The Metcalfe Family Album: Six Generations of Traditions and Memories

This is a great book about the history of one family. It made me wish I had some sort of family journal. This is a great wedding present.

I bought this as a gift, but had to read the entire thing first! It's a really lovely story of generations of women & how they lived. The author speaks from different perspectives, changing with the times the characters live in. It's full of fascinating details about daily life in the past century. You'll get wrapped up in this fictional family's life, & it might inspire you to create your own family album.

One of the most beautiful and original books I have ever had the pleasure of reading, this multi-generational journal will appeal to anyone who is immersed in genealogy research. Each section of the book is enhanced with illustrations, newspaper clippings, and even an envelope containing a handwritten letter and wild rose petals. The handwriting of each contributor to the journal is realistically depicted in different script fonts. The book is a beautiful presentation and one of the most original works of literary art this book-lover has ever read. The author has done her historical research diligently, which is summarized in the endnotes at the back of the book. Until I read the fine print at the end, I believed I was reading an unedited journal that was actually written by these women, so realistic is the reproduction of war telegrams, letters, photographs, and artwork. If you appreciate family continuity and genealogy, you will love this book. I highly recommend it not only for its content but also its unique graphic presentation, artwork, and collage illustrations.

I was enthralled by this book. I grew in a tightly knit Indiana town, and the characters were very real to me. Although this is a work of fiction, it is so well crafted it is entirely believable as a true family album. My mother and mother in law can expect copies of this book for birthday gifts. It would also be a lovely gift to give to a new daughter in law.

The six women who give voice to "The Metcalfe Family Album" may be fictitious, but everything about them is real. It isn't just the lavish and loving attention to detail that makes the book special -- the Album is full of the kinds of design touches Chronicle Books is known for (they also did the "Griffin & Sabine" series). Nor is it all the period recipes and crafts, which are a treat (as well as an insight into just how complicated "simpler" times really were). The real joy of the Album is the intimate perspective it affords of the day by day lives of a series of remarkable women over a period of 160 years. Reading their journal entries, I felt their joys, frustrations and heartaches. There is a lot of grit and grace here. Each woman writes in a different script, which forces you to read more slowly. Once you get onto it, though, it brings a sense of authenticity -- you're reading the way they used to read! The Album begins in 1835 with Marianne, a well-born French immigrant who marries Joshua Metcalfe, an American, and sets out by wagon to their new home in the frontier woods of southern Indiana. Their rough hewn cabin becomes the heart of "High Meadow," a farm that will be handed down from generation to generation, right up to the present. Each new mistress of the household adds to Album, which always includes entries on Christmas traditions. The women are each of different nationalities -- Constance is Dutch, Anna is German, Kathleen is Irish, Jessie is English and Jan is a Yank. Their lives intersect with history -- wars, world's fairs, show business -- and with each other. The Album becomes a sort of sisterhood with the experiences of the first Metcalfe women helping those who come later.In a way, the "Album" reminds me of Edgar Lee Masters', "Spoon River Anthology," one of my favorite books. The people in "Spoon River" each tell their own stories in their own words. Woven together, a drama unfolds. The stories of the Metcalfe ladies give form to time, and texture to history. At the heart of it all is the idea of family. But this is more than just the story of one particular family. Reading the entries year by year, I began to feel a bit like a Metcalfe woman myself -- these women were writing for me! This book has a lot -- history, great storytelling and, of course, completely delicious recipes (check out the Black Walnut cake!)