Annapolis

A strongly patriarchal family (with no lack of independent women), the Stafford motto remains, through the centuries, "One son for the soil and one son for the sea," meaning one to manage the plantation and one to safeguard it from pirates. And, as time went on, "one for family and one for nation."

With the growing city of Annapolis at its hub, the story traces the rise of America. At the heart of the family history is their city house, Stafford's Fine Folly, a mansion that was built and lost and won and lost again through the fortunes, weaknesses and quarrels of generations of Staffords.

As the book opens, Jack Stafford, 78, a liberal journalist, is nearing the conclusion of his fictionalized but faithful family history. "But when he came to the grayest area of them all - the things the Staffords had done, and failed to do, in the war that ended certainty for good - he couldn't finish."

Jack sends sections of his book to a distant cousin, Susan Browne, an independent filmmaker doing a piece on the Stafford family. As she interviews Jack's brother, Tom, a Navy admiral, and corresponds with Jack and meets their Navy nephew, son of the brother who died in Vietnam, she begins to realize there is unfinished business in the Stafford family. Vietnam has left scars.

Between short sections in which Susan probes for the murky secret that divides the brothers, confronts an oddly bitter family connection named Oliver Parrish, and observes with growing emotion the struggle over who gets Stafford's Fine Folly, the reader is treated to Jack's novel.

Jack's family history is driven and punctuated by the country's wars and conflicts. Martin is at his best writing action. The sea battles of America's first tiny fleet are captivating, the sense of personal danger immediate, the smell of gunpowder and the slam of cannon balls vivid.

Back home the first of the fallings out between the Staffords and the Loyalist Parrishes concerns the loss of a house and a broken promise. A Capulet and Montague relationship right out of Romeo and Juliet seems assured but never quite materializes, mostly because the Staffords aren't hateful enough. Or else they're just plain oblivious.

The families' rivalry continues through the Civil War when the Staffords themselves are divided. Slave-owning but patriotic Annapolis Academy veterans and friends to presidents from Washington on, all but one of the Stafford men remain Union. Martin doesn't ignore the politics of the times but the battles themselves command most of his attention.

Much of the suspense derives from Martin's riveting descriptions of fear and exhiliration, noise and blood and lightning-quick changes of fortune. And part of the suspense is due to never knowing who will survive. Many Staffords die in battle and Martin seldom gives warning.

After the Civil War, while the book remains a thoroughly enjoyable read, the politics grow more complicated and the family becomes harder to keep track of, simply because there are now so many to remember. The present, and the family secret, exerts a stronger pull.

Martin does not disappoint. In a few short chapters he brings to life the ugliness of Vietnam from the innermost circles of power to the intimate gore in the jungle. In a two-pronged conclusion, he delivers a shocking blow and a catharsis strong enough to heal the family.

A rousing and suspenseful saga.


I want more   December 31, 2001
Karigig (Michigan)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I found this book covered in dust on the back shelf of a dollar store of all places and thought..why not, its only a buck. After reading the first two pages I was ASTOUNDED, and couldn't believe my luck. Two pages is all it takes to be swept into the mastery of Martin's writing and carried away into another time.
This book is an absolute MUST HAVE for anyone into historical novels, or just appreciates an EXCELLENT read. The span of this book is fantastic and from the 1700's to the 1990's keeps you glued to its pages,with hope in your heart that its been sprinkled with nevernever dust and will not end.
I like to think William Martin knew the depth of attachment that would be aquired by its readers, and thoughtfully weans the reader of the world of Annapolis in the final two chapters. I have never been more pleased with a collection of words in my life. Get this book! You will not regret it.