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.
