Garfield'sTrain
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Category: Historical Fiction
Publisher: PublishAmerica Type: Fiction
Pages: 226
ISBN: 1413769152 Copyright: September, 2004
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A novel about the death of President James Garfield in Long Branch, NJ - 1881. Historical characters interact with fictional characters - with a supporting cast of Roscoe Conking, James G. Blaine, General Grant, Susan B. Anthony, and the Garfield family.
In August, 1947, I traveled by train across the country with my grandmother. The telegram had come two days before. Mollie Brown was dying and calling for Gran, her oldest and dearest friend. Gran was going, willy or nilly. She made it plain and clear, seventy-nine years old or not, she would not deny Mollie’s last wish. But Uncle Henry was adamant: No seventy-nine-year-old mother of his would travel from Pittsburgh to Pasadena by herself. Since I had six weeks till college started, I was dispatched. It was a free trip for me, and I had never been West before. Uncle Henry had originally suggested that we fly to California, and I was thrilled! But Gran said she would walk first before flying in the air, so the train it was. Besides, Gran always had a fondness for trains, she claimed.
She was anything but frail, and except for a few aches and pains and the reading glasses that she resented bitterly, she could have deducted ten years or more. I was happy to carry the luggage and hail the taxicabs. I considered it a long overdue vacation, and besides, I had never been far from home before. For four long years after I graduated high school, I worked in the office of Uncle Henry’s tool and die plant. His business was considered essential to the War effort, and Uncle Henry insisted he needed a smart gal to handle the paperwork that never ended. I wanted to go away to college, mainly to get away from living with my mother, but Uncle Henry said he needed me, and he promised that once the War was over and the men came home, I could go to college. He even said he’d pay for it, although I had my trust fund money from Daddy, and from my Pittsburgh Paint grandparents. Money wasn’t the problem: manpower, or perhaps I should say “woman power” was. Anyway, true to his word, I started school in the fall of 1945, and Uncle Henry was footing the bill. He told me to keep my money for a time when I might need it. Twenty-three wasn’t so old to be in college in 1947; thousands of young men my age were going back to school. Hal – Major Harry Brown – was twenty-seven, and he was back in school. Hal was Mollie Brown’s grandson and an unexpected benefit of the trip to bury Gran’s friend.
I had heard about Mollie Brown on and off all my life. Gran and Mollie had been friends since they were twelve or so. She was Mother’s godmother; Gran was godmother to Mollie’s son Rudy. In more than fifty years, they had seen each other only once or twice a decade, since Mollie had moved to California back when Theodore Roosevelt was President. But hardly a month passed that long letters didn’t cross in the mail, catching them up on each other’s lives. And every child and grandchild and great-grandchild in our family received a monogrammed silver cup from Tiffany’s when they were born - from Mollie Brown. The same, by the way, was true for Mollie’s family: monogrammed silver cups from Tiffany’s from Gran. The only difference was that Mollie preferred script, and Gran chose block lettering.
I remember the five silver cups lined up in my mother’s china cabinet: hers, mine, my two sisters’, and the brother’s who died when he was two. Cups had been sent to my sisters a few years ago – for Gran’s great-grandchildren. Uncle Henry’s side had cups – so did Uncle Walter’s. Quite a collection of Mollie-cups, as we called them. Now that Mollie was dying, there would be no more cups for my nieces or nephews on the way. Both my sisters were expecting again.
REVIEWS:
A Delightful Trip into Yesteryear - November 2005
Reviewed by Denise Cassino
www.alongstoryshort.net
Feather Schwartz Foster has created a delightful trip into yesteryear with Garfield’s Train, a historical novel filled with interesting facts and political interests at work. The story is told through a grandmother traveling by train with her granddaughter to the funeral of her lifelong friend, Molly Brown. In the course of the trip, we learn that Molly was the daughter of James A. Garfield, who was President for a brief six months before his assassination. The story nicely embroiders the political infighting, the simplicity of life “way back when” and the lifestyles of the rich and famous on the Jersey Shore during the 1870-80’s where much of the story takes place. After the funeral, the duo takes a side trip to return to Long Branch, New Jersey, finding it sadly and dramatically changed from fifty years earlier when Gran grew up there and times were vastly different. If you love historical fiction, you’ll love Garfield’s Train. Available through Amazon.com.
An Absolute Must Read
Reviewed by Christy Tillery French
For Midwest Reviews
In 1947, at the age of 23, Kate accompanies her grandmother, Louise Dunbar Stanfield, on a train trip across the country to visit her dying friend, Mollie Brown. As the train travels over the landscape, Louise tells Kate of her life as a child on the Jersey Shore, in a city called Long Branch. It was here the wealthiest families built elaborate homes and whiled away the days and evenings at elaborate casinos and racetracks. As her grandmother's story continues, Kate learns that Mollie Brown is actually the daughter of President James Garfield, who served in office only three months before being shot and subsequently dying three months later. During his last days, Garfield was brought back to Long Branch, where it was hoped he would recuperate.
This is a lovely story about a continuing friendship between two young girls and the events that transpired during an important time in our nation's history. GARFIELD'S TRAIN is a compelling read, blooming with historical facts evolving around history makers of the late nineteenth century. Of interest is the political wrangling that went on before Garfield's nomination and the country's reaction to his failing health after he was shot. An absolute must-read for history and political science lovers as well as anyone who enjoys spending time with a fascinating book. Highly recommended.
A Wonderful Piece of Fiction
Jen Hill
www.Roundtablereviews.com
I was immediately captivated with GARFIELD'S TRAIN. The book begins as the narrator (written in first person) tells the story of the time when she was a little girl riding on a cross country train with her grandmother to attend the funeral of her dear friend. Her grandmother begins telling her the story of her childhood and the little known world of politics and happenings in Long Branch, New Jersey.
This was a community that pulled together to build a section of railroad so that the dying President Garfield could come to Long Branch, where the cream of the politicians came to enjoy their summers, and live out his days peacefully without having the bump and jarring of riding in a wagon.
The author proudly displays her knowledge of little known bits and pieces of history in the retelling of certain actual events and people that have been left aside over the course of history. A bit tiresome at times because the book is being "told" instead of shown, nevertheless, the details and style of the author keep the pace and flow moving. The story itself is interesting, as if my own grandmother were telling me her stories from days gone by.
I found the book fascinating because I love American History. People who have become "footnotes" in history, as the author has said, get to the forefront and interact with the fictional characters that tell this story. Ms. Foster has created a wonderful piece of fiction that will have any history reader entertained and interested for the whole of the story. Who knows, maybe it will even spark readers to look up to see who Roscoe Conkling was and his place in American history.
Take a Trip on Garfield's Train
Mary Schneider, Muse Book Reviews
www.musebookreviews.com
Some friendships last for years. Some may last a lifetime. Friendships, even in fiction, that span history and bridge the gap into five generations are rare and special.
“In August, 1947, I traveled by train across the country with my grandmother. The telegram had come two days before. Mollie Brown was dying and calling for Gran, her oldest and dearest friend. Gran was going, willy or nilly.”
Thus begins Kate’s journey through the history of her grandmother’s family, the Dunbars, as they interact with some of the characters that make up American History. Along the way Kate meets many fascinating people, including Presidents, Generals and Senators. She learns the Dunbar family secrets and along the way, much about herself.
When the train arrives in Pasadena, Kate is amazed by the life left in a lady said to be on her deathbed and her brothers: “It was hard to believe that five elderly people could generate such genuine merriment- and noise.”
Soon Mollie is gone, and Kate and her grandmother begin the trip home. Only then does Louise reveal that Mollie was the daughter of a president- Garfield, and tells the rest of the story.
Stories are our dearest heritage. With each new generation, stories are born, live and die. The stories we cherish, care for over our lifetimes, and pass on like family heirlooms define us, and allow our influence to live on into the next generation. Kate
says of her grandmother: “She wasn’t telling me to pass the time; she wanted another living soul to know these things.”
My recommendation? Curl up with a cup of cocoa on a rainy, grey day, and take a trip on Garfield’s train.
I give this a Muse review rating of Good for it’s slow pace, but recommend it as a rainy day afternoon read for anyone interested in American history.
Garfield’s Train can be purchased through Amazon.com, B&N.com, or through the Publish America website.
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An Old-Fashioned Coming of Age Story
Review by Roma Desai
The history of every society in every part of the world includes its own version of storytelling – and Garfield’s Train continues to share the cumulative stories from one generation to the next. Garfield’s Train is a story about friendship, historical facts about Garfield’s nomination, political conflicts, and suggests with subtlety how these conflicts were resolved; surprise or even shock affecting some changes in the New York politics between 1842-1947.
Ms Feather Schwartz Foster is a compelling storyteller. Garfield’s Train is an old-fashioned coming of age story, fun to read, will keep readers glued to the pages.
For history lovers of all ages
(Reviewer - Dr. Alma Bond)
The assassination of President James Garfield, as told by a lifelong friend of his daughter.
Garfield's Train is a novel of the New Jersey Shore, when Long Branch was the “Gilded Strand” of the Gilded Age. The wealthiest families in the country built elaborate 30-room cottages along the seacoast, frequented the casinos & racetracks, & lived the good life. Then President Garfield was shot by an assassin in 1881. He lingered in pain for three months, & was finally brought to Long Branch to die.
The fictional Dunbar family interacts with a supporting cast of General Grant, Roscoe Conkling, James Blaine, Susan B. Anthony, & the entire Garfield family, recreating the bygone era of Long Branch's proudest hours.
Sr. Associate Reviewer Dr. Alma H. Bond writes:
Garfield's Train is an interesting glance into the not-so-distant past. Feather Schwartz Foster has been an “amateur” presidential historian for more than three decades, with a personal library of over 1,200 presidential related volumes. The depth of her scholarship is evident in Garfield's Train, which is an ideal shortcut for readers who enjoy learning about history but don't wish to spend time or energy delving into the research thoroughly investigated by the author. The shooting of the president is particularly well written, & leaves the reader rapidly turning pages to follow the course of Garfield's decline & eventual death.
Garfield's Train is an interesting & informative historical novel, & is recommended for history lovers of all ages, particularly those few who are old enough to remember events of the early twentieth century, when tales of Garfield's assassination were still rampant. It is also a good story of a deep lifelong friendship between two women, & the part it played in both their lives.
Despite its historical value, in the opinion of this reviewer, it is not of the caliber of Foster's first novel, Ladies: A Conjecture of Personalities, one of my all-time favorites.
(11/20/05)
Dr. Alma Bond
2005©Alma Bond
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer
A Very Touching Read
Reviewer: Rita Porter
Katherine Louise decides it is time to write down her family's archives; she wants the next generation to know their roots. At the age of seventy-nine, her memory is still sharp. She recalls the train ride with her grandmother Katherine for the last visit with Molly Brown, her childhood best friend and the children's godparent.
Once the train was underway, Katherine began to get to know her namesake better as she was drawn deep into the tale she was being told. Her grandmother had an amazing life. As a student of journalism, Katherine found the history of her grandmother coming to life with the words, almost being able to picture how it must have been.
Katherine was shocked to find out the truth behind Molly Brown. She was astonished she never had a clue about all that her grandmother had accomplished in her life, nor the treasures she held on to. Her grandmother's memory was filled with many notable famous people, including General Grant, General Sherman and President Garfield. What was most shocking to Katherine was the tie between Molly Brown, President Garfield, the Women's Suffrage Movement and her grandmother.
Within the common ground of a namesake, the two Katherines' characters interact with an openness that grandmothers around the world would wish to cultivate with their own grandchildren given the opportunity. The love between the two grows as they spend the time getting to know and to share Grandmother Katherine's long life. The uncles, portrayed within the pages, will remind the reader of the hilarity or seriousness of family interactions when all are together.
With a poignant touch, Feather Schwartz Foster has brought to life the part of family history we would value. Well-turned phrases, attention paid to details, and the added bonus of period fashions adds to the overall family and personal values shown with in Garfield’s Train. Painting the historical political time and the effects it has on a family on the fringes, grants us insight into the possibilities of how life was then.
Garfield’s Train is a very touching read, with lighthearted moments to spare the reader from being bogged down by an unknown family's history. This story has all the good aspects of a general book with romance, suspense and shock, and closure for all the characters involved.
Reviewed for Scribe & Quill
