Golden Hill

A Novel of Old New York

By: Francis Spufford

Narrated by: Sarah Borges

• Winner of the Costa First Novel Award
• Winner of the RSL Ondaatje Prize
• Winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize
• Named "Novel of the Year" by the UK'S Sunday Times

The spectacular first novel from acclaimed nonfiction author Francis Spufford follows the adventures of a mysterious young man in mid-18th century Manhattan, 30 years before the American Revolution.

New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan island, 1746. One rainy evening in November, a handsome young stranger fresh off the boat arrives at a countinghouse door on Golden Hill Street: This is Mr. Smith, amiable, charming, yet strangely determined to keep suspicion shimmering. For in his pocket, he has what seems to be an order for a thousand pounds, a huge sum, and he won't explain why, or where he comes from, or what he is planning to do in the colonies that requires so much money. Should the New York merchants trust him? Should they risk their credit and refuse to pay? Should they befriend him, seduce him, arrest him...maybe even kill him?

Rich in language and historical perception yet compulsively listenable, Golden Hill is a story "taut with twists and turns" that "keeps you gripped until its tour-de-force conclusion" (The Times, London). Spufford paints an irresistible picture of a New York provokingly different from its later metropolitan self but already entirely a place where a young man with a fast tongue can invent himself afresh, fall in love - and find a world of trouble.

©2017 Francis Spufford (P)2017 S&S Audio

Critic reviews

“Nothing short of a masterpiece.” ( The Guardian)

Good narration, even better tale

The mystery of "Richard Smith," a young man who shows up in mid-18th-century New York City with a £1000 check is examined over the course of this novel. Along the way there is romance, swordplay, double-dealing (with a feud between the colonial legislature and governor that mirrors the Obama-Congress stalemate of recent years). It almost seems Shakespearean.

Well...

...if you like a tale where the hero meets with one calamity after another, is insulted and wronged and never takes his recompense, then this book is for you. Nicely written and well-read, it nevertheless has a plot that disappoints.

Immensely Engaging and Craetive

If you could sum up Golden Hill in three words, what would they be?

Unique, historic, delightful

What did you like best about this story?

The use of period language and tone-- shades of Tristan Shandy.

Which scene was your favorite?

The staging of Cato the Elder

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The machinations behind the relationship between Smith and Tabitha

Any additional comments?

Terrific reader-- granted a a dozen or so words were mispronounced but the reading was brilliant nevertheless!

What a delightful surprise!

Would you listen to Golden Hill again? Why?

The story is intricate, and involving. I loved the evocation of pre-revolutionary New York.

What does Sarah Borges bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her narrative and vocal skills are extraordinary

Ehh.

I've been reading reviews of this book that claim it's some kind of literary such and such, but I don't see it. The reader makes the whole book seem pompous, affected, and strangely effeminate. I did enjoy some particularly well-written tidbits and I liked what history there was, although I felt it to be more, but I'm not sure that the story is truly there, and it certainly in no way a literary marvel. It is a good fun read and it's sad that others have played it up to be more than what it is.

So-so story, so-so narration

I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, and found the conceit of hiding Smith's identity and mission throughout the book annoying rather than intriguing. And I agree with other reviewers who found the narration weak and the editing sloppy - there were a lot of mispronunciations, and I found the dialogue overly dramatic, at the expense of clarity. For example, I played Septimus's final words over and over again, and never could understand them. Overall, I think the book might have been a better read than listen.

Time Travel

If you could sum up Golden Hill in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, engaging, informative

What was one of the most memorable moments of Golden Hill?

An unexpected bedroom scene in very old New York

What about Sarah Borges’s performance did you like?

Believable dialogue among many characters

If you could rename Golden Hill, what would you call it?

Below Fourteenth Street

Any additional comments?

If only early-American history were always taught this way.

So many mistakes…

The reader mispronounced so many words! Half the time she called the character “Joris” “Horus” and half the time “Yoris”. She pronounced “amour” as “armor”, “minute” (as in small) as “minute” (as in 60 seconds)…I could provide many other examples of mispronounced words. It was distracting. Where was the director? Not great.

Thanks for such a gift!

Love, love, love everything about this book! The characters, the story, the history, the imagination and the soul.
The reader is perfect!

Unexpected Pleasure or Unexpected Pain

There is only one scene in Golden Hill that takes place outside of mid-18th century New York City. Two characters take a boat trip up the Hudson to Tarrytown. Richard Smith, one of the two characters, recently arrived from England, shows consternation at the view of the cliffs of upper Manhattan, the Palisades, and of the wide expanse of the river at the Tappan Zee.

As a longtime resident of NYC, I sometimes look around me at the city of today and wonder what it was like before it was built up. Just like any place else, I suppose, in today's rural America -- some farms and a lot of woods, which you could not foresee being some great metropolis of the 23rd century. But to look back from the city as it exists today to get a glimpse of what it was like when it was just another backwater is fabulous, at least when it is done this well.

One of the great things about Golden Hill is that it brings that era of pre-metropolis NYC so vividly to life, a city that was really just a small town of 7,000 surrounded by rivers and forests. But that would be not enough -- in fact, the first half of the book dwells too heavily on describing the city and its social life, the novelty wearing off and the reader hoping for more. The first half is also told using English as it was spoken in those days, which is a bit of rough go.

Fortunately, that's just when the actual story gets going, with the language reverting to the way we speak it today. Smith has come to New York with a boatload of money but refuses to tell anyone what he plans to do with it, or anything about himself. So naturally everyone focuses all their attention on him, some because they hope to benefit from his wealth, some because they hope to undermine him.

In the end, two great secrets are revealed which bring the story together. I am not going to even hint at what those secrets might be. Suffice it to say that those secrets are revealed, and that should be enough to keep you going until the end.

Unfortunately, a number of other reviewers do not agree -- this is clearly a love it or hate it book. I usually attribute that to expectations, and such is the case here -- but what I mean is the opposite of the usual sense of unrealistic expectations being dashed. I believe that if you realistically know what to expect or not expect, you will not be disappointed.

One thing you should not expect, despite the story being set just a few decades before the American Revolution, is anything even remotely related to the upcoming revolution. Nor for that matter is there anything at all about the other colonies, nor anything about any of the well known figures of the day (i.e. the founding fathers) other than a handful of lesser known New Yorkers (e.g. Clinton and Delancey).

You should expect to learn the reason why a woman narrates a book written by a man that is mostly about a man. You should expect a comedy of manners about New York society, some drama and action derived from the colonial nature of the city during that era, and an ultimate reveal that you will not see coming. Give it a shot, never mind the bad reviews.