Reviews of The Kingsley House
- Linnea Lannon, Detroit Free Press
“[A] charming, old-fashioned, heart-warming family chronicle…Ryan’s buoyant, spritely prose does not turn away from death and evil, but her style is so life-affirming that we know they cannot possibly lie at the ultimate center of the universe.”
- Sam Coale, Providence Sunday Journal
“The old Ryan home, the Kingsley House, still stands…and now Ryan shares a fictionalized version of her family’s fascinating history…[a] wonderful tale about ordinary people who lived more than ordinary lives…”
- Patty Engelmann, Booklist
“I’ve always had a soft spot for multi-generational sagas, although The Kingsley House is much more than this simple word can describe. Using the occupants of a longtime family residence in Livonia, Michigan, as its focal point, it also recounts 150 years in the life of small town midwestern America.
…Though the house focuses the story, however, it’s the characters and their stories which make it memorable. Nathan and Mary survive their first venture as unsuspecting abolitionists along the Underground Railroad, their granddaughter Gertrude overcomes early tragedy to live on as the family matriarch, and in 1977 her granddaughter Laura saves the house from demolition by having it physically moved to a historic preservation site, where it can be visited today.
The author, Laura’s daughter, has created in The Kingsley House an unforgettable portrait of her own family, complete with genealogical notes (I would have loved to have seen some photos). All family members are true-to-life individuals, with plenty of flaws and foibles, and as with every family, there’s the occasional black sheep. It’s remarkable that in a tale of over 400 pages, the story never drags: the action-filled storyline and the personalities of the characters keep it alive. I enjoyed every minute.”
- Sarah Johnson, Historical Novels Review
