Dawn's Early Light

This is the first book of the Williamsburg Series, which is one of my all-time favourite series. I love these books, and have the best parts almost memorized. The series follows the lives of four interconnected families from 1774 to 1941. Each of the seven books takes place during a war, or leading up to one, and the war is always very much part of the story. Most of my early knowledge of the various wars came from this series. Each book also features the romances of various members of the families. Unlike many family saga type books, almost all the family members are nice people who really care about one another.

Dawn's Early Light begins in 1774 with Julian Day's arrival in Virginia, and follows him through the American Revolution show more until 1781. I don't usually like historical fiction in which famous historical figures play a role, but such personages as Washington, Jefferson, and Lafayette fit seamlessly into the story, without straining credulity. There is a lot of historic information about politics, various battles, and the living conditions of the soldiers, which is leavened by the story of Julian and the families with whom his life becomes entwined. Elswyth Thane's characters are wonderfully drawn, and it is a joy to see them grow and develop over the course of the story. Strong friendships are as much a part of the book as the romances are. A wonderful book. show less

I originally read Dawn’s Early Light by Elswyth Thane many years ago and I held onto the memory of how much I enjoyed the book, so when I saw it was available for the Kindle I picked up a copy. This is the story of Julian Day, a young Englishman who arrives in Williamsburg, Virginia months before the beginning of the American Revolution. From his early stance of being pro-British, he eventually becomes so attached to his new country that by the middle of the book, he is off to join the American army.

The details about the various campaigns were well researched and full of interesting details. Also living and working in Williamsburg brought Julian into contact with many important men of the times, such as George Washington and Thomas show more Jefferson. This book is actually the first book in the author’s Williamsburg series, and so there are also many additional characters to follow. First and foremost is Tibby Mawes who meets Julian and falls in love with him, even though she is only eleven at the time. His best friend St. John Sprague draws him into his own family and Julian is treated as one of the family by St. John’s aunt and sister.

As much as I enjoyed revisiting this book, I am quite contented to end my reading of the series here. There are areas in the book, originally published in 1943, that I found quite dated, in particular, the author’s statements as to how happy and contented the slaves were but it certainly caught my attention that the colonists biggest concern when the British took the ammunition from their armoury was fear that the slaves would rise up against them. Overall I would say that I enjoyed reading about the various battles and campaigns, but that the romance angles felt contrived and rather superficial and didn’t really appeal to me as much as they did originally when I was twelve. show less

I decided to read this after seeing the many positive reviews on Goodreads, but unfortunately, the novel fell short of my expectations. It was a decent book, but I felt as though the language went from flowery to stilted rather abruptly, and a good chunk of the characters irritated me in some manner. I was drawn to the story because I heard the words "Williamsburg" and "Revolutionary War" - sadly, those alone weren't enough to make me fall in love with the book, unlike so many other readers. I doubt I will continue with the rest of the series... I'll stick to John Jakes' "North and South" trilogy for an American historical saga fix. (Not that the two are THAT similar - I'm just reminded of it a bit.)

What a good book! It's been a while since I've read an older book like this and I think I had been missing this style of writing, where the merit is based on the writing as much as the story (these days I've been focusing solely on the story).

The book is packed with history. At times it did feel like info-dumping and I didn't always need to know the movements of every troop throughout the entire war, but you can't deny that Thane did her research. It can read heavy (at times) with all of that information thrown at you, but then the fiction parts pull you in.

I thought all of the characters were well-developed and it was facinating watching them all mature and change over the course of seven years and through a war. Through her show more characters Thane was able to bring to life both the attitudes of the English toward the American Revolution and the American's attitudes toward the British. She really made the period come alive for me. I could vividly picture the period and the setting in my head and I came to love all of the characters. show less

In 1774, twenty-one-year-old Julian Day arrives in Williamsburg from England. Having lost his father on the voyage over, he first thinks to return to England as soon as he has earned his passage, but soon falls in love with Virginia and his adopted family—St. John Sprague, his best friend; St. John’s sister Dorothea, who is in love with him but whom he never seems to see clearly; and their Aunt Agatha, family matriarch. Even as war comes on and his loyalty to the King becomes a source of tension, he finds himself staying. He has taken a post as schoolmaster and come to know the Mawes twins, his student Kit and Kit’s sister Tibby. Tibby’s childish devotion to him matures as she grows into a fierce devotion. Julian’s loyalties show more shift as he becomes pulled into the war and acquainted with the great men of it, especially Francis Marion and the Marquis de Lafayette. Even as he grows into real manhood, he remains unaware of both women’s devotion and for a painfully long time is in love with St. John’s fiancée, who trifles with him.

These portraits and the depiction of Colonial Williamsburg are the best of the book. Despite some moving moments, in general it is seriously hampered by out-of-date mores, especially in the depictions of both slavery and romantic love (St. John, for instance, speaks apparently seriously of beating his future wife and how he can “master” her). show less

I only read this because the author was born in Iowa in 1900 and I thought I should read something by her. It is very"light" fiction, though the author has carefully researched the period. Julian Day comes to Williamsburg, Va., in 1774 and is at once welcomed by the people he gets to know. He is appalled by the attitude to George III, and the first two parts of the book are not very entrancing. But in Part III the hero gets into the fighting in the Revolution, and the pace improves mush, and the rather unlikely plot turns out to be really engaging and poignant. So I am ranking this book a lot higher than I thought I would when I was reading the opening chapters.

This is a richly detailed first novel in the historical "Williamsburg" series. It is beautifully imagined and detailed, a book that follows generations of families from colonial times through to the 20th century. It's a broad and sweeping epic that concentrates on characters who are integral to the revolutionary war, like St John Sprague, George Washington's aide, and others. Other historical figures come into play here in the novel as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and look forward to reading the next in the series. Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy.