JOHN JAKES

In the late nineteenth century, Newport, Rhode Island - with its giant marble mansions, lavish dinner parties, and vicious social climbing - is a summer playground of the very rich. Into this rarefied world comes infamous railroad mogul and robber baron Sam Driver. He wants his beautiful daughter to have the best Newport has to offer - even if that means breaking all the rules...John Jakes brings his formidable writing talent to bring to life an America of the 1890s, an era where outrageous opulence masked societys dark underbelly.

John Jakes continues the fascinating story of the Crown family dynasty in Chicago. Moving from 1906 to 1917, AMERICAN DREAMS brings to life a brash young nation taking its place on an international stage as the children of the German immigrant Crown family prepare themselves for the excitement of a new century. As Fritzi Crown becomes a comedy film star, her younger brother Carl seeks greater thrills in flying planes and their cousin Paul finds his destiny filming the destruction wrought by World War I to show Americans back home. From the early carefree days of a new century to the stark realities of the first world war, AMERICAN DREAMS goes through a decade of change with the men and women who coloured a nations future. As he has in his previous bestsellers, John Jakes combines deep historical research with a powerful story peopled by characters both vivid and memorable. AMERICAN DREAMS once again brings Jakes legions of readers the drama and passion that are his hallmarks.

It is America 1861 and North and South have never seemed further apart: the threat of civil war hangs heavy in the air...For Lon Price, the issue is simple. He has inherited from his Methodist father both a burning sense of right and wrong, and a desire to see an end to slavery. So much so that he is prepared to resign from the Pinkerton police agency to fight for the North. But his departure is not necessary, for the federal government is well aware of the agencys work, and in Lon they see a primie candidate for secret service... Margaret Miller is part of a family that prides itself on supporting the South: her father Calhoun is owner of the secession supporting Baltimore Independent; her brother Cicero has similar views, though the circles he moves in are considerably less law-abiding. When Calhoun is killed by a Yankee bullet, Margaret becomes as determined as Lon to uphold the ideals of her father...www.johnjakes.com

Georgia 1864: General Shermans army marches inexorably from Atlanta to the sea. In its path: the charming old city of Savannah, where the Lester ladies - attractive widow Sara and her feisty twelve-year-old daughter Hattie - struggle to save the family rice plantation. When Sherman offers the conquered city to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift, Hattie and the feared general find themselves on a collision course that will astonish both of them.