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| Plot Summary of Timepiece |
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"In Richard Paul Evan's sequel to The Christmas Box, he recounts the tale of a magnificent grandfather clock bestowed by MaryAnne Parkin shortly before her death to his family, with the caveat that “it” is given to daughter Jenna on the eve of her wedding. The story is interspersed with passages from David Parkin's personal diary moves back in time to 1908 in Salt Lake City, UT. It revolves around the meeting and marriage of MaryAnne Chandler to her loving husband David. The two passions in his life were MaryAnne and timepieces. She steps into his life when she answers an ad for a personal secretarial position. He discovers she is of noble birth but has grown up facing many hardships once in America. As he is falling in love with her he also learns she is now pregnant with another man's child; that of an abusive cad who has broken off their engagement and left her to have a bastard child on her own. He asks for her hand anyway, loving her no less for her past.
Their life together gets off to a fabulous start with a grand wedding and a storybook life in a splendid mansion. Adversity starts with MaryAnne's delivery of baby Andrea a few months later. The labor is difficult and fraught with complications endangering both mother and child; both pull through. Several years later Andrea is stricken with scarlet fever and is again at deaths door but the faith, love, and determination of her mother see her recover and thrive. David Parkin has many dealings with an amiable and kind-hearted black man named Lawrence Flake. Lawrence, a former Union Army quartermaster and veteran of the Spanish American war, is a watchsmith and has a way with clocks and timepieces. After a wealthy widow dies, leaving her valuable watch to Lawrence but cutting off her unscrupulous nephew from her sizable fortune, Everen Hatt goes looking for trouble with his rifle and finds it. Lawrence shoots Hatt in self-defense but Parkin claims responsibility for the shooting. A trial ensues and the killing is ruled justifiable.
Hatt's criminal friend, Cal Barker, vowing retribution, beats Lawrence to within inches of his life and sets fire to the Parkin mansion. The fire is contained and extinguished but not before Andrea is severely burned. The nearly four-year old girl clings to life before losing her struggle several days later. MaryAnne and David are devastated. David blames himself and contemplates gunning down the culprit, but MaryAnne cannot bear the thought of losing both of her loved ones. The arsonist is sent to jail and Andrea is buried with a beautiful hand-carved marble angel atop her grave given by Lawrence. MaryAnne takes to sitting by the fire crying into her bible each night. Five years go by and she is feeding a poor and hungry young girl who knocked at her door one night. It turns out to be Barker's daughter who is the same age Andrea would be. MaryAnne tells her she is always welcome there. It is now 1967 and Richard understands the meaning of MaryAnne's special gift from all those many years before as he prepares to give his daughters hand in marriage."
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Timepiece |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- 1900-1920's
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Coping with loss of loved one(s)
Yes
Loss of...
- child/children
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- wealthy
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- thief/con artist
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- deluded
- wild
- emotionally unstable
- dumb
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Dumb
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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