In the valley

In the Valley (1890) is a historical novel by Anglo-American novelist Harold Frederic. It is set in the United States in the Mohawk Valley and in Albany, New York, from 1757 to 1777. Plot A Mohawk Valley Dutchman finds himself pitted against a brilliant villain, a British officer, who for a time wins the affections of the heroine who has been thrown among "Tories" and British but steadfastly loyal to her native colony, though in the end he loses her to the less-worldly though courageous and honorable Douw Mauverensen, who is historian as well as hero of the tale. The climax of the book is the Battle of Oriskany.[1] The book adheres to the New York tradition, early set down in Irving and Cooper, of respect for Dutch prudence, suspicion of British perfidy and active prejudice against all New Englanders, particularly those from Connecticut. There are also faithful black slaves and ferocious Indians................... Harold Frederic (born Harold Henry Frederick; August 19, 1856 - October 19, 1898) was an American journalist and novelist. Life and career: Frederic was born in Utica, New York, to Presbyterian parents. After his father was killed in a railroad accident when Frederic was 18 months old, the boy was raised primarily by his mother. He finished school at age fifteen, and soon began work as a photographer. For four years he was a photographic touch-up artist in his hometown and in Boston. In 1875, he began work as a proofreader for the newspaper The Utica Herald and then The Utica Daily Observer. Frederic later became a reporter. Frederic married Grace Green Williams in 1877, and they had five children together. By 1882 he was editor of the newspaper The Albany Evening Journal in the state capital. In 1884 Frederic went to live in England as London correspondent of the New York Times, and worked at this position for the rest of his life. He brought his family to London by 1889. Afterward he met Kate Lyon, who became his mistress. Frederic and Lyon established a second household, living openly together; and they had three illegitimate children. Frederic wrote several early stories, but it was not until he published Illumination (1896), better known by its American title, The Damnation of Theron Ware, followed by Gloria Mundi (1898), that his talent as a novelist was fully realized. Critic Jonathan Yardley called Damnation "a minor classic of realism". Kate Lyon was a Christian Scientist. Frederic suffered a stroke in 1898. After his death, she was tried on charges of manslaughter brought by his wife Grace Frederic, and acquitted at trial............................