Overview
The "sympathetic and compelling" (Cleveland Plain Dealer) novel about a young woman untangling family secrets and claiming her independence.
Julie Drew's extraordinary novel is a breakthrough work in the tradition of Richard Russo and Annie Proulx. summer, 1934: Anne Dodge, raised by her old-money father in a small Rhode island coastal town, has always been told that her mother abandoned them. But then Anne learns that she has a half- sister, Maria Cristina —and when Maria Cristina comes to live with Anne and her father, ugly truths begin to surface about the family.
Within a context of jazz, the end of Prohibition, and stifling gender expectations, Daughter of Providence is a gripping and seductive summer read. this story of loss and rediscovery will resonate with readers long after the final page.
Synopsis
Julie Drew's extraordinary novel is a breakthrough work in the tradition of Richard Russo and Annie Proulx. summer, 1934: Anne Dodge, raised by her old-money father in a small Rhode island coastal town, has always been told that her mother abandoned them. But then Anne learns that she has a half- sister, Maria Cristina --and when Maria Cristina comes to live with Anne and her father, ugly truths begin to surface about the family. Within a context of jazz, the end of Prohibition, and stifling gender expectations, Daughter of Providence is a gripping and seductive summer read. this story of loss and rediscovery will resonate with readers long after the final page.Editorials
Publishers Weekly
It's 1934, and Anne Dodge, the heroine of Drew's promising but undercooked debut, has remained insulated from the economic hardships befalling Warwick, R.I. After all, her father, who owns the (currently closed) mill in town, is wealthy enough to have been coasting through the Depression. Anne's worries are more personal than political—her Portuguese mother left when Anne was just six—and now Anne's past has come to call, when her younger half-sister, Maria Cristina, comes to live with Anne and her father. Anne tries to reconcile her father's evident hatred of Maria Cristina with her own fondness for the serious, almost saintly girl, just like she must balance her own unladylike aspirations to become a boatbuilder with her early forays into romance. Anne, 23, is a memorable heroine and narrator, though her perspective and voice can make her seem like a contemporary woman dressed up in 1930s costumes. Drew enjoys some success in addressing issues of the day—particularly those of race and class; the unionization debate less so—which lends a strong atmosphere to the family drama, but the big disappointment is the melodramatic conclusion; it doesn't do justice to an otherwise considered if slightly shaggy story. (July)Kirkus Reviews
A period novel—set in 1934—that examines dark secrets in a fading Rhode Island family.
The Dodges are well off (Old Money), though patriarch Samuel Dodge has been trying to reopen a family-owned textile mill that had been closed because of changing economic circumstances. His daughter, narrator Anne Dodge, is more interested in building boats with long-time family friend Ezra than in any business interests. A college graduate, Anne has yet to decide what she wants to commit to and is bitter that her Portuguese mother Inêz has run away from the family. Anne's bitterness is somewhat sweetened when Maria Cristina, her 12-year-old half-sister, unexpectedly turns up. Anne develops a curious relationship with her sister—she's in equal measure affectionate and irritated by her, especially when Maria Cristina constantly thrusts herself into every aspect of Anne's life. And while there's no doubt about the identity of Maria Cristina's mother, the identity of her father is problematic—Ezra? Or perhaps even Samuel Dodge himself? Anne's life becomes complicated when Oliver Fielding, a young and attractive entrepreneur, starts showing interest in investing in the mill as well as an interest in Anne. Further complications arise when a combination of social idealists and thugs protest Samuel's plan to "exploit" local workers.
First novelist Drew draws a careful portrait of both social and family problems.