God Is an Englishman: 1 (Swann Family Saga)

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What helps set great historical fiction apart from the average is the little details of everyday life and, probably the most important aspect, credible dialogue. I love the Avenue novels by RF Delderfield but found the Horseman Riding By series became increasingly tedious. Ronald Frederick Delderfield was a popular English novelist and dramatist, many of whose works have been adapted for television and are still widely read.

They stormed out of the dust cloud in a solid, scurrying mass, horse and foot, in formation; a mob of armed fugitives, with nothing in mind but to escape the hangman or the bayonets of the Highlanders who had rushed the town at first light and now fought their way as far as Ranee's palace. Delderfield draws a detailed map of the territory, county or city that he will cover, placing the houses where his characters will live and adding the place names and details that will build up into a rich and convincing background. A series of coincidences and his own ambition/personality enables him to start a haulage business that is based in London and soon has branches in every major region in England and Wales. Overview of British culture and society circa 1969, from the perspective of an acerbic, cynical Australian correspondent. Adam told her about the business he had in mind and she suggested a logo for him of a Swan on Wheels.M Godding Books Ltd is an internet book business running from Wiltshire and sending books all over the world every working day.

Set in Victorian England during an eleven-year period, 1857-1866, the story firmly entrenches the reader in the atmosphere. Adam is a vigorous businessman, respected by his workers, and frankly the descriptions of his business make this worth reading. I had heard of Delderfield but that's all and I don not know why he is not better-known or read on both sides of the pond! I think he's probably right, but this hidden religious pulse, by the very fact that it is essentially off the radar and private, is devilishly hard to pin down. His father-in-law is what the 'upper crust' of British society thought typical of "men in commerce".His wife, Henrietta, grows and matures and eventually comes into her own to fulfill a critical role. There is another female character, Edith Wadsworth, who is connected to Adam Swann through his business, and they have a fascinating relationship. it follows Adam Swann and his inimitable wife, Henrietta, starting from their (a little too) serendipitous meeting to their joint management of business, home and family.

During World War II and immediately thereafter he achieved quite a success as a West End playwright (one of his plays ran five and a half years). The notion of an established church or credo representing the nation at prayer stretches back through history and lingers on, to almost everyone's dissatisfaction, in the current Church of England.Henrietta, as well as being a wife and mother to an ever increasing brood of small Swanns, is the financial wizard who helps Adam to succeed.

She gradually blossoms and discovers depths and strength you wouldn’t expect, and I ended up actually respecting her. His struggle to succeed and his conquest of Henrietta, the spirited daughter of a rich manufacturer, drive a richly woven tale that takes the reader from the dusty plains of India to the teeming slums of nineteenth-century London, from the chaos of the great industrial cities of the age to the peaceful certainties of the English countryside. Having just read this my first book by this author I am struck by how beautiful a stream of consciousness can be. This book is about 30-something Adam Swann who breaks with family tradition to leave the British army and go into business in 1860s England.All of this is seen through the eyes of Adam as he puts his flexible mind to the question of how to succeed in the middle of it all while maintaining human dignity and avoiding exploitation. One spring afternoon following a heated exchange with a pupil, Sebastian Sermon, a forty-nine-year-old schoolmaster, experiences a brainstorm. He had even had a ring made for her similar to the ruby ring he had made for Adam to give to Henrietta. This is the start of a series, so while this book ended in a nice solid fashion, I know I’m going to seek out the rest of the series as soon as I can.