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Into the Wilderness Paperback – September 30, 2008
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In this ambitious and vibrant sequel to The Last of the Mohicans, Elizabeth Middleton, a well-educated spinster of 29, journeys from her home in England to her father's lands in upstate New York in 1792. Her widowed father has promised Elizabeth that she can become the schoolteacher for the local children, but on her arrival at Paradise, her father's property, she learns that he has brought her to America under false pretenses. It is his intention to find her a husband, preferably the well-respected physician, Richard Todd.
Though Elizabeth has no intention to marry, she is immediately drawn, not to Richard, but to backwoodsman Nathaniel Bonner, son of Dan'l "Hawkeye" Bonner, hero of the James Fenimore Cooper classic. Nathaniel's connection to the Mohican (Mahican) people is a strong one; he considers Hawkeye's adoptive father, Chingachgook, his grandfather, and his own wife was a Mahican woman who died in childbirth several years earlier.
Elizabeth learns from her father that her inheritance is a part of his lands, a mountain known as Hidden Wolf, to be granted to her when she marries. She soon finds herself caught between Nathaniel and the Mahicans, who want to buy back the mountain from her father as part of their hunting grounds, and Richard, who wants the land for himself and sees Elizabeth as the route to it. Her father, fearful that the sale of Hidden Wolf to the Mahicans will bring more Indians back to Paradise, favors Richard.
Knowing Richard's main interest in her is her land, Elizabeth resists his attentions as she gets to know Nathaniel and his people. The backwoodsmen and their Indian friends accept her and respect her opinions, and she soon finds herself siding with their claim to Hidden Wolf. Meanwhile, the attraction between her and Nathaniel grows into a love that only adds to the conflict between the whites and the Indians.
Into the Wilderness is an intelligent and beautifully written historical novel that draws the reader into another world. Elizabeth and Nathaniel are well-rounded and intelligent characters, and the secondary characters are also strong, three-dimensional, and often entertainingly quirky. Although the book is long--nearly 700 words--tight pacing makes it an entertaining read. Fans of Diana Gabaldon will want to watch for a cameo appearance by one of the characters of Gabaldon's stunning Outlander series. --Lisa Wanttaja --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Epic in ambition, heaving-bosomed and lavish with pioneer life, Donati's debut inevitably invites comparison to the Revolutionary War-era romances of Diana Gabaldon. Claire Fraser, Gabaldon's time-traveling physician heroine, even makes a cameo appearance as a battlefield surgeon. Alas, Donati offers less wit and more cant than her celebrated precursor in a hefty volume that is politically correct to a fare-thee-well, suggesting that the author hoped single-handedly to reverse all race and gender bias. When Elizabeth Middleton, a proud spinster of 29, arrives in upstate Paradise, N.Y., after a sheltered life in England with her titled aunt, she means to live with her father, Alfred, a judge, and her wastrel brother, Julian, and teach school. Her father has a scheme, however. She is to marry Dr. Richard Todd and fulfill both men's ambitions for property. One look at rugged Nathaniel Bonner, a Scotsman raised by Mohawks (they call him Between-Two-Lives), and Lizzie scuttles her feminist disdain for marriage and her father's calculations. Nathaniel wants Judge Middleton's land, too, for his adoptive people?but, unlike Todd, he also wants Lizzie for herself. At first they are an enchanting couple, shooting at bad guys and making athletic love in unlikely woodsy settings. Then the charm falters as their adventures are padded with details that embroider without embellishing. Worse, the characters are color-by-numbers cartoons. Nathaniel is the only thoroughly admirable white male in the huge cast?upbringing having triumphed over blood?and no person of color has flaws. The many subplots are skillfully interwoven, and the author's sheer stamina commands respect; but the novel is complicated, not complex, overstuffed with familiar, featherweight themes. (Aug.) FYI: This novel is Donati's debut under her own name. Homestead, a book of short stories written under the pseudonym Rosina Lippi Green, was published by Delphinium.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
More About the Author
Sara Donati is the pen name of Rosina Lippi. She lives with her husband, daughter, and various pets in an area between the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
187 of 195 people found the following review helpful
By
A Customer
on March 29, 2000
Format: Mass Market Paperback
1 Comment
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This is more than a book that you read, this is a story that you step into and take over. Anyone who loves Diana Gabaldon, historical romance, Daniel Day-Lewis in "The Last of the Mohicans" and/or thrilling adventures will LOVE this novel. I must correct some misinformation that the Amazon reviewer wrote, though. This story is NOT a sequel to James Fennimore Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans". Merely, some of his characters appear in this novel, along with Claire Fraser from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Rather, Sara Donati has weaved a story all her own using some familiar faces. If you go to the official "Into the Wilderness" web page you can read yourself that Ms. Donati did NOT write this as a sequel to Cooper's novel. She actually had Michael Mann's beautifully directed "Last of the Mohicans" in mind more, she says. Also, the review contained another error: Nathaniel's first wife was NOT Mohican, she was (in English) a Mohawk. I don't mean to bash anyone's review because I love Amazon but I just didn't want any misinformation about this wonderful novel out either! Enjoy!
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46 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By
A Customer
on August 30, 1999
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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I know different people get different things from the books they read, but I honestly don't understand how any lover of romantic fiction could dislike this book. True, it's formulaic, but I don't mind a formula if the writing is good, and Donati is very good. She could often bring tears to my eyes, and was just as effective in helping me to see the great wilderness that much of the novel was set in.
From the beginning, I found myself comparing it to Gabaldon's series (probably because of her recommendation on the cover), which could have been very unfair as I think her books are among the best historical fiction I've ever read. But I must say _Into the Wilderness_ comes out well by comparison. I ended up caring as much about Elizabeth and her Nathaniel as I did about Claire and her Jamie, and that says a lot. Sometimes I did feel that Elizabeth and Claire were a lot alike - perhaps almost too much - but I do so enjoy a strong woman character. Elizabeth is definitely "writ large," but I'm glad when I run across a heroic female character for a change who takes her destiny in her own hands.
Since I could not put it down from the time I began reading it, I enthusiastically recommend this novel and I eagerly look forward to the sequel!
From the beginning, I found myself comparing it to Gabaldon's series (probably because of her recommendation on the cover), which could have been very unfair as I think her books are among the best historical fiction I've ever read. But I must say _Into the Wilderness_ comes out well by comparison. I ended up caring as much about Elizabeth and her Nathaniel as I did about Claire and her Jamie, and that says a lot. Sometimes I did feel that Elizabeth and Claire were a lot alike - perhaps almost too much - but I do so enjoy a strong woman character. Elizabeth is definitely "writ large," but I'm glad when I run across a heroic female character for a change who takes her destiny in her own hands.
Since I could not put it down from the time I began reading it, I enthusiastically recommend this novel and I eagerly look forward to the sequel!
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85 of 97 people found the following review helpful
By
Erin
on January 6, 2011
Format: Paperback
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14 Comments
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I feel the need to write a review for this book only because I felt some of the previous reviews were very misleading. To start with, I purchased this book for two reasons. (1) I am a fan of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and this book was heavily recommended by other Outlander fans, and (2) I spent much of my childhood in and around Cooperstown, NY and so am familiar with the setting of the novel. I would normally find it a bit unfair for one author to be compared so heavily to another (especially one like Diana Gabaldon) but feel in this case the comparison is completely justified with Donati having Outlander characters written into her story. My biggest criticism of this book is that it's predictable and yet not really believable. An independent yet beautiful Englishwoman, determined to be a "spinster"? A sexy, rugged, buckskin wearing Indian (albeit white) man? Yawn. And they even start falling for each other the first time they meet.... double yawn.
The characters are flat and poorly developed. So is the plot. So is the dialogue. I've enjoyed historical fiction my whole life and I think I might have enjoyed this book in my early years of high school. Maybe.
I know this review sounds a bit harsh but I'm really disappointed by the fact that so many Outlander fans were enthusiastic about this book. Is there anyone else who enjoyed the subtle complexities of the characters, thoroughly researched historical events, and layered plot lines of the Outlander series? If so, then this book probably isn't for you. If you're just looking for a mindless romance to read at the beach and can overlook the poor character and plot development, then go for it.
And yes, I would have given the same review if I hadn't ever read Diana Gabaldon's novels. The writing just isn't there.
Bottom line: Read some of the one and two star reviews and not just the five star reviews before deciding whether this book is for you.
The characters are flat and poorly developed. So is the plot. So is the dialogue. I've enjoyed historical fiction my whole life and I think I might have enjoyed this book in my early years of high school. Maybe.
I know this review sounds a bit harsh but I'm really disappointed by the fact that so many Outlander fans were enthusiastic about this book. Is there anyone else who enjoyed the subtle complexities of the characters, thoroughly researched historical events, and layered plot lines of the Outlander series? If so, then this book probably isn't for you. If you're just looking for a mindless romance to read at the beach and can overlook the poor character and plot development, then go for it.
And yes, I would have given the same review if I hadn't ever read Diana Gabaldon's novels. The writing just isn't there.
Bottom line: Read some of the one and two star reviews and not just the five star reviews before deciding whether this book is for you.
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56 of 63 people found the following review helpful
By
Denise Bentley
on August 7, 2001
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Historical fiction with a heart, this book is the first of two books that Donati has written chronicling the life of Elizabeth Middleton and Nathaniel Bonner. Elizabeth, a spinster with spunk and a determined air, is about to hit the "New World" by storm. What she finds in the back woods of upstate New York in the late 1700's is literally Paradise, the small town her father, the judge, has honed from a rustic environment along with a group of frontiersmen and Indians.
Elizabeth arrives from England with her brother Julian, amid her staunch crinolines and straight lace ways only to find that life is about to change drastically. Brought up as a part of the Mohawk nation, Nathaniel is about to take her life by storm. Land is a top priority in the new world and there is much to be had by all but our adventure takes a twist when two rivals meet over the ownership of Hidden Wolf Mountain.
With a cast of characters that you will never forget, conveniently set in writing at the beginning of the book, along with a map of the region, you are swept along by a novel that rivals the likes of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I was completely surprised when Donati included a short excerpt of Jamie and Claire Fraser in the book. We are also given an inside look at the Native American's way of life, their pride in the land and their people and their acceptance of a changing world. Their strength of character and respect for nature's ways is clearly evident in her writing.
Reading this book was like a total immersion into another time and place to which I can hardly wait to return. I have already purchased the second book titled DAWN ON A DISTANT SHORE. Kelsana 8/8/01
Elizabeth arrives from England with her brother Julian, amid her staunch crinolines and straight lace ways only to find that life is about to change drastically. Brought up as a part of the Mohawk nation, Nathaniel is about to take her life by storm. Land is a top priority in the new world and there is much to be had by all but our adventure takes a twist when two rivals meet over the ownership of Hidden Wolf Mountain.
With a cast of characters that you will never forget, conveniently set in writing at the beginning of the book, along with a map of the region, you are swept along by a novel that rivals the likes of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I was completely surprised when Donati included a short excerpt of Jamie and Claire Fraser in the book. We are also given an inside look at the Native American's way of life, their pride in the land and their people and their acceptance of a changing world. Their strength of character and respect for nature's ways is clearly evident in her writing.
Reading this book was like a total immersion into another time and place to which I can hardly wait to return. I have already purchased the second book titled DAWN ON A DISTANT SHORE. Kelsana 8/8/01
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