Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
A well written romp through18th century New York
Combining historical and geographical fiction, Golden Hill by Francis Spufford transported us back to the 18thcentury, and across the Atlantic to New York.
The story – definitely more of a tale – centres around the mysterious Mr Smith, a young man from London who arrives in New York with a bill of exchange valued for around one thousand pounds. Understanding more about Mr Smith, who he really is, the nature of his business, and the source of his wealth fuels the plot and ensures that we readers are compelled to keep turning until the very last page.
Did our group think that the romp with Mr Smith was time well spent? Our reluctant verdict was that this was worth reading but probably not a book we would wholeheartedly recommend.
Any hesitance to criticise Golden Hill stems from our admiration for the quality of the writing. Spufford’s way with words is impressive. He convincingly leads us back in time to the early years of a somewhat provincial and parochial New York with marked contrasts to the scale and diversity evidence in London at that time. The portrayal of a young New York was interesting and we were fascinated to learn how influential the early Dutch settlers had been.
However, these strengths were offset by a tendency for the story to move into slapstick territory with pantomime characters acting out a series of unlikely and unfortunate events including a robbery, a murder, a jail sentence, a love affair and a play. Whilst peripherally entertaining, these colourful events did little to move the plot forward.
Perhaps the swashbuckling approach was a deliberate intention to add levity to the rather weighty themes underlying this tale? Themes of diversity, inequality, judgement, society, justice and charity.
The long awaited reveal is made in the final paragraphs. In the end – maybe inevitably given the structure of the tale - it was somewhat of an anti-climax failing to live up to the expectations we had built up over the course of so many pages and frolicking episodes.
We dined at The Blackbird, Ponteland and can heartily recommend that experience. It was one of our earlier indoor meals after the UK opened up after lockdown and business was booming. The restaurant was buzzing, we felt safe, and both the food and the service were excellent.
And so we moved on to the next book of the summer : The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
