City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan

by Beverly Swerling

Book Overview

A sweeping epic of two families--one Dutch, one English--from the time when New Amsterdam was a raw and rowdy settlement, to the triumph of the Revolution, when New York became a new nation's city of dreams.In 1661, Lucas Turner, a barber surgeon, and his sister, Sally, an apothecary, stagger off a small wooden ship after eleven weeks at sea. Bound to each other by blood and necessity, they aim to make a fresh start in the rough and rowdy Dutch settlement...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684871734
• ISBN13: 9780684871738
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

City of Dreams, a historical novel about the early days of New York

City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling provides a physical history of early days New York and how the Dutch settlers made it a thriving city. Underlying the development of the colony is the growth of early medicine, practices by physicians, barbers who were actually surgeons, and apothecaries, called simplers. Women and slaves were featured as important characters who practiced these arts with suspicion, as well as Jews who were the entrepreneurs of the city. New York, first called New Amsterdam, was not without various classes of people, to include white Irish indentured servants, slaves, Jews and others. Their intermingled cultures also fostered a great divide between two prominent families in the colony. The story is full of interesting characters, geographical sites and early history of the coming of age of New York and the United States.

A Wonderful Historical Fiction Starring New York City

This is a terrific novel that begins in the Dutch Colonial period when New York City was New Amsterdam and continues until just after the American Revolution. Swerling's story is filled with interesting characters, some sympathetic and others appalling, but all of whom are captivating. She tells the story of our great city through the lives, loves and adventures of several families whose members are surgeons (barbers), medical doctors (physics) or pharmacists (apothecaries). That these families include African and African-American slaves is especially satisfying and I learned a great deal about the interactions between whites and blacks in the early days of our nation. (Sadly, in some respects, not a lot has changed.)I especially enjoyed the early chapters of the book that focus on the Dutch and the role of those settlers in forming the character of NYC -- many aspects of which endure today. And if you live in the city as I do, you will probably also enjoy knowing where some of the key colonial landmarks were located and what has happened to them over the centuries.In short, this is a highly entertaining book whether or not you are a New Yorker, as it offers an interesting plot line, believable characters and what seems to me a realistic window on life in colonial America.

A Riveting Epic Novel Of Historical Manhattan. Superb!!

"City Of Dreams" provides an extremely rich slice of Manhattan history along with an intricately plotted novel filled with unforgettable characters. I couldn't put this book down!English barber surgeon Lucas Turner and his apothecary sister, Sally, land in mid-17th century Nieuw Amsterdam after a grueling sea voyage from the Netherlands. The two are devoted to each other, having escaped from a life of squalor and poverty to make their way in the New World. They are aided by Governor Peter Stuyvesant after Lucas performs a successful surgery on him to remove a kidney stone. The future seems filled with promise until a terrible betrayal causes a rift between the siblings that will impact generations to come. In a series of eight segments, author Beverly Swerling unfolds the lives of the original Turners and their descendants, as Nieuw Amsterdam becomes the city of New York and finally the first capital of the United States of America. This absorbing multi-generational saga continues through the Revolutionary War providing detailed and accurate historical background as well as an extraordinary storyline and subplots. Patriot Nathan Hale, British Generals Clinton and Howe, and colonial General George Washington are some of the characters who interact with Ms. Swerling's fictional cast. The history of the beginnings of medical science are absolutely fascinating. A number of medical interventions, all performed without the use of anesthesia, are vividly described, including tracheotomies, amputations, a radical mastectomy, and the removal of kidney stones. As an added attraction the dust jacket is illustrated with a wonderful view of early Manhattan taken from a copper engraving. The inside end papers show beautiful aerial illustrations of the city in its early days. There is also a family tree at the beginning of the book, although I was easily able to follow the plot without using it for reference. I highly recommend this absorbing and informative novel.JANA

Could not put it down!

I will truthfully say I bought this book at a dollar store. But I could not put it down. I would gladly pay full price to own this book. If a reader is even slightly interested in medicine or history this book will appeal to them. It tweeked at my patriotism also. You become enthralled by the characters in the story. I could not decide which side I was on so I decided to root for everyone. The goryness and truthfullness of the medical prcedures is not for the weak or immature reader. The sex scenes are also explicit but flow with the story. I felt the story would have held it's own without the detailed sex scenes but they were consistant with the story. I would definetly monitor younger readers with this book. I would not let my 12 year old read it. But I loved it!

The Read of Your Dreams

Similiar in style to Edward Rutherford's historical novels("London," "The Forest"), Beverly Swerling's book "City of Dreams" focuses on early Manhattan and more specifically, medical practices during the early colonization of Manhattan. "City of Dreams" is crammed with interesting characters such as "Red Bess" who runs the local apothecary; and fascinating descriptions of early medical procedures like the "stone cutting" (a.k.a. the removal of akidney stone) performed in all it's gory detail in the first chapter of the book. This is not a book for the squeemish as some of the medical procedures described require the holding down of patients or the biting on various objects against pain, as well as a lot of screaming, blood, slicing, oozing pus, et al, which was how medicine was practiced in the 1700's. However, I think Ms. Swerling did a great job in showing how truely miraculous it was that anyone survived during this time period and her descriptions of medical practices ring authentic to me. In addition, the book touches on the subjects of local indians, Dutch traditions, women's rights, and other topics relevent to this time period. This book is a really interesting read for lovers of historical fiction. I highly recommend it to all!!

A Gripping Read & Important History of Downtown New York

This lush, intricately woven novel is truly arresting on several levels, the first being perhaps the most important: it's a darn great read, and a page turner to boot. I loved it.Given the fast pace and many exciting events, you'll find it hard to put down. However, as you won't be able to digest it in one sitting, you'll have time to absorb and appreciate the fascinating cast of characters the author assembles. You can reflect on their motivations, desires and next moves in a way that's truly rewarding. The scenes in the book (particularly the medical scenes) are blunt and, at times, shocking in their depictions of early American life. (You won't easily forget the kidney stone scene at the beginning! Gory!) Don't be put off, though. There's a real thread of humanity and compassion at work here; the themes of healing and medicine that frame the book reinforce this impression and ground the author's project in the context of the larger struggle that each of us faces: our own fragility as human beings. This essential humanity defines nearly all of the characters in some way and thus provides the true basis of a well-told tale; we can connect with these people. They live and breathe for us. Unlike most fiction of this genre, the characters here are not drawn into simple absolutes of good and evil; each character's thoughts, feelings and actions reflect real human complexity. Nevertheless they are all (thankfully) people of action, and it is this action that makes the unfolding drama so appealing. There are sexy bits, there are touching bits, there are exciting bits, and intellectual food for thought as well. These colonial types obviously didn't have time to sit around hemming and hawing -- like all New Yorkers, they were busy!The amount of well-researched history, both medical and colonial, that anchors this story is also phenomenally impressive. The author provides an essential history "primer" of lower Manhattan, as well as interesting but more trivial tidbits about daily life and common mores of the time. The background is varied, expansive, and vibrant; complex historical information is presented in a clear and easily understandable way without being watered down.The clash of cultures (Dutch, Slave, English, American Indian, Jewish, etc) is very compelling, and the focus on NYC as a cradle of the American Dream seems right on target. By turning this history into a tangible, fictional narrative, Swerling makes it jump alive for the reader. We relate.Finally, it's worth noting that given the recent tragic events in New York, the timing of this book is an eerie coincidence: the epic is really all about lower Manhattan and the people who lived there, worked there, died there and ultimately helped to shape the city we know today. Although completely fictional, the book therefore provides an unfortunately relevant look at the history of the small geographical area that the world's attention has been focused on since the attacks. Perhap