God Is an Englishman

First half of the book is great. Especially if you are an entrepreneur. Kinda goes downhill after that.

Adam Swann has followed his family's tradition of military service for long enough to turn 30. He's seen a lot during those years, including a horrific massacre of civilians. When chance places a fortune in rubies in his hands, he's more than ready to make drastic changes. Back to England he goes, the England of a world just prior to the American Civil War, looking for a better way to spend his life. He finds it in two places. First, in a revolutionary business idea sparked by an encounter with a railway official; and second, in a runaway young woman. He marries the woman, factory heiress Henrietta Rawlinson (who's swiftly disinherited by her infuriated father), and he turns the idea into a hauling firm that deliberately fits itself into all the gaps the railway system cannot fill. That's the bare outline. What makes this novel remarkable, though, isn't its plot. It's the characters, and the way author Delderfield lets them grow naturally out of the time and place in which he sets them. Adam Swann is in many ways a man ahead of that time, disgusted by what he's seen in war and determined to make his way in the world without committing outrages against basic human decency. In fact, he's determined to make a difference for the better while succeeding as a businessman. Henrietta, blessed with her enterpreneur father's sharp mind and quick wits for commerce, grows from a willful, uneducated and thoroughly spoiled girl into a worthy and even challenging partner for Adam in the course of the book's 800-some pages. Nothing seems forced, and none of the details of Victorian England ring false, in all of those pages. Some of the best reading comes from secondary characters who weave in and out of the main story, because each is well drawn and interesting - no matter how brief the appearance. A tour-de-force, all in all. One of the best "family sagas" around, still, nearly 40 years after its publication.

This book is a must read for any Anglophile. The story traces the development of a haulage firm that serves all of Enland and Wales and part of Scotland. While that is the major focus, the family life of the founder of "Swan on Wheels" is very much a part of it. In fact, all the characters involved are well presented with divergent and believable personalities.

I am 15 and I loved God is an Englishman. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and the hours I spent on the 816 pages flew by. I found myself trying to finish my homework as early as possible so that I could get to the book before bed. It was also wonderful because it gave me so much to relate to in my Modern European History Class, where we are studying the same time period. I understand the events that we are learning about much more clearly because of Adam and Henrietta Swann. Everyone should read this book, I can't wait to read the other two!

MY WIFE KEPT TELLING ME WHAT A GOOD "READ" THIS BOOK IS.I FINALLY FOUND ALL 3 SWANN SAGA BOOKS AT A USED SALE & I HAVENT LOOKED BACK.THIS AUTHOR HAS THE KNACK TO RELATE TO THE READER EVERY BIT OF WHAT ADAM 'N HETTY WERE EXPERIENCING IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND.I HAVE BEEN IN WHEELED TRANSPORTATION 40 YEARS AND I FELT LIKE I WAS WALKING STEP FOR STEP WITH ADAM SWANN FROM THE TIME HE FOUND THE RUBY NECKLACE TO THE 1ST MAXIE 10 TRK ORDER.I LAUGHED N CRIED THRU OUT EACH VOLUME.I AM NOW IN A SEARCH MODE FOR ANY N ALL OF DELDERFIELD BOOKS I HAVENT READ.I'D LIKE TO SEE A FAN CLUB....

This is the first R.F. Delderfield bok that I've read, and I throughly intend to read more. This is a very suspenseful novel, full of twists and turns. At first I was reluctant to read it, it seemed like just another boring, wordy book with no action. But, on advice from a friend, I finally rescued it from my shelf to read. I'm glad I did. A must read.!