Ever After - Elswyth Thane (Hawthorn Books - Jan 1945)

Series: Williamsburg (Book 3)
 
Ever After is the story of Bracken Murray, Special Correspondent of the New York Star, and of his junior-reporter cousin, Fitz Sprague. Bracken, deserted by his eccentric Viennese wife, goes to London to cover the Jubilee Summer of 1897. There he falls in love with a young English girl.
 
Meanwhile, in New York, Fitz rescues a music-hall singer from a gambling gang and falls in love with him. Ever After carries on a generation further the evolution of a War Correspondent - from Julian Day in Dawn's Early Light and Cabot Murray of Yankee Stranger to Bracken Murray.
 
This was a reread of the third book in my all-time favorite series - The Williamsburg books by Elswyth Thane. The seven books follow the descendants of the Sprague and Day families from Dawn's Early Light and added the Murray family from Yankee Stranger. I love the depth of the characters and the richness of detail in the depictions of setting and action. Like the War of Independence in the first book and the War Between the States in the second, Ever After drops our two heroes (and one of their cousins) into the middle of the Spanish-American War. I especially enjoyed this aspect, as literature or history classes rarely touched on that conflict. The author succeeded in again bringing out the personal side of war.
 
This book focuses mainly on Bracken Murray, the son of Eden and Cabot Murray. He is a reporter for his father's newspaper and will eventually take over the paper. His life is in turmoil as his wife left him for another man. Lisl was a selfish, greedy woman who the family never liked. Bracken has long since stopped loving her, but she refuses to divorce him. To help distract him from his troubles, Cabot sends Bracken to London to cover the Queen's Jubilee. His sister Virginia and Aunt Sue go along so Virginia can be presented at Court.
 
A lot is going on in the first section of the book. Bracken is setting up a branch office of the paper in London. At the same time, he is watching over Virginia and Aunt Sue. They have also been charged with finding out about the Farthingale estate, where their ancestor St. John was born. As luck would have it, the home is for sale and available to rent. After meeting the owner, Sir Gratian, he invites them to visit. The description of the building and their immediate feeling of homecoming is vivid and emotional. The next day, while out for an early morning ride, Bracken encounters Dinah, the youngest daughter of their neighbors. Bracken is stunned by his reaction to her and the realization that she is his destiny. The problem is that A) he is still married, and B) she isn't quite sixteen yet. I enjoyed the early part of their relationship as they became friends, and Bracken cautiously walked the line between friend and want-to-be lover. Dinah is sweet and naïve and utterly oblivious to Bracken's feelings. The author does a terrific job of showing what life is like for people of that social set and the issues that face him.
 
The Murray family returns to New York at the end of the summer, with Bracken having every intention of returning as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the Spanish-American War lays waste to those plans, and his return is delayed by two years. Much has happened to Bracken during those years, but his feelings for Dinah have not changed. They have stayed in touch via letter, and their friendship has grown accordingly. Their reunion is sweet, and there is a hint that Dinah is developing feelings other than friendship for him. I liked seeing how his mother, Eden, and sister helped facilitate opportunities for Bracken to see Dinah in everyday situations. He is working hard to get his divorce settled when an unexpected twist throws everything into disarray. At the same time, Dinah faces issues with her family over her friendship with Bracken. The scene at Scotland Yard was excellent, and I adored seeing Dinah flummox them all. The ending was fantastic.
 
The middle section of the book is mainly devoted to Fitz. He is Sedgewick and Melicent's son and puzzles everyone in the family. Fitz has no interest in joining his father's law firm or doing anything else. His primary interest in life is collecting songs. He is very musical, writes his own music, and drives his family nuts with what they perceive as his laziness. Desperate to do something about him, Melicent asks her brother Cabot to give Fitz a job on the paper. Fitz isn't interested but is talked into it by Aunt Sue. He settles into the work with the help of another reporter, Johnny, but finds himself fascinated by the New York theater scene. He starts seriously working on his music. While visiting a music hall, he and Johnny rescue a young woman from a gambling gang.
 
Gwen is nothing like the women Fitz has known all his life. She is independent and accustomed to looking after herself. The rescue scene is vividly portrayed, and you get a real sense of Gwen's danger. I could feel her confusion at Fitz and Johnny's actions and her bewilderment at their lack of demands. Fitz's kindness and Southern gentleman ways soon lodge in Gwen's heart, though she knows she is no good for him. Fitz is oblivious to her feelings for him as the weeks pass, and he involves her in his songwriting. I ached for Gwen and her unrequited love for Fitz and couldn't wait for him to wake up to the truth. That eye-opening moment was fantastic and led to one of the more emotional scenes in the book—Gwen's trepidation as she faced his family as his wife leaped off the page. I loved Cabot's reaction.
 
This is where the Spanish-American war interrupts everyone's plans. I loved how this section explained much of how the conflict came about. As reporters for Cabot's paper, Bracken and Fitz are on the ground during the preparations and the fighting. The author uses little details to bring the events to life, from the chaos of the preparations at Tampa to the intensity of the charge up San Juan Hill and its aftermath. Using historical figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Clara Barton ("How it takes one back. Is this Sharpsburg or San Juan?") also showed that the country was healing, as men who had once been bitter enemies fought under one flag. This includes former Rebel Fighting Joe Wheeler, who reportedly forgot what war he was fighting, and, during the charge, yelled, "Come on boys, we've got the damn Yankees on the run!" The events of this war have lasting effects on Bracken and Fitz.
 
Bracken's sister Virginia is another important player in this book. At eighteen, she is pretty and vivacious and admits to being spoiled by her parents and brother. But she has a kind heart, too, and thinks of others such as Sir Gratian and Dinah's sister Clare. Unsurprisingly, the oldest son, Edward, Lord Alwyn, falls hard for her. But Virginia is drawn to younger brother Archie, who is the much nicer of the two. Later in the book, Virginia compares the two men to raw whiskey and champagne, stating, "You can get just as tight on champagne, and it's much nicer." And "That's why I want Archie. He's champagne, too. Very dry." But Archie is an honorable man, a new lawyer with few prospects, and doesn't care to be seen as a fortune hunter. I loved seeing Bracken manipulate things a little to give Archie the push he needs and seeing Virginia take matters into her own hands.