City of Promise: A Novel of New York's Gilded Age
“[Swerling] nimbly weaves fact-based history and fast-paced fiction into a vivid tableau of 1870s Manhattan"—Beth Johnson,Entertainment Weekly“Run, do not walk, to purchase a copy of Beverly Swerling’s compulsively readableCity of Promise.”—Mark Peikert,New York Press“With a fast-paced, complex plot showcasing opulent Fifth Avenue mansions, Wall Street pandemonium, deals both fair and underhand, and the rising influence of the ethnic gangs, Swerling expertly interlaces the stories of a Gilded Age couple and their magnificent city. Compulsive reading that informs and entertains.”—Sarah Johnson, Booklist“Clearly, if Swerling had been my history teacher, I would have paid closer attention. . . . These private and national escapades play out in a great swirl of plots and counter plots . . . riotously entertaining."—Ron Charles,The Washington Post"The title city is New York. The age is gilded. The Civil War is about to end, and the author is tackling love, life, adventure, big business and the dazzling glamour and appalling squalor of the city that never sleeps. Even way back in the 1860s."—Anne Bendheim,Asbury Park Press(New Jersey)“Swerling vividly captures the greed, corruption, violence, and banking failures that accompanied vast new advances in transportation, communication, and lighting during this era."—Publishers Weekly"A whopping saga . . . teeming with bizarre medicine, slave uprisings, executions, thriving brothels, and occasional cannibalistic Indians. . . . A near perfect historical novel."—Mark Rozzo,Los Angeles Times, onCity of Dreams"The history of New York City, as told through the fiction of Beverly Swerling, just keeps getting better."—Terry Mapes,Mansfield News Journal(Ohio)“The author brings the time alive with true characters . . . conflict, tension, romance, the upper and lower levels of society and a satisfying finale. Highly recommended.”—The Historical Novels Review, onCity of Glory