Published the same year (1939) as his “Staten Island Fairies”, Cornelius Kolff’s “The Haven of Wooden Shoes” is a whimsical story that relates the history of the Dutch fairies of Staten Island. On a peninsula in Clifton which was formed from the discarded shells of local fishermen, the fairies would hold their high festivals at … More The Haven of Wooden Shoes
Theodora DuBois’ (1890-1986) “Fowl Play” (1951) features her recurring husband and wife team of amateur detectives, Dr. Jeffrey and Anne McNeill, who get involved in a murder investigation as they’re moving into their new Staten Island home. The victim is the matriarch of a family of eccentric ne’er-do-wells from one of the grand estates in … More Fowl Play
W. Jay Mills’ “Through the Gates of Old Romance” (1903) is a collection of short stories about Old New York, two of which take place on Staten Island. “A True Picture of the Last Days of Aaron Burr” is an imagining of the final days of Vice President Aaron Burr, who died at the Port … More Through the Gates of Old Romance
“Three Fields to Cross” (1947) by Frances Tysen Nutt, is another work of historical fiction about the American Revolution written by a descendant of colonial-era settlers. The protagonist of this novel is Oude Dorp farmer John Blake, a veteran of the French and Indian War who tries to navigate a modus vivendi between the violent … More Three Fields to Cross
“A Wideness in God’s Mercy” (1965) by Gladys Manée Ledbetter is a historical romance centering around the adventures and trials of a Staten Island Huguenot family, the Pilous, from around the time of the Stamp Act to the fight over the ratification of the Constitution. Although most of them begin the story as firm Loyalists, … More A Wideness in God’s Mercy
Today we focus on a Staten Island novel whose protagonist is a spunky Irish lass from Dublin. In “Cinders to Satin” (1984) by Fern Michaels, Callie James immigrates to New York during the Potato Famine but before she is allowed to begin her new life is forced to endure some time in Staten Island’s Quarantine … More Cinders to Satin
One of the most interesting facts about F. Hopkinson Smith and “Tom Grogan” was that the book’s protagonist was apparently based on a real Staten Island woman. Arthur Bartlett Maurice’s 1899 work, “New York in Fiction” (https://tinyurl.com/yanchxts) reveals that Smith was inspired to write “Tom Grogan” by his own experiences as a contractor for the … More The real Tom Grogan
F(rancis). Hopkinson Smith (1838-1915), the author of “Tom Grogan”, was a Renaissance Man who achieved distinction in three disparate fields of endeavor. A descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Smith was a self-taught engineer and contractor who built, among other things, the foundation for the Statue of Liberty, the sea wall around … More F. Hopkinson Smith
The earliest entry in the canon of Staten Island fiction is F. Hopkinson Smith’s “Tom Grogan” from 1896, a polemical novel which purports to expose the evils of organized labor and in which the members of labor unions play a villainous role. Mary Grogan is an Irish-American stevedore foreman who is supervising the unloading of … More Tom Grogan
“Picnic Adventures” is a 1940 compilation of short stories about…picnics. One of the stories, “The Eighth-Grade Picnic” by W.H. Temple (1912-1982), tells of the bitter rivalry between two Tottenville boys for the affection of a girl. The two are reconciled when the girl refuses both of their invitations to the graduation picnic at the beach. … More Picnic Adventures
Staten Island in Fiction 