The Swan House

by Elizabeth Musser

Book Overview

Mary Swan Middleton has always taken for granted the advantages of her family's wealth. But a tragedy that touches all of Atlanta sends her reeling in grief. When the family maid challenges her to reach out to the less fortunate as a way to ease her own pain, Mary Swan meets Carl--and everything changes. For although Carl is her opposite in nearly every way, he has something her privileged life could not give her. And when she seeks his help to uncover...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764225081
• ISBN13: 9780764225086
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great book.

I don't know where these folks get off nit-picking this book. It is a wonderful story, well-written, and clearly involves faith. Read and enjoy. I have met the author. This is a wonderful piece of historical, Christian fiction. If that's not your genre, then read something else.

great read!

This was a great read! I grew up in Atlanta during the '60's in the same area of Atlanta as the character in the book, as well as the area the author lived.(I attended the "other" private school just down the road she mentions in the story!)Elizabeth writes from a point of view one could only do having been there or knowing someone who had. I kept feeling I was experiencing "deja vu" with every page I turned.When I read about Mary Swan going to the High Museum and seeing the J.J.Haverty Collection it was too much! I too went as a young girl and viewed the same collection with my mother, who was also an artist--"Mr. J.J." was my great grandfather!If anyone wants to know what Atlanta was like back then, this is a great and very enjoyable resource of historical fiction. An interesting side note - The author writes that she is married to a protestant minister and has two sons named Andrew and Christopher. Same here!"Deja vu" again!

Musser Weaves Atlanta History with Sensitive Creativity

Swan House is a novel that I defintely did not want to end. Elizabeth Musser creates respect, passion, and compassion for both Atlanta's history and Mary Swan's story. The characters are genuine and believable. And after I saw the documentary film about the 1962 Orly Airport crash--THE DAY ATLANTA STOOD STILL, I had even more admiration and yes, some envy for Musser's creative weaving. She writes the kind of story I would like to tell.

Atlanta of the 1960's revisited

For native Atlantans,The Swan House brings back many memories both tragic and nostalgic.But this excellent historical fiction novel will capture the imagination of readers from all over the globe!It is a story that starts with a tragic plane crash in Paris in 1962,how a 16 year girl deals with loosing a parent and her coming of age and becoming aware of the great differences between rich and poor and black and white in this era of segregation in the South.A powerful story!