Weymans Brew

In 1778 England the Weymans and the Readers are affluent partners in the flourishing brewery business that dominates the rural enclave of Guilford beside the river Wey. Tragedy, in the form of his mother's death as an aftermath of a childish prank engineered by Charles, the troubled young Weyman heir, shatters the partnership and sets the Weyman males on a course of relentless revenge against the Readers, whom they wrongly blame for the death. In an engrossing novel that reflects changing social times, when the newly landless poor clog the roads seeking employment in London, we follow the mechanics of the brewing industry and the nefarious plotting of Charles, consumed by his guilt about his mother's death and his fear of being found out. Although melodramatic episodes in Charles's frenzied scheming presage the eventual reconciliation of the families, this a strongly realized saga of vindictiveness and obsession. (February 10)