City of Glory

Set against the dramatic backdrop of America’s during the War of 1812, Beverly Swerling’s gripping and intricately plotted sequel to the much-loved City of Dreams plunges deep into the crowded streets of old New York. When Joyful Patrick Turner—dashing war hero and brilliant surgeon—loses his hand to a British shell, he retreats to private life and looks to make his fortune in the China trade. To succeed he must run the British blockade; if he fails, he will lose not only a livelihood, but the beautiful Manon, daughter of a Huguenot jeweler who will not accept a pauper as a son-in-law. But when stories of a lost treasure and a mysterious diamond draw him into a treacherous maze of deceit and double-cross, and the British set Washington ablaze, Joyful realizes that more than his personal future is at stake. His adversary, Gornt Blakeman, has a lust for power that will not be sated until he claims Joyful’s fiancée as his wife and half a nation as his personal fiefdom. Like the Turners before him, Joyful must choose between his dreams or his country. Vivid and captivating, City of Glory is a stirring adventure that deftly interweaves the historical and political events of the War of 1812 with the tale of a group of men and women whose ambition and sagacity lay the foundation for New York’s rise to one of the greatest cities in the world.