Dawn's Early Light

By Elswyth Thane

Against a background of Williamsburg's quiet streets, the pomp of the Palace during the last days of British rule, and the excitement and triumph which swirled through the Raleigh Tavern, this title presents the human story behind America's first war for liberty, and of men and women loving and laughing through war to the dawn of a better world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Hale
• Release date: Dec 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9780719813399

Reviews for Dawn's Early Light

[kerilynned · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love historical fiction and I have been wanting to read one set during the Revolutionary War for awhile now. This one satisfies a Book Battle criteria as well as a Popsugar Challenge criteria! I love when that happens! I enjoyed the storyline even though it did drag by quite a bit. There were times I would read really quickly and it would get interesting to then go back to a slower pace. I liked the all the main characters except for Rachel, she was super annoying but I suppose she was pretty accurate for that time period. The relationship between Julian and Tibby was also very odd. I know this book is the first in a series but I haven't decided yet if I will continue on to the other books.

[emmytuck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[kiwiria_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A 2.5 star review.

It has taken me ridiculously long time to finish this book, and I do feel bad about giving it such a low rating, but considering how long I've been reading it, I can't in good conscience claim that it was any better than ok.

The book is split up into three parts. The first part where Julian arrives to the USA and get settles I really liked. That part was a breeze to get through. I loved reading about his friendship with St. John and his job as a teacher - not to mention Kit and Tibby. Had the entire book been like that, I would probably have given it 4 stars. Unfortunately then the Revolution started, and with it a much more boring part two. Eslwyth Thane did not manage to make that interesting for me at all and part two was a chore to slog through.

Part 3 was fortunately somewhat a mix of part one and two, so while not quite as good an end as the beginning had lead up to, at least it did end on a better note than I at one point feared.

Guess I'll return to Diana Gabaldon instead for books about the Revolution.

[schmerguls · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[epmatthews · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For many years one of my two all-time favorites. It's easier now that it once was to find historical fiction with strong female leads, and this one is a jewel. Well-written, well-plotted, historically fascinating, and just a hint of romance to keep it all glued together.