num_pages: 676
description: At the height of the Civil War, word spreads through the poorest quarters of New York City that a military draft is about to be implemented -- a draft from which any rich man's son can buy an exemption. The outrage this inspires escalates into the worst urban conflagration in American history.Down in the waterfront slum of Paradise Alley, three women -- Deirdre Dolan O'Kane, Ruth Dove, and Maddy Boyle -- struggle with their private fears as they wait for the storm to descend upon them. Deirdre, devastated by the news that her husband, Tom, has been wounded at Gettysburg, must turn for comfort and aid to two women she has always judged as morally depraved -- Ruth, married to an ex-slave, and Maddy, a hard-living prostitute.Kevin Baker's acclaimed masterpiece is an unforgettable portrait of three women who come together to protect their homes and families from the brutality of a city -- and a nation -- gone mad.
language: English
title: Paradise Alley
titlecomplete: Paradise Alley
genres: Fiction, Historical, American, Civil War, American History, Novels, 19th Century, New York, Historical Fiction, American Civil War
ratings_count: 1373
series: City of Fire
awards: awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: American Book Award, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: James Fenimore Cooper Prize
publisher: Harper Perennial