Status
Call number
Publication
Description
"New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan island, 1746. One rainy evening in November, a handsome young stranger fresh off the boat arrives at a countinghouse door on Golden Hill Street: this is Mr. Smith, amiable, charming, yet strangely determined to keep suspicion shimmering. For in his pocket, he has what seems to be an order for a thousand pounds, a huge sum, and he won't explain why, or where he comes from, or what he is planning to do in the colonies that requires so much money. Should the New York merchants trust him? Should they risk their credit and refuse to pay? Should they befriend him, seduce him, arrest him; maybe even kill him? Rich in language and historical perception, yet compulsively readable, Golden Hill is a story "taut with twists and turns" that "keeps you gripped until its tour-de-force conclusion" (The Times, London). Spufford paints an irresistible picture of a New York provokingly different from its later metropolitan self but already entirely a place where a young man with a fast tongue can invent himself afresh, fall in love--and find a world of trouble"--… (more)
Media reviews
User reviews
For example, he arrives with a note drawn on a London bank for one thousand pounds, a mind-boggling sum of money, and refuses to tell anyone what he plans to do with it. Almost more suspiciously, he does not react angrily when the banking house he tries to draw the money from hint that they think he is a forger or a thief. Because surely, any honest man would want to defend his reputation? (The importance of reputation and surface stories is a key theme of the book).
On the other hand, if he is not a cheat, he is a young man with a lot of cash to spend, and perhaps this is a good opportunity to introduce him to the daughter of the house, if she can be persuaded to sweeten the bad temper which has made her unmarriageable in the city.
It will take sixty days for the money to be gathered together, and so our young hero has plenty of time to explore the city - to make friends and enemies, to baffle and irritate the city establishment, and to be raised high and brought low.
It's clear that a lot of historical research has taken place into early New York - at that time, barely even a city with a population of 7000 people. But it is a terrific example of how to weave that research seamlessly into the story, from the first scene where Smith - having almost been thrown out of the counting-house as a rogue - produces four golden guineas, his spending-money until the rest comes through, and asks to change it into smaller currency. He is given handfuls of silver - Mexican, Danish, North African, Portuguese - and even more strangely to him, all manner of paper money issued by the different states.
Spufford was apparently inspired by the eighteenth-century novel, which did not yet need to have a unity of tone. Smith is not a picaresque hero because he stays in the city for the whole book, but his rollicking adventures do give us plenty of variety.
I loved this book. I liked the character of Smith - enthusiastic, probably too cocky for his own good but fundamentally decent. I found the story thrilling and funny and interesting and I really enjoyed the writing, which echoed Smith's own personality in its enthusiasm and its rambling delight in everything.
(It may not suit a reader who prefers that the story get on with it - this description of a bonfire is a pretty good taster of the style: A faint contour formed in the air ahead of it, black on black; then, bigger than Smith could have imagined, a mountain where no mountain had been on the grass of the Common, all formed of wood and flammable rubbish, with flanks of discarded wardrobes and smashed cabinets, and ravines in which broken bedsteads gaped, an alp composed seemingly of every old thing, every burnable thing, every imperfect cumbrance of past time the city of New-York could scour from its attics, its middens, its cellars.)
I'm pretty certain this will be one of my top ten books of the year. If it isn't, then this will be the best reading year I have had for some time!
It is simply
Into this potentially volatile mix comes Richard Smith, newly landed off the boat from England. No sooner has he alighted than he runs to a local broker and presents a bill for one thousand pounds drawn on an agency in London. The broker is concerned, and not without reason. One thousand pounds was a huge sum at that time, and one which threatened the broker’s trading capital. Smith does little to allay those concerns, refusing to divulge either the source of, or his intentions for, the sum in question.
Smith is left to his own devices, waiting for the bill to clear, though his hopes of keeping a low profile are thwarted and he finds himself caught up in a series of adventures and mishaps. Spufford has obviously done considerable research into this period, and he paints a jaunty picture of eighteenth century New York. Its population in 1746 has been estimated at around 7,000, miniscule in comparison to the 700,000 people then living in London. Smith certainly experiences culture shock at the rather parochial attitudes he has to deal with.
Spufford has scored a huge success, creating a novel set in the eighteenth century that reads very like a novel from that period, though without the sententious moralising that seemed to be the bane of that age. (Come on, own up, how many people genuinely read through all those dreary chapters at the beginning of each new section of ‘Tom Jones’?). It seemed to emulate the best bits of Tristam Shandy, and throw in a sliver of Breaking Bad (but without the rage, squalor and despair). The novel races along, and the reader is swept up in the flow. This was one of those books where I found that dreadful quandary: I was very eager to finish the book to find out how the various plot lines were resolved, yet I also felt that I didn’t want the book to end.
Spufford brings mid-18th century New York to life in the pages of this novel, viewing it from the perspective of the newly arrived Smith as he explores the city and observes its customs. The novel's style is different and fresh. Smith's motive is hidden from the reader, so the destination of the plot is unpredictable. As much as I enjoyed the writing and style of the novel, there are some technical flaws.
This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
The central mystery of the book—who is Mr. Smith, and what is he doing in New York with his enormous promissary note?—starts to resolve itself about halfway through, but there's another mystery to the book, that has to do with the way it's told. That one is left to the end to be revealed, and it adds a real poignancy to an already rich book. Oh, and there's a duel. And a lynch mob. And a kangaroo court. Coffee plays an important part, as do the machinations of some very venal power brokers whose names now adorn the streets of Manhattan. This book is enormous fun. I hope the author writes a half dozen more.
There’s something here for everyone: a bit of tragedy, comedy, romance, drama, and lots of escapades. Our hero finds himself involved in exploits involving robbery, dueling, trysts, mob violence, slaves, performance art, political intrigue, social conventions, and the law. The essence of early New York, at the time a city of seven thousand souls, is vividly described.
It is written in the archaic English of the era. Dramatic tension is maintained by Smith’s secret reason for his journey, which the reader does not find out until late in the novel. Unfortunately, this device wears thin, and results in “information dumping.” It is not my personal preference for the way to pace a book. The mystery of Smith’s journey is delayed, and instead, there are many digressions, some of which are more compelling than others. I found it clever, but frustrating that the point of the book is weakened by its structure.
In a small community, with poor communications to London, Mr Smith is obliged to wait while his bona fides are established. And this waiting time provides plenty of opportunities for Mr Smith to get into scrapes and misadventures. His Rake's Progress include involvement in local politics (with unfortunate results), wooing the local scold (with unfortunate results), a trip to bonfire night (with....well you get the picture now), involvement in local amateur theatrics, dalliance with the local femme almost literally fatale, and various other escapades, before his true purpose is revealed
Mr Spufford, for it seems appropriate to call him such, has a lot of fun with 18th century style and language which he brings off without falling into the trap of parody or pastiche. He has also researched his 18th century New York well, and for example the rituals of St Nicholas night (for the Dutch) and Pope Night (for the Protestant English) are very convincingly brought to life. The intrigues and gossip of a small village are convincingly rendered.
Its a very good book, Fielding for the modern ear, with a hint of the humour of Blackadder III thrown in. Minus half a star for a contrived ending and a couple of devices for tying up loose ends that don't quite work. But highly recommended
Wonderful prose with a touch of 18th century
Synopsis:
New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan island, 1746. One rainy evening in November, a handsome young stranger fresh off the boat pitches up at a countinghouse door on Golden Hill Street: this is Mr. Smith, amiable, charming, yet strangely determined to keep suspicion shimmering. For in his pocket, he has what seems to be an order for a thousand pounds, a huge sum, and he won’t explain why, or where he comes from, or what he is planning to do in the colonies that requires so much money. Should the New York merchants trust him? Should they risk their credit and refuse to pay? Should they befriend him, seduce him, arrest him; maybe even kill him?
Set thirty years before the American Revolution, author Francis Spufford captures an ancient iconography of New York not only in his depictions of the physical city and its diverse citizens, currencies, and costumes, but also in the clever and pungent language of his prose. Golden Hill is an update of eighteenth-century picaresque novels by the likes of Henry Fielding and entertains us with its savage wit, mystery, charismatic protagonist, and romantic storyline as it propels us toward a powerful revelation at the novel’s end. “Intoxicating” (The Financial Times) and “as good a historical novel as you could read” (The Times, London), Golden Hill shows us a city provokingly different from its later self; but subtly shadowed by the great icon to come, and already a place where a young man with a fast tongue can invent himself anew, fall in love—and find a world of trouble.
Confidently written, evoking a freezing cold town, lit with candles in oranges and celebrations, and the cosy, smoky coffee house, plus a
Spufford kept me guessing to the end what Mr Smith's purpose was, but I felt the sometimes oversumptious detail slowed me from getting there.
The story is humorous, quaint, true to the times and has a ending totally unexpected. It was a bit hard to get into the story due to the language, but once there, I was captivated. The author has a wry humor behind the story line.
A man arrives, Smith is his name and presents a paper worth 1000 lbs. But who is he and what does he want? At various times he is thought to be a con, a criminal, an actor or magician. Then it clicked, after the fifth chapter, I didn't read anything about this book before starting except for a few reviews of my friends and I thought this was a straightforward historical. As I kept reading I realized my perception was wrong, this book reminded me of adventure stories of the past, Tom Jones, Moll Flanders and it changed my view of what I was reading. It's very well written, the details and descriptions place us firmly in time and place, and oh boy does Smith get in some picadelloes, one to the next. Enjoyed his interplay with Tabitha, the acerbic daughter of the merchant, it gave this novel an additional twist. Of course by books end all is made clear and it left me wondering f I would have made the same decision Tabitha did?
The closest modern day book I can compare this too is [book:The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins|25897912], though this is wordier. So I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would which is a peon to the authors talent, though I still think the first half could have been a little less detailed and a little more actin filled. As I said it takes patience.
ARC by publishe
This novel reads very much like an 18th-century novel written by Henry Fielding and other novelists of his age, with the author achieving to hit on the style (prose, punctuation, plot) in every detail. The prose especially is a delight: it sparkles, like a golden guinea glimpsed in candlelight, and fizzes like a glass of champagne of the finest vintage. The plot is subtle, with many questions unanswered at first, and as more of Mr Smith's background and his purpose for being in New York are revealed, it acquires an added poignancy. All the characters are lifelike, with real psychological depth, making the journey the reader embarks on to work through the many layers and currents running through the narrative to arrive at its meaning an enjoyable and thought-provoking one. The ending is unusual in that plot threads are not tied up neatly in a bow but are left to run on into obscurity, and there is a delicious surprise at the end, which nevertheless is entirely in the character of what has gone on before. Highly recommended.
Richard Smith comes to Manhattan in 1746 on a mission that remains a mystery until the very end. Spufford evokes a New York (population ~ 7,000) that is cleaner than London, but still with plenty of dark alleys where all kinds of nefarious things can occur. He capably renders a socioeconomic portrayal of a small town on the edge of a vast wilderness and also on the verge of becoming an important city. Interestingly, Carl Bridenbaugh selected 1742 as the stopping point for his landmark historical treatise on colonial city life, “Cities in the Wilderness - The First Century of Urban Life in America 1625-1742” because he felt that “in many respects it seems definitely to mark the end of an era in colonial town life.” Despite obvious expertise with this historical context, Spufford never fails to be entertaining and indeed quite humorous. For example, Smith becomes dismayed to learn that America’s future financial center functions with a hodgepodge of currencies, including notes issued by other colonies, native wampum, tickets on commodities like tobacco and rum, and even slaves. "It was all money, in a world without money."
The narrator readily admits to the reader that he is not omniscient. In fact he humorously confesses to little knowledge about key plot elements like dueling and card games. After all, the novel has its limitations: “the four walls of our domain are: what is seen, what is said, what is done, and what became of it.” Thus the story focuses on the exploits of its protagonist, Richard Smith. Smith is a young Londoner who seems to be well read, well travelled, and current on the fashions of the time. But his past seems obscure, as is his mission in America. This is the central mystery of the novel and leads to much bizarre speculation among the inhabitants of Manhattan.
The other characters in the novel are stereotypes whose main functions seem to be informing Smith about the finer points of life in their city. Tabitha Lovell is an abrasive, sharped-tongued shrew, who serves as the love interest. Septimus Oakeshott, the closeted gay secretary to Governor George Clinton, is the sidekick. Gregory Lovell is the wealthy merchant who moves the plot forward by delaying the payout to Richard, but introduces him to New York society. Zephyra and Achilles are slaves who elicit an unusual amount of empathy from Smith. Chief Justice James De Lancey and Governor Clinton are real historical figures and thus provide an historical context.
The plot careens at breakneck speed following Smith’s arrival with a fortune (a £1,000 note) that he needs cashed. This leads to much mayhem including illicit bathhouse trysts, harrowing midnight escapes from Guy Fawkes Day revelers, a duel, a murder, a fumbling attempt at sex with a well endowed ageing actress, a stint in prison, and an amateur theater performance. The unrelenting action reminds one that the early novels had plots aimed at keeping the readers coming back for the next installment in the periodicals of the day. Much of it is engaging, but one gets the feeling that it may be a little over-the top for modern adult readers.
We follow Mr Smith through these two months of waiting for his money to be paid and we see his rise and fall in social standing as misfortunes and tragedy dog him. The final revelation of his purpose and intent in New York is both shocking and moving.
Francis Spufford’s first novel is excellent. His grip on the historical context is strong - both in terms of the physical world of New York and the way society works and in terms of the attitudes and viewpoints of the citizenry. His language reflects the style of the mid-18th century English world, but is never less than clear.
A fascinating look at that time, but the climax wasn't, really.
The story follows an English adventurer who arrives from London in a New York which in 1746 is barely more than a large village, armed with a money order for a thousand pounds. He gets enmeshed in the various intrigues of a local population small enough for everyone to know everyone else's business, and flirts with disaster several times before the plot reaches a surprisingly clever and intricately plotted conclusion.
Much of the history is fascinating, many of the place names appearing in their original Dutch spellings. The language is a wonderful hybrid, full of archaic usages but never difficult to follow, and the plot is mostly that of a traditional adventure story.
A very enjoyable read - highly recommended
I requested a galley of Golden Hill because I had read Francis Spufford's marvelous book I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination, which I savored for its beautiful writing and enjoyed for its subject matter. Golden Hill is Spufford's first foray into fiction.
A Novel of Old New York: Golden Hill is a 'colonial counterpart to Joseph Andrews or David Simple,' the story of a young man learning the hard way about how things operate in the New World.
Mr. Smith, our hero, undergoes a series of unfortunate incidents, including imprisonment, a duel, and a death sentence. His morals are corrupted by a lusty older woman, alienating him from his true love. He has come to New York on a secret mission, which makes him suspect. Could he be a French spy? At the end, he pulls off a venture that amazes everyone.
Spufford fully captures the spirit of the early novels by Henry Fielding. The reader is addressed by the author. There are page-long sentences. Hilarious situations abound.
Readers will marvel at how little they know about 18th c New York, then a city of 7,000 persons and still very Dutch. New Yorkers are loyal to the King of England, and Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated with riot and mayhem. Wealth is on paper, with limited paper and coin currency in circulation; each colony has its own specie, and international coin circulates. Smith participates in a staging of Addison's play Cato with its theme of liberty--George Washington's favorite play.
The end of the novel has a surprise revelation that feels more modern in sensibility but is satisfying.
Reading this novel was such fun. It may be time to revisit Fielding again.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I requested a galley of Golden Hill because I had read Francis Spufford's marvelous book I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination, which I savored for its beautiful writing and enjoyed for its subject matter. Golden Hill is Spufford's first foray into fiction.
A Novel of Old New York: Golden Hill is a 'colonial counterpart to Joseph Andrews or David Simple,' the story of a young man learning the hard way about how things operate in the New World.
Mr. Smith, our hero, undergoes a series of unfortunate incidents, including imprisonment, a duel, and a death sentence. His morals are corrupted by a lusty older woman, alienating him from his true love. He has come to New York on a secret mission, which makes him suspect. Could he be a French spy? At the end, he pulls off a venture that amazes everyone.
Spufford fully captures the spirit of the early novels by Henry Fielding. The reader is addressed by the author. There are page-long sentences. Hilarious situations abound.
Readers will marvel at how little they know about 18th c New York, then a city of 7,000 persons and still very Dutch. New Yorkers are loyal to the King of England, and Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated with riot and mayhem. Wealth is on paper, with limited paper and coin currency in circulation; each colony has its own specie, and international coin circulates. Smith participates in a staging of Addison's play Cato with its theme of liberty--George Washington's favorite play.
The end of the novel has a surprise revelation that feels more modern in sensibility but is satisfying.
Reading this novel was such fun. It may be time to revisit Fielding again.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review