Devil Water

Devil Water is a 1962 historical fiction novel by Anya Seton.

Devil Water
AuthorAnya Seton
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction
Published1962 (Houghton Mifflin)
Pages526
OCLC1035940873

A 2007 edition features a foreword by Philippa Gregory.[1]

Plot

Charles Radcliffe escapes from Newgate Prison after his brother's execution during the Jacobite rising of 1715. Charles' daughter Jenny travels across the Atlantic Ocean to Williamsburg, Virginia and William Byrd's plantation.

Reception

Robert Scholes in The New York Times Book Review wrote, "The author has missed, or perhaps deliberately avoided, opportunities for really exciting scenes[...] "When Miss Seton merely fictionalizes history, relying on the actual diaries of William Byrd of Virginia, or quoting verbatim letters of Byrd and the Earls of Derwentwater, she manages well. The embarrassing moments in the narrative come from her piecing out of the gaps inconveniently left by history."[2]

Fanny Butcher wrote "mixed by Miss Seton's skillful hands, the dust of the past becomes the clay of the artist and is molded into memorable, lifelike form."[3]

It was also reviewed by Kirkus Reviews.[4]

Devil Water reached #5 on The New York Times Best Seller list.[5][6]

References
  1. Seton, Anya (1962). Devil Water. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-1-55652-659-6. OCLC 123192654.
  2. Scholes, Robert (25 February 1962). "Jenny's Noble and Peasant Blood". The New York Times. p. BR20. ProQuest 115988348.
  3. Seton, Anya; Butcher, Fanny (25 February 1962). "Anya Seton Infuses Life Into 18th Century". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. d1. ProQuest 183111732.
  4. "Book Reviews: Devil Water". Kirkus Reviews. 1961-02-01. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  5. "New York Times Best Sellers: April 15, 1962" (PDF). The New York Times. 1962-04-15. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  6. "New York Times Best Sellers: June 24, 1962" (PDF). The New York Times. 1962-06-24. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
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