JOY STREET

by Frances Parkinson Keyes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 12, 1950

This meticulously caparisoned romantic novel of our own times does for the Beacon Hill (and environs) aspects of Boston what she did (in our opinion more successfully) for the glamorous New Orleans in Crescent In Jy Street the personality types are the focus of the story rather than the personality of the city itself and in Roger Field and Emily Thayer, idealistic and aspiring to break out of the shell of their conservative and conventional upbringing, she has drawn credible characters. While the story of their marriage is intended to be a story of their growing up, actually circumstances outside themselves supply the catalysts, and neither Roger (who dies before the book's end) nor Emily (whose second marriage to the man who represented the antithesis of her own background) seems very different at the close. Her mind and heart accept -- while her instinctive emotions still reject those divergences from the norm she has been brought up to demand. Across the detailed panorama of Boston, its de luxe homes in the vicinity of famed Louisburg Square, the tenement district just over the brow of Beacon Hill, the inside picture of its business and professional offices, the courtroom scenes, the restaurants, all have the note of authenticity associated with Mrs. Keyes' portrayal of background, the intimate details of clothes and food and decorations that her devoted audience demands. The minor characters for this reader had more reality than the principals, and the grandmother, patrician matriarch, commanded more respect and affection than the scions of the succeeding generations. Dependable story telling, and pleasant reading. Surely popular, though not top drawer Keyes. Tremendous promotion planned.

Pub Date: Dec. 12, 1950

ISBN: 0548444552

Page Count: -

Publisher: Messner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1950

Categories: FICTION