Last Proud Gallop
The Lost Generation is emerging. It’s 1919 and the Jazz Age is about to begin. Six vibrant young people seek fulfillment in the postwar time-lapse between the demise of Victorian mores and the rise of the Flapper, all set against the wealthy and power-driven background of Long Island’s polo set, the early Hamptons and Manhattan in its flower.
Foremost is the love story between scion Tad Hancock, a politically active war hero, and a sexually liberated firebrand named Pamela, a true American courtesan. The other four characters (Hazie, Del, Ashley and Mike, the narrator) either support or battle Hancock’s desire to win Pamela. The sub-plot relates to Tad’s political reform group opposed to Del’s powerful cabal. Tad and Del fight over Pamela and duel socially and financially as well…. The novel is dedicated as an homage to Fitzgerald’s “Gatsby”.
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"Last Proud Gallop is very well written. The characters are so well developed that they don't often have to be identified in dialogue exchanges." - Star Democrat 3/31/06
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This is an uneven but appealing novel, with some fine phrasing and thought-provoking observations on the Jazz Age, particularly about how class affects democracy and why The Lost Generation squandered its idealism with such mad abandon." - The Independent (East Hampton, NY) - 7/19/06
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"Although long gone, the hazy era reawakens in Sweeney's narrative with dynamic and dimensional characters with strong, timeless voices.
Dan's Papers (Bridgehampton, NY) 6/2/06
