Synopses & Reviews
Benjamin Knowles, a young English gentleman, heads for America to build a new life for himself, falling in love with New York actress and sometime prostitute Polly Lucking, meeting her troubled war-veteran brother Duff, and befriending journalist Timothy Skaggs, before heading west to seek their fortunes in the gold fields of California. 75,000 first printing.
Review
"Heyday is fuled by manic energy, fanatical research, and a wicked sense of humor....It's a joyful, wild gallop through a joyful, wild time to be an American." Vanity Fair
Review
"In this utterly engaging novel, the author...brings 19th-century America vividly to life....While this is a long book, it moves quickly, with historical detail that's involving but never a drag on the action; the characters are beautifully drawn. A terrific book; highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"The present-day resonance of Heyday can be witty....But the weight of its factoids and conversation-piece data keep it anchored in its own particular moment." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"Andersen's novel is a major historical work, of lore and wisdom, irony and humor the kind of historical novel that has always been the most satisfying to read." Los Angeles Times
Review
"Andersen has researched his material well enough to be at home with it, and the seams between fiction and nonfiction almost never show....In Heyday, as in the best historical fiction, the future doesn't seem predetermined but exists as a series of possibilities..." Houston Chronicle
Review
"Mr. Andersen peoples Heyday with appealing characters, plausibly of their time and place....Heyday is not the smooth concoction that a more experienced historical novelist...would make from the same ingredients. But it's an impressive effort nonetheless." Wall Street Journal
Review
"It's a mighty busy and messy story...but Heyday is also a sweet book, with a tropism toward redemption and happy endings." Geoffrey Wolff, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
In a sweeping, brilliantly imagined romp through the boisterous coming of age of America, Anderson has written an irresistible old-fashioned epic as well as a thoroughly modern novel of ideas. This is a gritty, authentic, vivid story unlike any other.
About the Author
Kurt Andersen is the author of Turn of the Century, a national bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book. He also writes a column for New York magazine and hosts the Peabody Award-winning public radio program Studio 360. He was a co-founder of Spy magazine and has been a columnist and critic for the New Yorker and Time. Andersen lives with his wife and daughters in New York.