Devil Water

This fiercely beautiful novel tells the true story of Charles Radcliff, a Catholic nobleman who joined the short-lived Jacobite rebellion of 1715, and of his daughter, Jenny, by a secret marriage. Set in the wilds of Northumbria, teeming London, and colonial Virginia—where Jenny eventually settled on the estate of the famous William Byrd of Westover—Jenny’s story reveals one young woman’s loyalty, passion, and courage as she struggles between living in the Old World and the New. This vividly powerful novel, like its predecessor The Winthrop Woman, combines thoroughly documented history with superb storytelling.

I first attempted to read Devil Water about 20 years ago, but was unable to even get through chapter one. It is testament to how my reading tastes have matured, I suppose, that this time around when I picked it up, I found the story completely engrossing right from the start until its conclusion 500 pages later.

It was Anya Seton's particular gift as a writer, to be able to discover some all-but-forgotten person in history, take what little bits of information were known about them, and develop it into a full, detailed, rich and completely credible story. And nowhere does she display that gift more thoroughly than in Devil Water. In fact, as she tells in her notes at the end, there is understandably no documented evidence of Jenny at all. The only "proof" of her existence is in the legends passed down through the Snowdon and Radcliffe families. And yet, from these little scraps of folklore, her prodigious research into the lives of people who really did exist, and her own prolific imagination, Anya Seton creates a wonderfully full story of Jenny's life complete with a full cast of minor characters.

Jenny is the most admirable of all the Seton heroines I have read about so far. She is not only beautiful (as all the Seton heroines are) but she is brave, fearless, and with a mind of her own. I like that Seton doesn't have Jenny flouting these qualities all the time; indeed, most of the time she is obedient, charming, and pliable as she has been trained to be. It is only at critical moments, when it deeply matters to her, that Jenny displays her backbone of steel and doesn't cave in to the pressure of the men in her life. She also displays her independent mind in that she never buys into her father's Catholicism or belief in the Jacobite cause; she loves her father but often quietly disagrees with him. Jenny is also remarkable because, in spite of her inauspicious beginnings, difficult childhood, and odd relationship with her father, she manages to remain whole and unscathed. It is not until she marries at age 17 that she finally has a place of her own in the world, and feels that she truly belongs instead of living on someone else's favor. And yet, she is never bitter, never "warped", and indeed at times displays much better sense than either her father or her husband.

The underlying theme of Devil Water is loyalty. It is the one quality that dominates the lives of both Charles and Jenny, and indeed binds all of the major characters together. It is loyalty that ties Charles to the losing Jacobite cause that dominates his life. Perhaps it is even loyalty that causes him to love Jenny after his fashion, and to occasionally attempt to make her life better. It is loyalty that drives Jenny, also, perhaps loyalty that she inherited from her father; nearly all of her actions are driven by loyalty to her father, her husband, or to the dear friends who have been good to her and helped her.

As usual, Seton creates a wonderful sense of time and place; Northumberland, London and Colonial Virginia all come alive in these pages and the reader is transported to each place. This is a book I could hardly put down. There was never a slow spot, the story and the pace never lagged. The book is bittersweet from beginning to end, and Jenny is a heroine that truly inspires admiration.

A novel following the actual historical figure of Charles Radcliff (and his daughter), younger brother of James, Earl of Derwentwater, who was one of the leaders of the Jacobite revolt in 1715.

This book had me totally hooked from the very beginning. I was never once bored or waiting to get away from some character and back to another one. This book WOULD have been a 5 star, except for 1 way over the top incident about 70 pages from the end, from which, in my opinion, the book never recovered (or at least, my opinion of the book never recovered.)

Other than that, it was a great book, and I'll be seeking out more Anya Seton.

To begin with, I want to say that this is my first Seton novel, and the only reason I took it up is because I adore all things Jacobite. At first I was skeptical, as I'm usually weary of novels which have garnered a surreal amount of praise- an odd disposition, I realize. But this was really quite impressive. The characters are very endearing, from Charles (who was somewhat of an acquired taste for me, I have to say) and his ill-fated brother James (who was my favorite from the beginning) to Charles's daughter Jenny (who I wanted to bash over the head with a frying pan at times, but Seton still managed to make me like her anyways- an impressive feat in itself). I was amazed at the way Seton managed to take the historical figures in her novel and turn them into wholly believable novel-characters. Usually, if I give a bad review, it's because the characters are poorly developed, but even I couldn't find fault with Seton's master development.

The story itself is very touching- and I don't really think that this can be qualified as a romance novel, per se. It's really about Charles and Jenny, and the strong paternal love Charles has for his daughter, despite the fact that he has come to dislike (and even perhaps condescend upon) Jenny's mother and her Snowdon relations. It's also about the rift that these two very different bloodlines cause in Jenny, who sometimes lapses back into her low-born Northern dialect, and at other times toasts to the would-be King James like any proud Radcliffe would. With Rob and Charles seeming to pull her two different ways, Jenny has a bit of a struggle feeling truly rooted to anything. And I feel that this is the main conflict of DEVIL WATER. So, really, it's not a romance. If it had been, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much, because I found the passages about Jenny and Rob to be the least interesting part of the story. Also, [SPOILER WARNING] I didn't approve of their reconciliation in the end, especially after what he did to her when she told him she was going to join her father. Abuse is not something that should be forgiven so lightly, if at all. And I also kept thinking that Rob was being rather petty (and, again, abusive), having jealousies over Jenny's relationship with her own father. He's probably my least favorite character in this story, and that being said, my point is that I'm glad this wasn't a romance novel. [/SPOILERS]

Also, that part about the Duke of Wharton? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is fabricated, right? I know he had a Hell-Fire club, but there's really nothing to suggest that anything cruel took place during their meetings. I feel that might have been an injustice to him, although this is historical fiction and I realize the author has a right to take certain liberties with her characters. But still.

Overall, this book was an unexpected pleasure to read. It is very different than anything I've ever read, and I've rarely felt quite so attached to the characters of a novel before. A very good read, and very recommended.

A great tale of history that directly impacted the colonialization of American shores. While this is not Anya Seton's strongest writing, it is a compelling story of real people caught up in horrific times compelled by religious fervor to commit brave, heroic, and perhaps foolhardy acts. While Charles Radclyffe seems to be the "hero" of the story and takes up most of the pages, the secondary character who appealed most to me was his brother James, 2nd Earl of Derwintwater. Charles more or less escapes his come-uppances throughout life, and James pays the price for him until the very end.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I have to say, I totally agree with the reviewer who couldn't bear to read another "hinnie". The Scottish words felt forced to me, and where I wanted a story on Charles's life and deeds, it was more like disjointed flashbacks to me. Disappointing, but not terrible.