Publisher:
William Morrow Paperbacks
Date: February 5, 2013 (Reissue)
ISBN:
978-0062229359
Pages: 480
Rating
5 out of 5
Book Summary: The
final installment of the saga of the Grevilles of Abingdon Pryory begins in the
early 1930s, as the dizzy gaiety of the Jazz Age comes to a shattering end.
What follows is a decade of change and uncertainty, as the younger generation,
born during or just after the “war to end all wars,” comes of age.
American writer Martin Rilke has made his journalistic mark,
earning worldwide fame with his radio broadcasts, and young Albert Thaxton
seeks to follow in his footsteps as a foreign correspondent. Derek Ramsey, born
only weeks after his father fell in France, and Colin Ross, a dashing Yankee,
leave their schoolboy days behind and enter fighter pilot training as young
men. The beautiful Wood-Lacy twins, Jennifer and Victoria, and their passionate
younger sister, Kate, strive to forge independent paths, while learning to love—and
to let go.
In their heady youth and bittersweet growth to adulthood,
they are the future—but the shadows that touched the lives of the generation
before are destined to reach out to their own.
My Thoughts: The final book of the Greville Family
trilogy opens with Lord Greville, Earl of Stanmore, rising and dressing early,
as was his habit, on one of the first warm mornings in the spring of 1930. This opening is harkens back to chapter one
in The Passing Bells, the first of the
trilogy. In those opening pages, Lord
Greville, a much younger man, spent his mornings horse-back riding while his
family slept. Now, Lord Greville is sixty-eight
and though the passing years have seen a plethora of changes and modernization,
Lord Greville’s maintained his conservative, aristocratic ways. On this
beautiful morning, he learns of a shocking occurrence that deeply saddens him shaking
him to his core. He is thrust into the past, overwhelmed by
memories of a former time that addle his mind. Here, author Phillip Rock captures so well a
feeling familiar to us all, but difficult to explain. We’ve all experienced an incident, either
trivial or much more important, that comes to us unbidden and suddenly. At this time, we’re reminded of a glorious
time in our past that we miss deeply but we know is lost to us forever. Not only does Rock use these passages to
evoke our empathy, Rock impressively guarantees here that A Future Arrived can
stand on its own, apart from the first two books, for readers who haven’t had
the pleasure of reading this trilogy from book one.
I was happy to see
that, right from the beginning, this book promised to maintain the high
standards and relatable, if not completely familiar, feelings and situations of
the previous two. As a result, the way Rock relays this sad
occurrence, Lord Greville’s reaction and the events that follow, is an
effective means of underscoring the arrival of the future. You can feel what Lord Greville is feeling: the
sense that now the future belongs to the generation of his children and their
families. He can no longer ignore that an era has passed and life has truly
moved on. Lord Greville his happy as his children and
their families, along with his close friends, fill Abingdon Pryory to show
their love and support but he can no longer deny he’s lost complete control
over his own life. Having read the first
two books, this book’s beginning becomes something more than poignant, but even
if you haven’t read them, you know this is a great indication of a good book
ahead.
Reading A Future
Arrived was bittersweet. I was sad knowing I had come to the end of the
trilogy, remembering how much fun it was to meet the saga’s characters in The Passing Bells. (my review) Then came learning who they were and what
they’re about over the course of the first two books, within which Rock does an
amazing job developing the many characters.
They are fully formed in all areas: mentally, psychologically, morally,
and even physically. I came away from
the first novel feeling like they were all real people. It was
a joy to immerse myself in the second installment, Circles of Time, (my review) and discover what the characters who I felt I knew
so well were doing. It was as if I was
visiting old friends after a long separation and, over good food and drink,
(although not like Lady Hanna’s feast, unfortunately!) they relayed their ‘adventures’
since last we’d met.
Martin Rilke, the American journalist and Lady Hanna’s
nephew, continues to be the connection between most of the other characters. He’s
intelligent, kind, a good listener, free of judgment and amicable. But it’s Martin’s integrity that’s made him a
household name as a writer and is bringing him fame as a radio correspondent. He’s also the one friends and family seek out
for advice in confusing and serious matters. Martin’s young brother-in-law, Albert Thaxton,
has his sights set on being a journalist like Martin. He’s taken Albert under his wing to teach him to
be a proper journalist. As we learned
about the Great War primarily through Martin and the people he met on his
travels in book one, Hitler’s influence in Germany and the advent of World War
II is brought to us through Martin and Albert. Martin and Albert’s relationship
is a poignant reminder of the woman who brought them together, Ivy Thaxton. She’s
the love of Martin’s life and, although there marriage was quite brief, Martin
hasn’t found a woman he could love as he loved Ivy.
Phillip Rock began his trilogy with the Great War and ends
it with the beginning of WWII. In between,
he successfully shows us how war impacts the lives of the people it touches. We become aware of how much people’s behavior is
altered and societal norms become less important. We see in Rock’s characters how significant
honesty becomes in relationships and people become aware of the need to show
and tell others you love them and to cherish your time with them. Inappropriate behavior is explained away by
the stress associated with war and individual’s perspective on what really
matters in life undergoes significant change. The chasm between generations seems to widen
as young people becomes more open-minded while their elders cling to what they
always known and believed. In Rock’s mesmerizing
saga we see how all of these things come to pass particularly with the youngest
generation in A Future Arrived
including Lord Greville and Lady Hanna’s grandchildren.
I’m sad to finish these books. I highly recommend them to anyone who has
enjoyed Downton Abbey, British fiction and stories about the world wars. Rock’s writing is beautiful and he
transitions smoothly from character to character, year to year and even book to
book. I didn’t speak about specific
characters for the most part because there are so many and they seem to come in
pairs or more so I thought I’d leave it to you to discover the wonder and
breadth of Rock’s characters. Their
lives are filled with love, loyalty redemption, loss, forgiveness, friendship,
laughter and tears. You don’t want to
miss this trilogy. Trust me!
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