History, intrigue, romance, civil rights - Belfer's wonderful novel has it all. It has taken me an unusually long time to read this 500+ page novel, partially because of personal obligations, but also because it is so dense with characters, real and fictional, and historical detail that it was hard to keep track of everyone and everything going on. The setting is Buffalo, NY in 1901. The great Pan American exhibition (where President McKinley would be shot) is in it's final stages of development, giant power stations are producing electricity from Niagara Falls, and the working class are being exploited at every turn.
Beautiful spinster Louisa Barrett is the headmistress of prestigious girl's school and godmother to troubled 9-year-old Grace Sinclair. Grace's late adoptive mother was Louisa's best friend, and her father, Tom Sinclair, is the manager of the hydro-electric power plants at Niagara Falls, zealously protecting his project from those who fear that the plants will harm or dissipate the falls. When a key figure in the project is found dead after an argument with Tom, Louisa begins to question her loyalties while desperately trying to reconcile secrets from her own past. Excellent book, a BIG novel wonderfully crafted.
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