four and a half years contained in the novel. Jakes has gone to great lengths to write a well-researched and non-glamorous view of this terrible war. If you've never read it, it's definitely worth a look. 

The Warriors by John Jakes

In the entire American Bicentennial Series, this novel is one of the weakest. I don't know if Jakes was getting tired of writing it by now, or if it was just a harder time to write about, but two out of the three characters this novel focuses on do not read as well as the rest. 

This 682 page (in paperback) novel focuses on the impact of the railroads on this country. The main characters are Louis Kent, Michael Boyle, and Gideon Kent. Louis is the son of Amanda, who comes down the line of the Kent family not tainted by "Fletcher blood." Michael was Amanda's personal assistant and helped raise Louis after Amanda was killed. Gideon is the son of Jephtha Kent, who is a Methodist minister in New York City. 

Michael reads the best of all the characters. In previous novels, he left his employ with Louis after a dispute over profiteering during the Civil War. At this time, he is now working on the railroad as it attempts to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. The goal of his line is to get to the 100th meridian before weather stops them. Along the way, he is sorting out his own principles. Following his service during the Civil War, he has developed a general disdain for fighting of any kind and loathes when he is forced into it. So many time he tries to just turn and walk away, but events seem to just draw him right back into fighting. 

Along the way he also meets up with Hannah Dorn, the daughter of a German immigrant who is trying to make a profit selling whiskey to the railroad workers. Hannah disproves of her father's money-making scheme and knows it could get him killed, along with her younger brother who is out working with him. Michael is drawn to her after she challenges all that he believes and feels. He is also trying to overcome thoughts of Louis' wife Julia. Michael all but raped her in the last novel, and feelings of guilt as well as desire still reside within him. 

I found Michael to be the best-honed character of the lot. Jakes seems to have gotten a real feel for him, and the work he does on the railroad. It is a fascinating read, especially when Michael meets up with an outlaw who turns out to be one of Jephtha's boys who was believed killed in the Civil War. His experiences during and after have caused Jeremiah to have a very callous attitude about killing people - and he has become very good at it as well. This also helps Michael examine who he is and who he wants to be. 

While the character of Michael was written so well, I didn't find the other two to be as believable. 

We are given hardly any information on Louis or any look into his life. He seems to be motivated by power and money, though what he needs more money for is beyond me. It cannot be to leave to his family, since his wife, Julia, has taken their son and left him after becoming involved in the woman's suffrage movement (fodder for the next novel). He becomes involved in the struggle between Jay Gould and "Commodore" Vanderbilt for the Erie Railroad. It is all a game to them, and I found the whole interaction that went on to not be interesting most of the time. I guess because I did not feel that I knew any of the characters involved enough to care about them, it wasn't that interesting to me. 

Gideon was perhaps the character I felt was the most wasted potential. He has a fortune waiting for him from the gold mines in California, yet he keeps his wife and child living in squalor in a shack near the railroad yards where he works in Jersey City. I could maybe understand a man being too proud to lean back on the money, but I would think that once a child came into the picture, he would think about what is best for her - providing a good education; having a decent home where he don't have to worry about keeping them warm; not having his wife have to take in sewing just so they can put food on the table. I just found it totally hard to believe that a man with these resources behind him would not fall back on them. 

This is especially true when he begins to get "Union Fever" as he sees the way workers are treated. He is especially affected after two incidents occur in the yard where he works. In one, a man is left with no legs, and unable to work. His pregnant wife hangs herself since she doesn't know how to cope with three kids to feed and a husband who is an invalid. In the other, Gideon is working one snowy night coupling railroad cars together when everyone else has called in sick. His best friend is killed during the night. Again, the family is left behind with five mouths to feed and no source of income. 

Gideon uses the fact that he is Louis' cousin to get money for the families, but almost gets himself killed in the process. It also ends up having a disastrous effect on Louis' schemes within the Erie board. I still found the whole situation hard to believe - that Gideon would continue to live in squalor while attempting to form a Union in the Railroad Yards. I could see if he drew only a small enough amount so that he was not lauding it over the workers he was trying to organize, but I really didn't see the point of his entire lifestyle. 

Jakes most definitely wanted to show the roots of the Union movement in this country, but choosing to do so through a man who was wealthy beyond belief but refused to touch the money fell short. Perhaps having Michael be the Unionizer would have read better, but we'll never know. 

I can only recommend this book in that you have to read it to complete the series. The character of Michael is a good read, but much of the rest of the story here left me wanting. 

North And South by John Jakes: Two Families, One Fate

If you've only seen the mini-series by the same name, you're missing out on quite a lot. There is more of everything in John Jakes' novel North And South: more characters, more intrigue, more story, more history. 

In studying American History in school, and the Civil War in particular, we are often given clinical reasons behind the war. I always found it hard to understand the climate of the times. Jakes translates it well in this novel. Beginning almost 20 years before the start of the Civil War, North And South tells us the story of two families: the Mains of South Carolina, and the Hazards of Pennsylvania. 

The Mains are rice planters who own slaves. Though not harsh slave-owners, they nevertheless treat their people as property. Clarissa and Tillet are the parents, Cooper, Orry, Ashton and Brett are their offspring. 

Cooper is the eldest son, but he frequently clashes with his father, especially on the subject of slavery. Instead of managing the family's rice plantation, Mont Royal, he begins his own very successful shipping company in Charleston. 

Orry wanted a career as a soldier. He attends West Point after Cooper turns down the appointment to reach his dream. Fate dictates that he ends up managingMont Royal - a consuming task especially after he fires the overseer. He has qualms about the slavery issue, but also knows how much they rely on the labor to have a successful crop each year. He also is realistic enough to be very nervous about how the slaves would act towards their former masters should they ever be freed. He is a loner, who's one true love is another man's wife. 

Ashton is power hungry politically. Having been cursed to be born a woman rather than a man, she manipulates men into doing her dirty work. She is powerfully jealous of her sister and anyone else who manages to have any good fortune and happiness. She marries James Huntoon, a rising star in the South's political situation, figuring this is how she will become powerful as well. 

Brett is the more practical sister. She takes over helping Orry manage the plantation after their father dies and their mother turns feeble. She asserts her independence, yet is much more a lady than her sister. She falls for Billy Hazard, but will the love they have overcome the turbulent times? 

Charles Main is the ruffian cousin who lives with the family after his parents are killed. Blessed with incredible good looks, he manages to cruise by in life until challenged to a duel. It is only then that he learns just how much the family - and Orry in particular - care about him. He eventually lives Orry's dream of having a soldier's career. After he attends West Point, he battles Indians on the Texas frontier and distinguishes himself in the eyes of his commander, Robert E. Lee. 

The Hazards are iron-masters in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. William and Maud are the parents, Stanley, Virgilia, George, and Billy are their offspring. 

Stanley is much like Ashton Main in that he aligns himself with rising stars in the new political world, hoping to come up a winner with an appointment in Washington. He fails miserably in his attempts at running the family's iron works, simply because he is too cautious and afraid to take risks. His wife is a shrew who pushes him into doing things against his own better judgment. 

George attends West Point but strictly for the education. He intends to give the service only the four years he is required to give. For better or worse, he decides to serve with his friend Orry, meaning that he sees battle in the war over Texas. He brings home an Irish-Catholic bride from Texas, who is not accepted easily into the Pennsylvania society. Since he has much more vision than his brother, George ends up in charge of the Iron Works. 

Virgilia is a staunch abolitionist who uses any opportunity she gets to make trouble for anyone she perceives as the enemy. She falls for one of James Huntoon's slaves while in South Carolina and helps him escape. Later he is killed in the Harper's Ferry incident. This only serves to reinforce her deep hatred of anyone and anything southern. 

Billy initially falls for the wild Ashton Main, but later turns to Brett when he sees her as being the more stable of the two. He attends West Point with a year's difference between himself and Charles Main and enters the Engineering Division where he hopes to save enough to support himself and Brett. Billy proposes just before Lincoln is elected, setting in motion a great rift in the country. Can their love overcome the rift? 

The two families' futures become intertwined when Orry and George attend West Point Military Academy together and become fast friends. Along the way, they make friends who's names are familiar in history: Robert E. Lee, George McClellan, Tom Jackson, and George Pickett. Jakes intersperses these characters from history so well with the fictional characters in the novel that it gives the reader a sense of what the time was like. 

I have always enjoyed history, and North And South is an excellent combination of the history of these turbulent times as well as a wonderful fictional story. The tension mounts throughout the novel as the tension is building in the country. Can these two families have their friendship survive? At times it doesn't seem likely. Despite their own reservations about the peculiar institution of slavery, the Mains do not like outsiders coming in and criticizing their way of life. Likewise, the Hazards have trouble understanding how their friends -who are decent and moral people in every other sense of the word - can continue to subjugate other human beings based on the color of their skin. 

There is turmoil and pressure on the friendship from inside of the family as well as outside of the family. One thing that is a trademark of Jakes' novels is an embittered enemy holding a grudge and wanting to exact revenge throughout the story. Elkanah Bent is that character this time around, though Ashton and Virgilia do provide additional strain as a power-hungry southern belle and outspoken abolitionist respectively. 

The families are great friends, spending summers together as well as entering into business together. Billy and Orry's cousin Charles also attend West Point together. A romance blossoms between the two families, but can love really conquer all as the country is being torn apart? 

This novel uses history to tell the story, but it also really shows how the tension was building in this country as the inevitable war approached. It's easy to take a clinical look at the causes of the Civil War, but this helps us to have a real understanding of what was going on, as well as being entertaining and a great story. We know what the ending will be, yet I found myself hooked on every single page of the 803 page paperback novel. 

The Lawless by John Jakes

In the seventh book of The Kent Family Chronicles, it is beginning to appear as if Jakes is tired of the series. Characters are abruptly changing direction, and entire storylines have been dropped from previous novels. At times it seems as if I am reading the same story I just read in another novel (although in the final novel, The Americans, Jakes repeats the same story within the novel with two different characters). 

The book does stand strong, however, as a great depiction of the post-Reconstruction Union. I felt as if I was standing there watching monumental events such as the Great Chicago Fire, the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, the evolution of the socialist movement both in Europe and in the United States, and the Wild, Lawless West. 

It is Jakes attention to detail that is the selling point of his novels. His descriptions of events is so meticulously precise, that I can feel myself transported back to that time and place, watching the events unfold. Even though I have never seen Paris, I felt as if I knew what it looked like from his descriptions. I can imagine what New York City looked like over 100 years ago - at a time when the Bronx was considered "the country". 

What does not ring true here is the abrupt change in direction some of his characters take from the previous novel, The Warriors. Particularly notable is the descent into insanity of Gideon Kent's wife Margaret. In previous novels, we were lead to believe that the alcoholism her father suffered was due to wounds received during the Mexican War. Now Jakes tells us that insanity runs in the family. No signs of this were present before - Margaret was a very loving and caring person, but in this novel she emotionally abuses her children. This is something I cannot see the Margaret we knew before doing. That Margaret completely supported her husband in his furthering of his education, in his strive to fight for the working man. This Margaret is purely selfish and lashes out at her husband for transgressions that do not ring true. 

Of course, the purpose to all of this is to throw Gideon together with his cousin Louis Kent's widow, Julia Sedgwick. Julia has also done a complete turn-around, from being a society tease, to suddenly becoming a suffragist living off of her family's money and giving speeches. Their affair begins during the Great Chicago Fire, and even then their grasping onto each other seems to be too fast. Gideon conveniently was thinking of her since they met at Louis' funeral, and Margaret has turned him out. Other than that one time meeting, they have never met each other until this night, yet they suddenly know they are perfect for each other. 

However, I did love watching Matthew Kent flow through the Paris art world, trying desperately to have it all. I loved seeing the long-believed dead brother Jeremiah assume a variety of identities as he evolves into a noted outlaw. I loved watching Gideon evolve in areas of his life that did not involve his wife, mistress and children. 

The character of Michael Boyle was all but dropped here. He is mentioned in passing once or twice, and it seems as if all that has been invested in him in previous novels is for nothing. Gideon's children are seemingly being raised by no one as their mother descends into insanity. I cannot imagine the household staff would go along with some of the nutty conditions she sets forth, and not say anything to Gideon, who is obviously paying the bills. 

Their daughter Eleanor is showing the greatest stress under her mother's constant barrages. As her mother manipulates the children to hate their father for his transgressions, whether real or imagined, Eleanor is the one who is growing up and evolving in a way that is most interesting. I found her journey through this novel to be fascinating, though some events are a bit disturbing. Her character is perhaps the most interesting going into the final novel of the series. 

Of course no Jakes novel would be complete without a villain, and though this one differs in that his feud with Gideon is fairly understandable, it again seems to be the same man bearing a grudge at the expense of everything else in his life. 

Despite the tiredness that is evident with the Kent family, this is a good novel. However, it definitely could have been better. 

The Titans by John Jakes Shows America Divided

... a gigantic battle centered near a place called Shiloh Meeting House had resulted in casualties almost beyond the mind's capacity to comprehend. Over ten thousand were killed or lost on the Southern side; over thirteen thousand on the other... 

A bit of perspective. Americans have slain more of their own in one day than anyone outside of this country has ever managed to. 

In his novel The Titans, John Jakes continues the story of the Kent family. The main focus of the novel is Jephtha Kent, a former Methodist preacher turned reporter for the family newspaper in Washington DC just prior to the start of the Civil War. His three sons are now lost to him after standing up against slavery in the Virginia town where he resided, and this has led to his disenchantment with life in general, and a drifting from his own faith. 

He remains rich beyond his imagination, yet touches none of it. His former wife's new husband, Edward Lamont is very aware of the riches that will be inherited by his stepsons. 

The struggle that ensues throughout the novel is very well-done. We see not only the struggle between either side of the country, but there is also Jephtha's struggles with discovering his own true self. No longer the fanatic that preached against slavery and helped slaves escape, Jephtha is struggling to find his place in the world as it crumbles around him. His concern for his sons on the Confederate side of the war is genuine. The possibility of returning to their lives at some point is the only thing that keeps him going on a daily basis. 

At the same time he wants to reject God and all faith, he is drawn to it; both on his own and through the woman who shares his bed, Molly Emerson. She truly loves Jephtha and is so torn by what she sees happening to him. She urges him to turn to the scriptures that were so important and meaningful in his younger life, but feels like a failure when Jephtha's attempts to reenter his son's lives falls apart. Soon, he is not just struggling to find his faith and do his job, but also struggling to stay alive as well. 

His oldest son, Gideon has enlisted on the Confederate side in the calvary. In Richmond, he has met a young lady who greatly challenges him and everything he believes in. To him, war is glorious; simply a game to be played. We'll beat the Yankees and be home in ninety days... is largely what the Confederate forces completely believe. 

Margaret Marble has seen what the war does to a man through her own father. He fought in Mexico and though he still raves about the gloriousness of it, she sees the truth to it all and tries to impress this onto the man she loves. Gideon cannot bring himself to desert after he has enlisted, nor does he quite believe that Margaret is correct. As he rides off to join his unit at the battle of Manassas, the part since Margaret is so terrified of his dying. Her words and the impression her father made remain with Gideon as he realizes just how gruesome war really is. 

We actually see only a little bit of Louis Kent and Michael Boyle, who we were introduced to at the end of the last novel, The Furies. Louis has become a businessman without morals, who sees only improvement to his bottom line as being good, no matter who suffers in the process. Michael tries time after time to reign him in, but ends up quitting and enlisting in the Union army after Louis figures out a way to make a profit by trading with both sides during the war. Along with Joshua Rothman, the family banker, and Jephtha, they plan to expose Louis' scheme in public. 

The book comes off very well since Jakes doesn't try to cram too many years into one novel. The characters are well-honed and show that none of the people involved in the Civil War on either side are completely good. Some of the villains seem to have no redeeming qualities, but most of the characters are people struggling to piece together their actual feelings and values during this time. 

There is still mention of the so-called "bad blood" of the family which runs into Jephtha's line. However, it would seem that Louis is really the black sheep of the family. I found that there was nothing that Jephtha or his three sons did that did not really remind me of Philip Kent in The Bastard and his own reactions to the wealth and power of his father. Gideon is said to have a bad temper, but Philip showed the same temper when he attacked his half-brother in the first novel. This is where I really felt that the whole background that we were given was dropped. Louis Kent, the man without "the Fletcher blood" has truly been developed into an evil character. 

The interaction with historical figures does not seem as contrived or forced as it did in other novels in the series. Jakes manages to use Jephtha's career as a reporter to have him interact believably with great historical figures, as well as having him be in certain places at just the right time to be involved in events. 

I can see with what Jakes has written in the novels of the Kent family that cover the period of the Civil War how much more he wanted to do with that time. I would venture a guess that this is what led him to write the trilogy of North and Southnovels which go into the events of this time period with more depth. Still, in the line of Kent family novels, The Titans is a very strong entry. 

The Furies by John Jakes Hits A Little Too Close For Comfort Right Now

*Note: Originally reviewed shortly after 9/11.  The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?

...You're a good woman, Amanda. A strong woman. But there's another part of you that's dangerous. In some ways you act like the windbag abolitionists - you've somehow got it in your head that you're one of those avenging goddesses of the Greeks or the Roman, I forget which... But the difference between you and one of the furies, sweet, is just this. They lived forever. You can't..." 

I had put together notes for the review of this novel, and a lot of them went out the window. 

The main character in this novel is Amanda Kent de la Gura. At the end of the previous novel, The Seekers, Amanda was abducted and sold off to Indians. We pick up her life about twenty years later. She believes her cousin Jared to be dead and has been living in Texas. For a time she was married to a fur trader, who was killed in the smallpox epidemic. 

Our first insight is into events at the Alamo, where she has taken refuge. Her strength and her defiance almost get her killed right then and there. But she lives and eventually makes her way to San Francisco where she builds a nice life for herself and her son. 

The problem is her obssessive revenge on the man she feels has wronged her family, Hamilton Stovall. She learns the truth about what happened that fateful night when she and her cousin left Boston and she is obsessed with exacting revenge on the man. 

The obsession is so great that everything else falls by the wayside. Nothing else seems to matter except somehow managing to secure enough funding to buy back the family printing house. Amanda does not see the effect that her obsession has both on herself and on her son, Louis. He sees her as a woman who does what she wants and doesn't let anyone stand in her way. At one point, she even kills a man when that isn't necessary. 

Nothing else matters except her revenge. When friends try to warn her about the effect it's having on Louis, she discounts their warnings, or reasons that she is simply doing "what's necessary", or puts it off like Scarlett O'Hara's famous I'll think about it tomorrow... 

As California revels in the gold strike, Amada begins turning a decent profit with her tavern as well as by selling mining tools. A chance meeting reunites her briefly with Jared. He does not share Amanda's thirst for revenge and has moved on with his life. His son Jephtha Kent is a Methodist minister in Virginia dealing with his own set of problems in regards to the slavery issue. 

Everything for Amanda is simply a means to an end. Her son and his well-being are pushed to the side. And in the end, the prophecy of her lover, Bart (the quote above) ring all too true. In the end, Amanda realizes her mistakes. Though she has accomplished what she set out to do, what is the cost for her? For her family? For the future? 

Jakes has honed out the character of Amanda so well that if the novel were just about her, it would read just fine. In an attempt to present the slavery issue, Jakes uses the character of Jephtha. He presents his diary entries to reflect what is going on in the eastern part of the country, and it just didn't seem to read as well as the rest of the novel. It seemed to a certain extent that there was an obligation to history to present this and this was how he did it. The North and South series does a much better job presenting the slavery issue. 

The novel ends in New York and introduces a pivotal character of future novels, Michael Boyle. Since Amanda is a woman without prejudice, she has no qualms about hiring the Irishman despite the prejudicial atmosphere in New York at the time. Michael grows as well during the time he is with Amanda, but even he can see what her quest is doing to her. Amanda trusts him implicitly and leaves the future of the Kent family essentially in his hands. 

I enjoyed reading about Amanda Kent. I think she is one of the best characters Jakes has created in any of the novels I've read. Out of all of the books in this series, this is easily the best one.