Seneca Falls Inheritance

This book was recommended to me when I recently visited family back east for the first time in many years. I had asked directions,especially wanting to take my 18-year old daughter to the Women's Rights Museum in Seneca Falls on the drive from Seneca Lake to Syracuse. I remembered having seen the small blue sign along the rural highway and always regretting not having turned there. Being a teen in the 60's, I marveled that the consciousness-raising and role changes that were exploding then (and that now have made so many unappreciated opportunities for girls and women) began in the Finger Lakes area where my great grandparents had settled and my parents grew up! This novel recreates that era and makes the instigation of radical activities by Elizabeth Cady Stanton understandable through the description of the female and male character's lives. While an important theme, the women's rights information is peripheral to the main story. Some detail about characters is obvious but not distracting in the intention to prepare the reader for a series. As this is the first of a series written about a time of restricted public behavior for women, Glynis Tryon's cautious hesitance is understandable and realistic as she follows her instincts and intelligence to solve the murder. I have ordered more books in the series, and expect the maiden librarian's confidence to increase, just as we womenfolk each get more uppity as we proceed through life, finding that our feelings and ideas matter and that we can make a difference. The description of life along the Erie Canal, the foods served at Thanksgiving dinner, the vegetation and weather were surprisingly familiar to me. My elderly father took me into the Post Office in PennYan, N.Y. and showed me the numbered brass mailbox where,as a boy, he used to pick up his father's mail. There is a sturdy practicality common to Upstate New Yorkers that is also captured in Monfredo's characters. She truly conveys the spirit and history of the area. If you like the book, go visit! Seneca Falls (there really are beautiful falls there) is not far from Corning, N.Y., with a wonderful tour of the Corning Glass Works. Oneida Silver Company is located along Oneida Lake north of Syracuse. Drive west to Rochester and visit Kodak Corporation's informative exhibits. A bit furthertoward Buffalo is the beauty and power of Niagara Falls , where you can don a raincoat to ride the famous Maid of the Mist right into the whirling base of the falls. It was the American Indians in that area who told settlers that the long, clear Finger Lakes (Canadaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, and Cazenovia ) were formed by a swipe of the ancient Great Bear's paw. Although we usually think of bear as fierce, native americans saw him as a wise healer because he knew which plants to eat, and most like man, because he stood on two feet while grazing. A special area, even Joseph Smith had his spiritual experiences that began the Church of Latter Day Saints i

This is the first Glynis Tryon novel, and it is a rousing good story set against the background of Seneca Falls, an actual (NOT fictional) small town in the western part of upstate New York, in 1848, the year when the first women's rights convention was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and others. The convention took place in Seneca Falls. The main characters of the story are fictional, but many of the minor characters are real people of the time. The historical background is well-researched and mostly accurate. (I can't point to any historical inaccuracy, but even the best historical scholarship is unlikely to produce perfect knowledge of every detail.) Whether you are just looking for great light reading or for a story that enhances your knowledge of the early history of the women's movement, you'll find it here, and you'll also enjoy the sequels, North Star Conspiracy, Blackwater Spirits, The Stalking Horse, Must the Maiden Die" and others. NOTE TO HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHERS: These novels, and the novels of Kenneth Roberts (Rabble in Arms, Arundel and several others) provide an excellent means of bringing American history alive for your students, and getting them interested in the subject. [email protected]

This book and the other four Ms. Monfredo currently has out do an extraordinary job of incorporating women's history and lesser-known history into fascinating mysteries. I encourage you to read them in order, starting with this one, because she builds the characters throughout the series.

Whether you're a devoted mystery reader or just looking for a good book for the train-ride, this novel is worth a look. Glynis Tryon is an interesting protagonist--she's smart, she's kind, and she knows what she wants. In a nutshell, she's the kind of person you'd like for a friend. And Monfredo has a talent for expanding her characters, so that her Seneca Falls is populated by a whole town of people you'll get to know over the next few books, and will always be glad to see again. The next two books, North Star Conspiracy and Blackwater Spirits, are among the best mysteries I've ever read. But if you're going to read any of these books, make sure you start with this one, so that your familiarity with the characters develops along with the whole storyline. (I read North Star first, then had to go back and read this one and North Star again, in order to get the full effect.) This is a wonderful series--if you're at all interested in American history, you absolutely must r! ead these books--and a very good first novel.

Loved this book; loved all the characters; loved the history. Anyone interested in women's rights should read this book. Anyone who likes a good detective story should read this book. I's like to see a tv series made of these characters; my only complaint is, does Glynis have to be so strait-laced in the romance department?