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In 1638, young Isaac Wedge settled uneasily into a fledgling school in Cambridge, starting a tradition of Harvard men in his family. Thereafter, it was simply expected that the Wedge sons would apply when it came time to head off for college. The subsequent generations lived through America's youth, its struggles for identity, its wars, its triumphs and its tragedies. No matter what they chose to study, at a minimum each learned to think for himself and each learned to take a stand --- however disagreeable to his parents or professors --- and in so doing, each left his mark on the great university and this great country.
Now, over 350 years after the first Wedge graduate, the family has come to believe a lost Shakespearean play exists and that it belongs to them. Back in the 1700s, Lydia Wedge --- a poet, and a bad one at that --- penned a cryptic promise that Harvard would receive "a small gift of majestic proportion" when it welcomed women into its student body. She left instructions to future Wedges on its care and handling until that day arrived. But unforeseen events intervened and the family lost track of its whereabouts. Now one member of the family, Ridley Wedge Royce, enlists the aid of his friend, antique books dealer Peter Fallon, to help find this priceless treasure. When Fallon realizes he has attracted the interest of some violent and unsavory types, he starts to take the request more seriously. Then one of the Wedges turns up dead and Fallon throws himself into the quest with vigorous determination.
As Fallon searches for the lost folio, author William Martin takes us back in time to explain how it came into the Wedge possession --- earlier, actually, back when John Harvard received it from Will Shakespeare himself. In one chapter, Martin guides us through the years pertinent to the school's history, then in the next brings us back to Fallon as he is unearthing more clues. With each new Harvard candidate, time moves on and the story leaves the old behind and a new Wedge student carries the secret of the lost Shakespearean manuscript. Meanwhile, Fallon works to unravel the puzzle.
In the first hundred pages or so, such an abundance of information comes at you that it can seem overwhelming. But once you catch the rhythm of the book, you get so caught up in the family's doings that the sheer breadth of the book becomes easily manageable. To simplify a seemingly expansive undertaking, Martin has graciously provided a genealogical chart of the Wedge lineage and a diagram of the Harvard campus. After you've devoured the first six or seven chapters, the pace quickens sharply, the mystery takes shape, and you can't help but care what happens to the Wedges and their treasure.
I can almost guarantee that you'll find HARVARD YARD irresistible --- in fact, nearly impossible to put down. It may not look like a page-turner, but it is.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
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