From Publishers Weekly
Set in turn-of-the-century New York, Plain's latest is a stirring novel that focuses on irrepressible Hennie De Riveraaunt of Evergreen's Paul Wernerand her family. Hennie's stagnant existence ends when she begins dating Dan Roth, an impoverished science teacher and social reformer who despises the materialistic excesses of the rich. She weds Dan despite her middle-class family's objections and her knowledge of his earlier womanizing. The marriage is tested when Dan's activism alienates Hennie's wealthy brother-in-law, Walter Werner, whose father owns tenements, and when Hennie agrees to raise Leah, daughter of a dying factory worker. The girl matures into a shrewd, forceful woman who gravitates toward the Roths' exceptionally mild-mannered son, Freddy. While their relationship intensifies, Walter's son, Paul, weds affluent Mimi Mayer, yet he cannot dismiss his passion for Anna, his mother's winsome maid. Plain (Random Winds, Eden Burning invests her story with dignity and historical relevance while insightfully depicting the class consciousness of Progressive Era Americans. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selections; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In her highly successful novel Evergreen and the miniseries that followed, Plain told the story of immigrant Anna Friedman and her love for Paul Werner. Here the focus shifts to Paul's aunt, Hennie DeRivera, from age 18 in 1891 through World War I. As a volunteer, Hennie teaches English at a settlement house where she meets Daniel Roth. Their relationship is frowned upon by her family, but they marry when she becomes pregnant. Her uncertainty over whether Dan would have married her otherwise is aggravated by his roving eye. The grown-up Paul, Hennie's son Fred, and Leah, an orphan she raises, are also featured. Characterizations are often superficial but sparked by an occasional insight into motivations, hinting of skills better realized in earlier novels. Interest in the family carries the reader forward and will certainly prompt demand. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selections. Ellen Kaye Stoppel, Drake Univ. Law Lib., Des MoinesCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this magnificent return to the world of Evergreen, Henrietta Roth, an extraordinary woman, fights to control her destiny; and three turbulent generations come vividly to life against a background of immigrant struggle, war, and passion.

"A page-turner... Hard to put down." — The Washington Post

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Set in turn-of-the-century New York, Plain's latest is a stirring novel that focuses on irrepressible Hennie De Riveraaunt of Evergreen's Paul Wernerand her family. Hennie's stagnant existence ends when she begins dating Dan Roth, an impoverished science teacher and social reformer who despises the materialistic excesses of the rich. She weds Dan despite her middle-class family's objections and her knowledge of his earlier womanizing. The marriage is tested when Dan's activism alienates Hennie's wealthy brother-in-law, Walter Werner, whose father owns tenements, and when Hennie agrees to raise Leah, daughter of a dying factory worker. The girl matures into a shrewd, forceful woman who gravitates toward the Roths' exceptionally mild-mannered son, Freddy. While their relationship intensifies, Walter's son, Paul, weds affluent Mimi Mayer, yet he cannot dismiss his passion for Anna, his mother's winsome maid. Plain (Random Winds, Eden Burning invests her story with dignity and historical relevance while insightfully depicting the class consciousness of Progressive Era Americans. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selections; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection. (October 1)

Library Journal