City of Light
by Lauren Belfer Published 1999 This novel was a surprise, and continued to offer them throughout the read. I'll admit I picked it up simply because it was about Buffalo, New York, my original home town. And I am also partial to historical fiction, and this story takes place in 1901, in a city full of elm trees, mansions, and burgeoning industry. Buffalo had a moment or two on the world stage as a powerful center of mills, steel, and commerce, and Belfer has set her story at its most prosperous moment. The heroine of the story is a youngish woman, Louisa Barrett who is the head-mistress of a school for girls, in this novel called The Macaulay School, which would likely be recognized by many Buffalonians as The Buffalo Seminary. There is a romance (or two), a murder (or two), a secret (or two), and some fascinating glimpses of the real people and events that set Buffalo, particularly the turn-of-the-last century Buffalo, apart. I was somewhat concerned when, on just page 19, I made ...
