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Rating: 
Summary: An in-depth view of one family in one place
Review: The Massachusetts town of Concord is a special place for at least two reasons: as the site of the first Revolutionary War battle, and as the home of a passle of American literary icons a century later. But intertwined with those times and those people were others who were washed with the same spirit of the place. While the Hoar family was distinguished and well-known within Concord society, its members remain historically shadowed by such friends as Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Russell Lowell, and Margaret Fuller. This book serves to remedy any past omissions. Thus is _The Royal Family of Concord_ not a chronicle of a town; yet we have no choice but to absorb Concordian history and culture. The text is not an Emerson biography; yet we are given the opportunity to read his personal letters and hear the man's voice in each chapter. No, this is the tale of an American family who, generation after generation, was in the right place at the right time to witness and participate in the most memorable issues and events of the 19th century.Though the extended Hoar clan contains many notable individuals, cousins and in-laws, three main characters emerge here. Samuel "Squire" Hoar, Jr. (1778-1856) was a lawyer and statesman at the state and federal level. In Concord, he was THE conservative authority figure who knew the Constitution and the American legal system inside and out. His daughter Elizabeth Sherman Hoar (1814-1878) was a smart and caring woman whose friendship with the Emersons led her to become engaged to Ralph's brother, Charles. He became ill and died before the two could be married, and Elizabeth vowed to remain true to him. Her decision freed her to devote time to countless friends and relatives, who saw her as an intellectual equal and a caretaker when needed. Ebenezer Rockwood "Judge" Hoar (1816-1895) followed in his father's legal shoes and became a lawyer and a judge. He served as U.S. Attorney General during Ulysses S. Grant's presidency and was continually involved in politics at both the state and federal levels. Another Hoar son, Edward, was a friend and companion to Henry David Thoreau. In fact, it was Edward who was with Henry when they accidentally set fire to the local woodlot, thus raising the ire of the Concord community. Author Robbins makes an assumption about Thoreau's personal relationships: one that is arguable and objectionable to most Thoreauvians (this one included). But the focus here is on the Hoars, and this minor slight to Henry is remedied in other scholarly works. _The Royal Family of Concord_ is a detailed but readable chronicle that serves as a sample of upper class life in the 1800s. Above all, Elizabeth Sherman Hoar emerges as the pure heroic pebble cast into a sea of lawyers and politicians.
Rating:
Summary: An in-depth view of one family in one place
Review: The Massachusetts town of Concord is a special place for at least two reasons: as the site of the first Revolutionary War battle, and as the home of a passle of American literary icons a century later. But intertwined with those times and those people were others who were washed with the same spirit of the place. While the Hoar family was distinguished and well-known within Concord society, its members remain historically shadowed by such friends as Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Russell Lowell, and Margaret Fuller. This book serves to remedy any past omissions. Thus is _The Royal Family of Concord_ not a chronicle of a town; yet we have no choice but to absorb Concordian history and culture. The text is not an Emerson biography; yet we are given the opportunity to read his personal letters and hear the man's voice in each chapter. No, this is the tale of an American family who, generation after generation, was in the right place at the right time to witness and participate in the most memorable issues and events of the 19th century. Though the extended Hoar clan contains many notable individuals, cousins and in-laws, three main characters emerge here. Samuel "Squire" Hoar, Jr. (1778-1856) was a lawyer and statesman at the state and federal level. In Concord, he was THE conservative authority figure who knew the Constitution and the American legal system inside and out. His daughter Elizabeth Sherman Hoar (1814-1878) was a smart and caring woman whose friendship with the Emersons led her to become engaged to Ralph's brother, Charles. He became ill and died before the two could be married, and Elizabeth vowed to remain true to him. Her decision freed her to devote time to countless friends and relatives, who saw her as an intellectual equal and a caretaker when needed. Ebenezer Rockwood "Judge" Hoar (1816-1895) followed in his father's legal shoes and became a lawyer and a judge. He served as U.S. Attorney General during Ulysses S. Grant's presidency and was continually involved in politics at both the state and federal levels. Another Hoar son, Edward, was a friend and companion to Henry David Thoreau. In fact, it was Edward who was with Henry when they accidentally set fire to the local woodlot, thus raising the ire of the Concord community. Author Robbins makes an assumption about Thoreau's personal relationships: one that is arguable and objectionable to most Thoreauvians (this one included). But the focus here is on the Hoars, and this minor slight to Henry is remedied in other scholarly works. _The Royal Family of Concord_ is a detailed but readable chronicle that serves as a sample of upper class life in the 1800s. Above all, Elizabeth Sherman Hoar emerges as the pure heroic pebble cast into a sea of lawyers and politicians.
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