Empire Rising, Thomas Kelly
Empire Rising, Thomas Kelly
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Empire Rising

Author: Thomas Kelly

Narrator: Michael Deehy

Unabridged: 16 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/01/2007

Synopsis

It is 1930—the Depression—and ground has just been broken for the Empire State Building. One of the thousands of men erecting the building high above the city is Michael Briody, an Irish immigrant torn between his desire to make a new life in America and his pledge to gather money and arms for the Irish republican cause. When he meets Grace Masterson, an alluring artist who is depicting the great skyscraper's ascent from her houseboat on the East River, Briody's life turns exhilarating—and dangerous, for Grace is also a paramour of Johnny Farrell, Mayor Jimmy Walker's liaison with Tammany Hall and the underworld. Their heartbreaking love story is also a chronicle of the city's rough passage from a working-class enclave to a world-class metropolis.

About Thomas Kelly

Thomas Kelly is the author of The Rackets and Payback. He lives in New York City.

About Michael Deehy

Michael Deehy is an Earphones Award-winning narrator and an actor whose career has taken him around the world performing in a multitude of plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Shaw, Synge, and a host of other playwrights. He divides his time between the United States and England, where he has performed in both regional theater and in London’s West End, as well as a number of national television shows.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mike

I was excited about "Empire Rising" when I saw it on the New York Times' "100 Notable Books of 2005" list but Thomas Kelly's novel proved ultimately disappointing. It has all the ingredients of great historical fiction: New York City, the Empire State Building, racial tension, the Great Depression an......more

Goodreads review by J.S.

3.5 Some brilliant passages; overall lacking drive, despite the fascinating era and focus on the Empire State Building. Identified well with the Irish characters who were well done and not overdone ! The nuances of the 1920s bloodshed in Ireland and how that played out might be too subtle here for no......more

Goodreads review by Amy

The book gets off to a fairly slow start as the characters are introduced. I do like how the narrative follows one character to another with relative ease, which adds to the intrigue. My favorite part is when Briody and Grace see each other for the first time. That being said, I never really felt th......more

Goodreads review by Nate

This is a great novel about the time of the building of the Empire State Building. It covers the turmoil with union organizing and the death of the Tammany Hall political machine. Kelly is as comfortable in the area of politics and he is in the blue collar world of construction in New York City.......more

Quotes

“Empire Rising is everything a period novel should be.” Time

“There is a compelling muscularity to his work—the plots barrel along, the characters are wildly colorful.” New York Times

“An extraordinary thriller about the political gangsters, builders, and bullies who constructed the Empire State Building.” Esquire

“New York in 1930 shines through the pages with high resolution.” San Francisco Chronicle

Awards

  • New York Times Book Review Notable Book
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