A panoramic and epic novel in the grand romantic style, Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700’s – a time of heartache and turmoil as the country’s once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known. With Empress Catherine’s Russian armies streaming in to take their spoils, Anna is quickly thrust into a world of love and hate, loyalty and deceit, patriotism and treason, life and death. Even kind Aunt Stella, Anna’s new guardian, who soon comes to personify Poland’s courage and spirit, can’t protect Anna from the uncertain future of the country. Anna, no longer a child, turns to love and comfort in the form of Jan, a brave patriot and architect of democracy, unaware that her beautiful and enigmatic cousin, Zofia, has already set her sights on the handsome, young fighter.
Thus, Anna walks unwittingly into Zofia’s jealous wrath and darkly sinister intentions. Forced to survive several tragic events, many of them orchestrated by the crafty Zofia, a strengthened Anna begins to learn to place herself in the way of destiny – for love and for her country. Heeding the proud spirit of her late father, Anna becomes a major player in the fight against the countries who come to partition her beloved Poland.
Push Not the River is based on the true eighteenth century diary of Anna Maria Berezowska, a Polish countess who lived through the rise and fall of the historic Third of May Constitution. Vivid, romantic, and thrillingly paced, it paints the emotional and unforgettable story of the metamorphosis of a nation – and of a proud and resilient young woman.
Eloquent story! First off, on the front cover, an author compared this novel to “Gone with the Wind” and “Doctor Zhivago” ~~ while I’ve read “Gone with the Wind” ~~ this is not as same as that classic novel. This is an entirely different historical novel ~~ more focused on the events surrounding the main character than on the characters themselves.Â
HISTORY COMES ALIVE Every country has a history, but few countries suffered the repeated tragedies of Poland. Immersed in a feudal system that oppressed Poland’s poor, the nobility became fatally divided. Within this country’s class struggle, James Conroyd Martin puts a personal face on the events of the time by introducing the reader to the Berezowski family. In particular, two cousins, Anna and Zophia, battle each other and the country’s system of nobility to an end which is both bitter and hopeful. Mr…
Romance, intrigue, passion and patriotism in Poland, 1791-94 This historical novel by James Conroyd Martin is based on the true story of Countess Anna Maria Berezowska, a young woman who lived through the tumultuous events in Poland during the years 1791-1794. The author discovered the diary that had been kept in sealed wax for almost two centuries by the Countess’ family, and has been researching the historical period it covers for the past 25 years.Â