Worthy Brown's Daughter
Book - 2014
One of a handful of lawyers in the new state of Oregon, recently widowed Matthew Penny agrees to help Worthy Brown, a newly freed slave, rescue his fifteen year old daughter, Roxanne, from their former master, a powerful Portland lawyer. Worthy's lawsuit sets in motion events that lead to Worthy's arrest for murder and create an agonizing moral dilemma that could send either Worthy or Matthew to the hangman.
Publisher:
New York, NY : Harper, 2014.
Edition:
First edition.
ISBN:
9780062195340
Characteristics:
345 pages ; 24 cm.



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Add a CommentI wasn't sure I was going to like this obvious departure of Margolin writing a period piece set in 1860's Oregon and although the legal aspects are quite simplistic, I rather enjoyed the story. It's intriguing that Margolin based it on an actual incident in history. Margolin spends a little more time on characterization than he does in his regular novels but this area is still not his forte.
Written at a grade 10 reading level. It takes an interesting aspect of law in the wild west and stretches it out through violence, romance and Victorian mores. I was taken in by the book reviews. This is not an author I would ever read again, although I might suggest it to a younger reader who would like a black and white plot line.
The first few chapters were very interesting; then everything kind of degenerated to predictable and boring.
The author provided an interesting legal story inspired by actual historical events but failed to convince me that he had a good grasp of other historical details. It's worth reading to understand the difficulties of Blacks in early Oregon but it's not a great novel.
I really enjoyed this story.
Simplistic. In the author's notes, Margolin says this was a book he worked on then put away when his legal thrillers hit. Sorry to say, it reads like a first novel attempt. Very basic characters and plot. About the only interesting thing is the time in which it's set - Oregon, on the brink of the Civil War - and even that's not well drawn.
An interesting tale that reveals sordid aspects of slavery but also the character of the black family - so much more human than some of the "whites" in the story. Good courtroom scenes.
Excellent, couldn't put it down.
Phillip Margolin brings to life the
1860"s , The old north west territory
with clear beauty. A legal thriller that
is something special . A good clean
satisfying ending.
A well researched and intriguing historical narrative based on a true story. Wonderful characterization, setting, and suspense, as in his other titles.