reported by Julie Miller, FictionFanatic.com

Author Robert Clark Weller recounts a Dickensian tale of orphanhood, mischief and the mean streets of early 20th- century New York City in two volumes with his new books "An Abundance of Devils: Just West of the Terminal Moraine" and "Just East of Eden" (now available through AuthorHouse).

Orphaned at the age of four and "cast into a surrogate 'family' of street urchins," young "Odie" Hart learns to make his own luck. He eventually finds shelter at a boys' reformatory, the New York Parental School. He and dozens of other boys are herded there to keep them off the streets and out of trouble. Even under the watchful eyes of Principal Charles Stevenson and their crooked "parents," "Mother and Father West," Odie and his friends succeed in finding trouble.

He befriends a motley crew of truants with backgrounds similar to his own, including Tommy Sweeney. Through Tommy, Weller weaves a fascinating subplot that opens the second volume. Incorporating history into this work of fiction, Weller ties Tommy's story into the fire that gutted the Windsor Hotel in 1899.

Odie recounts the mischief of his youth, his coming of age and the eventual downfall of the corrupt New York Parental School. The historical accuracy interwoven in the lives of these fictional characters will keep history buffs as well as literary connoisseurs glued to the books' pages.

"The whole narrative is spiced with meticulously researched material culture, brand names, pastimes, street games, popular songs, fads and clothing styles, the angst of the inevitable Great War on the horizon and the emergence of subways, moving pictures, automobiles and the switch from illuminating gas to electricity," Weller says. "It all happens in the cauldron of pre-radio, pre-jazz America, where dozens of newspapers hit the streets with almost hourly editions."

Weller has taught literature and culture for 40 years, the last 18 years at Queens College, City University of New York, which was built on the grounds of the New York Parental School when it closed in 1934. He was inspired to research and write about the boys' reformatory by his background in American studies.