9 h 47 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 240 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 240 pagesAbout this book
In old New York, love promises a future—but family, custom, and duty all have a claim on the heart.
Amelia E. Barr’s The Belle of Bowling Green brings romance to the New York of long ago. Betty Gordon, admired for her beauty and grace, faces a world shaped by family expectations and codes of honor. Love offers possibility, but choosing her own path means questioning the life others expect her to lead.
Bowling Green, the small park at the foot of Broadway, anchors this story in lower Manhattan. Against that setting, Barr explores loyalty, courage, and character through the tensions of romance. Betty’s search for self-discovery gives those larger questions a personal edge: what does she owe her community, and what does she owe herself?
What you’ll discover
- A heart facing expectations Follow Betty as the promise of love meets the demands of family and custom.
- The pull of old New York Step into a city setting where romance gives the past a personal shape.
- Loyalty under pressure Explore the strain between private wishes and the duties that shape a life.
- The courage to choose Consider what it takes for a young woman to question her expected path.
- A gentle romantic manner Settle into formal storytelling that makes room for feeling, character, and reflection.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy period romance, old New York, and stories where love meets duty and politics. If you want fast modern plotting or a harsh, realistic tone, its gentle manner and formal style may feel less suited to you.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Barr turns history into a love story
- Old New York is the stage
- The romance follows a familiar and satisfying pattern
- Themes of loyalty, courage and character run through it
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- 15-minute summary
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- 6 × 9 in, 240 pages: USD 9.95 when you start free, USD 16.95 on its own.
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Belle of Bowling Green
by Amelia E. Barr· 1904
A young woman faces love and social expectations in old New York.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
Barr turns history into a love story
Amelia Barr was born in England in 1831 and moved to the United States as a young woman. Life gave her hard lessons, including the loss of her husband and several children, and she began writing seriously to support her family. Over the years she became a steady producer of popular novels, many of them set in the past.
Her method is easy to describe. She takes a real time and place, adds families with different loyalties, and lets a romance grow in the middle of them. The big events of history stay in the background, while the daily choices of her characters stay in front. A reader learns about the age by watching how people live, speak, dress and argue.
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The author
Amelia E. Barr
1831–1919 · English novelist
Amelia E. Barr was a British-born American novelist and one of the most prolific popular storytellers of her era, with dozens of novels including Remember the Alamo. The Belle of Bowling Green is a romance set in old New York, a world she returned to often.
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Questions about The Belle of Bowling Green
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Who was Amelia E. Barr?
Amelia E. Barr was a British-born writer who lived in the United States and wrote dozens of popular novels. Many are historical romances. She also wrote essays and an autobiography, and she died in 1919.
What is Bowling Green in New York?
Bowling Green is a small park at the foot of Broadway in lower Manhattan. It dates from the Dutch and colonial era and is among the oldest public parks in the city.
What kind of book is The Belle of Bowling Green?
It is a historical romance, a type of novel that sets a love story inside a real past time and place. This one uses old New York as its setting.
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