The Gods of Newport

The Gods of Newport by John Jakes

Before I was even a decade old back in the 1970s, before I (or anyone) had heard of Stephen King or John Grisham, John Jakes was one of the hottest authors around.  He had a series of eight historical fiction books deemed “The Kent Chronicles” that told a magnificent tale of a family immigrating to the United States in the 17th century, all the way up to the late 1800s.  I remember being a kid seeing just about every one of my mother’s friends was reading one of these eight books, and many years later, I discovered just how wonderful and timeless these pieces were.  Well, as a follow up, during the 1980s, Jakes wrote his “North and South” trilogy, and those were just as awesome, and possibly even better received.

Since then, Jakes has slowed his output somewhat, and with  a minor exception or two, his novels have been self standing - one book, one story.  The Gods of Newport (to my knowledge) is his latest offering.  All of his books fall under the header “Historical Fiction”, and the majority take place no later than the turn of the twentieth century.  This story is no exception - taking place (mostly) during the last decade of the 1800s.

Our story revolves around recently widowed Samuel Driver and his only child, his teenage daughter Jenny.  The Drivers have money.  Lots of money.  The problem is that it’s new money.  So when Samuel wants to secure Jenny’s feature in a summer mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, it won’t be easy.  This place is only for the wealthiest of the wealthy, and if you’ve only recently been rolling in the dough, you won’t exactly get invited to many social engagements.  And Newport is all about social engagements.  Really, what else is there to do for millionaires before automobiles and television?

So Samuel starts with good intentions, makes enough elegant friends, and begins his quest to give his daughter a life that he never could give for his recently departed wife.  Jenny enjoys the good life as well, but one day, she happens to spot Prince Malloy who, unlike what his name sounds like, is one of the common laborers in Newport.  Prince spots Jenny as well, and, well…..it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where this story is going.  When Samuel gets wind of this attraction, he becomes quite the hostile fellow and he’ll stop at nothing to ensure his daughter doesn’t end up with someone “beneath” her.  We actually start to loathe Samuel.  Has he always been this way?  Why is he turning into such a tyrant?  It could be that this evil place of Newport is beginning to poison him.  This place is incredibly wicked.  If I had gobs of money and lived during this time, I’m not sure I would want to spend my life with such shallow purveyors of attention.

Having read just about everything John Jakes has written, I can’t help but feel as though I’ve read this story many times before in similar settings.  Most of Jakes’ stories manage to spend at least part of the tale during the Civil War, and I must say, even though those books were incredibly engulfing, I’m glad he chose a slightly different setting this time.  The whole north, south, slavery thing was getting a bit old.  Still, as much as he tries, this story seems a bit rehashed if you’re a fan of Jakes.

I would recommend this book.  It’s a very convincing story, and Jakes always does an excellent job in the research department, and also carefully carves real, historical figures within his pages.  If you have the time (and patience), however, I would recommend that you tackle the Kent Chronicles and/or the North and South trilogy instead.  John Jakes’ ideas were still fresh then, and, being that the stories take place centuries ago, the stories are never dated.  The author, himself, is now in his eighties.  I don’t know if he’s retired or not, but if he has, he needs to be proud of the great works that he has produced and that many have enjoyed.