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Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village, white, black, and Native American, Elizabeth soon finds herself at odds with local slave owners. Much to her surprise, she clashes with her own father as well. Financially strapped, Judge Middletown has plans for his daughter -- betrothal to local doctor Richard Todd. An alliance with Todd could extract her father from ruin but would call into question the ownership of Hidden Wolf, the mountain where Nathaniel, his father, and a small group of Native Americans live and hunt. As Judge Middletown brings pressure to bear against his daughter, she is faced with a choice between compliance and deception, a flight into the forrest, and a desire that will bend her hard will to compromise and transformation. Elizabeth's ultimate destiny, here in the heart of the wilderness, lies in the odyssey to come: trials of faith and flesh, and passion born amid Nathaniel's own secrets and divided soul.
Interweaving the fate of the remnants of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati's compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passiionate portrait of an emerging America.
It is very rare that debut novels reveal much mastery of craft, character, and story. But in rare instances, they do. Margaret Mitchell, with Gone with the Wind, created a masterpiece, which was unfortunately her only novel. Jean Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear was another first novel that soared. Well, let me introduce you to one of the best new storytellers to come around since Diana Gabaldon.
Sara Donati is truly amazing.
She has with this, her first published novel, created a lush canvas of richly drawn characters and fascinating stories all in one great fictional world. I am so used to reading hyperbole about new fiction that I'm immune to most of it at this point. So I was pleasantly shocked as I read Into the Wilderness, turning page after page, trying to find a place where I could put it down, and found that I could not stop reading. Do not pass this book up. Do not let it get by you. Sara Donati is the real thing, and Into the Wilderness will no doubt become a popular classic.
In her acknowledgments, Donati thanks, among others, J. F. Cooper. The "J. F." stands for James Fenimore, and Donati is gracious to thank him. Into the Wilderness owes a delicious debt to the Leatherstocking tales of James Fenimore Cooper, and even those who haven't read him are sure to know the hit movie of a few years' back, "The Last of the Mohicans," based on his novel of the same name. There are echoes of this story within Into the Wilderness, but they serve more as reference points than anything else. Donati has created a wholly original tale, using the background of 18th-century North America and the mingling of Mohawk and Six Nations culture with the growing pioneer culture of the post-Revolutionary War.
I cannot recommend this book to you highly enough. There are a lot of wonderfully romantic novels out there, but this one goes beyond most. It is a startling story, one that moves smoothly and manages to create a world for the reader to fall in love with and take to the heart. But I'm sure you want to hear more about it, so here goes:
Elizabeth Middleton never considered herself an outsider until she left her secure existence in England for the wilds of America. It's the winter of 1792, and she did not know real cold until she arrived in the forests of upstate New York, where her father owns an immense property called Paradise.
She has come to teach all the children of the area, but upon her arrival she finds several roadblocks to this goal, not the least of which is that her father has not really prepared the way. Instead he has been trying to arrange a sensible marriage between Elizabeth and Richard Todd, a well-to-do doctor. Elizabeth learns why: Her brother Julian not only lost their dead mother's inheritance to Todd in gambling but even cut into his father's money with his debts. Now their father is cash-poor. A good marriage for his daughter would not only make the old man happy but also ensure that a wiser man than Julian would be at the helm of the vast estate their father has spent his life building.
Elizabeth is horrified at her father's scheming, even while she understands the dilemma. She's ready to bolt back to England. But the sparks fly when Elizabeth meets Nathaniel Bonner, the white son of Hawkeye, who in turn is the son of Chingachgook. Those familiar with James Fenimore Cooper's stories will recognize a bit of this lineage. Nathaniel is white in skin only. He is wholly Native American. He and his family, which includes a young daughter by a wife who died in childbirth, survive by the good graces of Elizabeth's father. But they seek to somehow purchase the mountain they occupy from him in order to allow the area to maintain some kind of permanent dignity.
Elizabeth is the only white person in the area to appreciate the humanity of the local Indians. The white families all around her fear them, and have created myths about them. Someone has even gone so far as to steal from Nathaniel and his relatives so that they have been destitute during the long winters. As her respect and admiration for Nathaniel Bonner grow, so does their love for each other. But within the very community in which Elizabeth lives, something far greater threatens their future happiness.
No synopsis of this story will do it justice. It is all too rare that a first novel leaps into the imagination as quickly as does Into the Wilderness. The author's ability to create both romantic sparks and historical depth around a fascinating epic story is masterful, to say the least. Miss this at your own risk.
--Jessi Rose Lucas
Jessi Rose Lucas's first romance novel, The Swan Prince, is forthcoming. She lives on the New England coast and is currently working on her second novel, The Tarnished Knight, a medieval romance about Lancelot and Guinevere.
When she defies her father and elopes with Nathaniel, her family and the village are horrified. The lovers disappear into the woods, where Todd tracks them ruthlessly. When Nathaniel is wounded by an accidental gunshot, Elizabeth travels solo for days to seek aid for her now-husband. Along the way, she's captured and nearly killed by the evil Jack Lingo, who is pursuing long-lost Tory gold that he believes Nathaniel has hidden away. When she and Nathaniel finally return to Paradise, it's only to face the hamlet's ingrained bigotry. Exemplary historical fiction, boasting a heroine with a real and tangible presence.
"A powerful adventure story."—People
"Each time you open a book, you hope to discover a story that will make your spirit of adventure and romance sing. This book delivers on that promise."—Amanda Quick
"Epic in scope, emotionally intense."—BookPage
"A beautiful tale of both romance and survival...Here is the beauty as well as the savagery of the wilderness and, at the core of it all, the compelling story of the love of a man and a woman, both for the untamed land and for one another."—llan W. Eckert
"The romance of the year when it comes to transcending genre boundaries and appealing to readers who love lush historical epics or thrilling backwoods adventures."—Booklist
Capturing the imagination of readers worldwide, the novels of Sara Donati bring to life compelling chapters in history, woven with tales of courage and passionate devotion. Into the Wilderness takes us to late eighteenth-century America, where Elizabeth Middleton arrives from England to fulfill her dream of creating a schoolhouse, serving all the children of a remote New York mountain village, regardless of sex or skin color. But her father has other plans for her. He has a scheme to give Elizabeth substantial property—if she agrees to marry Richard Todd, a man to whom he owes substantial debts. Elizabeth has always treasured her independence, valuing her freedom and integrity above all else. The only man who seems to speak the truth to her is Nathaniel Bonner, a fiery outsider known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives. Soon Elizabeth realizes that Nathaniel is the only match for her. A saga of adventurous new beginnings, Into the Wilderness is a breathtaking journey through the heart and soul of one couple’s epic fate—and the destiny of a young nation.
The questions and discussion topics that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Sara Donati’s Into the Wilderness. We hope they will enrich your experience of this mesmerizing novel.
1. What gives Elizabeth the courage to fight for the vindication of women? How does her vision of the New World compare to that of most early American immigrants?
2. How is Nathaniel affected by his past? When he recalls his previous wife’s desire to be white and his desire to be red, what cultural ideals is he describing?
3. Discuss the Native American notion of land as a spiritual homeland, not a commodity that can be bought and sold with money. How does this compare to the way Judge Middleton and Richard think of land? Does Judge Middleton think of Elizabeth as property too, or is he simply looking out for her best interests in a time when single women faced significant challenges?
4. How did the colonists featured in Into the Wilderness justify their personal quest for freedom while advocating slavery? How did Elizabeth’s father reconcile his upbringing with the beliefs of his fellow citizens?
5. Why was Elizabeth hesitant to begin a relationship? Would you have been tempted to marry Richard? How would you have fared in a marriage that deprived you of property rights?
6. What common ground do Richard and Nathaniel share? What accounts for their very different approaches to life, despite their similar history?
7. What does Julian’s relationship with Kitty say about him? What accounts for their attraction to each other? How does Kitty’s pregnancy change their lives, and the lives of those around them?
8. How is Hannah affected by having Elizabeth in her life? What does Elizabeth teach her about feeling valued?
9. How is Elizabeth’s life shaped by the death of her mother? How does the memory ofher mother affect her idea of womanhood? Does Julian react differently to that aspect of their family history?
10. Elizabeth and Nathaniel are assisted by many enlightened friends, such as the Schuylers. Why do some members of their community accept unconventional people, while others reject them? Even today, in the modern world, what are the roots of these two mindsets?
11. Discuss Elizabeth’s relationship with Julian. Are their differences due to nature, or the way they were raised (nurture)? What does it take for Julian to redeem himself in the end? Or does he?
12. What power and limitations do Curiosity and Galileo possess as freed slaves? How do they influence the Middleton family? For whom is the settlement of Paradise a paradise?
13. How does the arrival of Aunt Merriweather change the way Elizabeth’s family interacts? What is Aunt Merriweather able to see in her niece that others overlook?
14. What is the impact of the additional revelations about Nathaniel’s identity? Which of the legacies in his ancestry matters the most?
15. What did you discover about this chapter in American history? How are the quotations from Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft relevant today?
16. What do you predict for Elizabeth and Nathaniel’s future in Dawn on a Distant Shore? United in marriage, what are their greatest strengths and vulnerabilities?
Sara Donati: Thanks for having me. I'm very well and looking forward to talking to your readers.
Sara Donati: Most of us tend to think that environmental concerns are very new, but they have been in the public consciousness for a long time. There were already hunting laws and hunting seasons in place in 1792, for example. I wanted to draw on this history to make the time and place seem more real and immediate. I hope you enjoy the novel!
Sara Donati: Hi, Chris. My idea for the novel was fairly simple. I wanted to take characters similar to those in Jane Austen's novels and put them in an unfamiliar place. Who ever thinks of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and James Fenimore Cooper's frontier as having happened at the same time? So I based Elizabeth Middleton on the daughters in her novels: upper middle class, very socially correct, from quiet country neighborhoods. And then I put them together with Cooper's frontierspeople and watched them grow and change. It was a challenge, but also a lot of fun.
Sara Donati: Minnie, thanks for dropping in. I'd have to say that the novel is a very loose retelling of Cooper's THE PIONEERS -- I borrowed some of his characters and a little of his plot. It's an affectionate tribute, but it's changed a lot, too.
Sara Donati: Well, Christina, I started writing, the characters came to life, and the story began to evolve. Seven hundred and five pages later, the story came to a logical stopping place. I didn't plan for it to be so long, and even I'm a little surprised at its length. But in the end, the story demanded it. For all its length, I think it's a fairly fast-reading novel, no? And it took me about two and a half years to write it, but I was writing another book at the same time, and teaching as well.
Sara Donati: Reg, that's an interesting question. I think the biggest challenge was getting the Mohawk history as factually and emotionally correct as I could. I felt a real obligation to avoid stereotype and not to cast the Native American characters as victims. It was a difficult challenge, and one that still occupies me a lot.
Sara Donati: I do live on the West Coast, but I grew up in the Midwest and I spent a lot of time in New York State where my father's family lived. The setting interested me because I wanted to write about postrevolutionary times and the lives of everyday people facing many challenges. Also, I did want to retell some of Cooper's story, so that pretty much meant New York.
Sara Donati: Oren: Yes! I'm glad you asked. One of the things I like to do best is to interweave fiction with fact. Some of the characters were real. The scene at dinner in Albany with the French immigrants -- they were real men, and they came to found a settlement called Castorland, which failed after much hardship. There are other real characters too. I always wonder if readers catch them or not.
Sara Donati: Bethany, I think the most fascinating thing is to get a picture of the real turmoil that existed in the few decades after the Revolution. The process of becoming a nation was a long and difficult one, although we tend not to hear about that much in history books. Did you know that there was no U.S. currency until the mid 1790s, and then it took a long time to get going? Up until then, people still used British currency, along with every other kind -- from as many as seventeen other nations. Taxation was a mess (even more than it is now!), there were still debtors' prisons. A truly interesting period.
Sara Donati: Lillian, I don't mind if people want to call it a romance or a love story -- that is, after all, the most important of the story lines. It's not a traditional romance, of course: It doesn't end when Elizabeth and Nathaniel become a couple. The majority of the novel explores how they change and evolve after they are married. But I think many people like a good love story, even if they don't want to call it a romance. So I'm easy, I suppose, on that one.
Sara Donati: I have another novel out [that I wrote] under a different name. That novel is very different from this one, so I used a different name to keep them separated -- apples and oranges, so to speak. If you're really interested, it's called HOMESTEAD and it's under the name Rosina Lippi.
Sara Donati: Jen: I'm so glad you're enjoying it. My advice for any writer is always the same: 1) Read. You have to keep the fire stoked, as I like to think of it. 2) Write! Keep at it. 3) Learn how to take and use constructive criticism from other writers. This is often the hardest part for new writers, who are very protective of what they produce.
Sara Donati: I read about 300 books in whole or part, visited museums and archives, and most important I spoke to experts in various areas -- especially to hunters and trappers, medical people, and historians. It was hard work, but it was also a great deal of fun and very satisfying.
Sara Donati: Well, first you must be prepared for a very big lake that wasn't in my story. In the late 1800s, they dammed the Sacandaga to make the Great Sacandaga Lake, so some of the sites in the novel are now underwater. But otherwise I can't think of any place in the Adirondacks that isn't worth visiting. I love the whole area. If you venture further west, the Finger Lakes are wonderful too. I would suggest the Schuyler's home -- where Elizabeth and Nathaniel were married. It's still standing. The name of the town is no longer Saratoga, though. They renamed it Schuylerville, and what is now Saratoga is a newer settlement. Hope this helps!
Sara Donati: Ziggy: I like this question. I always look at it as an opportunity to push my favorite books and authors. Jane Austen and George Eliot are right at the top of the list because of the way they develop female characterizations. More recently, my favorite authors are Alice Munro, Mark Helprin, Barry Unsworth, A. S. Byatt (POSSESSION is one of my all-time favorite novels). This book specifically was influenced by Cooper, as I've said here already. But it was also influenced by Barry Unsworth and by a novel written by Charles McCarry called BRIDE OF THE WILDERNESS.
Sara Donati: I'm reading Carol Shields's LARRY'S PARTY and Margaret Lawrence's HEARTS AND BONES. I love this Lawrence novel, which is set in Maine in the 1780s. Absolutely wonderful.
Sara Donati: That is a wonderful question, Nickie. I suppose if I could project myself into the book, I'd like to be Elizabeth, as she experiences so much. But I'd also like to be Hannah, who is very close to my heart. The part of the book I'd want to live through myself...hmm. I'd love to be at the lacrosse game at Barktown.
Sara Donati: I think people are hungry for meaty stories, and historical fiction usually provides that. Good characterization is important too, of course, but the story is first and foremost for most readers, it seems to me. I do have an idea for a contemporary novel, which I may start fiddling with soon.
Sara Donati: When I teach creative writing, I don't usually use my own work in the classroom. Sometimes, toward the end of the course, I will have the students read a short story of mine if it fits into what we are discussing. But the course is supposed to be about them, not me. I have a fear of turning a class into a fan club. I know it happens to other writers on rare occasion, and I'm very wary of it. However, [students] often take heart from the knowledge that I have to rewrite and revise and revise and rewrite, so I do talk about that process and how it works for me personally.
Sara Donati: Diane, yes! This is exactly what interested me. It was a very fertile time for women's rights. Mary Wollstonecraft was very visible in England, and women had a big role to play in the abolitionist movement. But overall women lived under great restrictions. On the frontier, some of those restrictions were eased and others were not. I found that really interesting and wanted to explore it. Elizabeth brings the outer world into Paradise, ideas about the rights of little girls (who would have thought to give them any?). She is not anachronistic, but she is unusual in this setting.
Sara Donati: The sequel to INTO THE WILDERNESS, as yet untitled.
Sara Donati: I think I'm fairly typical. I had a first short story published in GLIMMER TRAIN when I was 32, and I struggled and struggled along for ten years. Then, in a rather hectic chain of events, my agent sold three novels in three months (I suppose that is where the usual story line changes in my case). All I can say is, find a good agent!
Sara Donati: Helen: I see I have a few more minutes! Yes, this novel is a loose retelling of Cooper's THE PIONEERS. I hope you won't be disappointed.
Sara Donati: I've really enjoyed talking to everyone. Thanks so much for this opportunity! There's a chat board at America Online for INTO THE WILDERNESS if anybody is interested. Look up "Women of the Wilderness" if you have the opportunity. Sorry to have missed some interesting questions here.
1. The town of Paradise and New York State was the untamed frontier at the time Elizabeth came from England to live with her father. What were her expectations from this new life? How were the personal freedoms she expected to enjoy compromised by her father as if they were still in England? By the people of Paradise?
2. Freedom to speak her mind, having her own voice and thoughts, is of utmost importance to Elizabeth. She aligns her beliefs with those of Mary Wollstonecraft’s as stated in her volume The Vindication of the Rights of Women published in 1792. How does Elizabeth’s outspokenness serve her, positively and negatively? With Dr. Todd? With Nathaniel?
3. What do the reactions of the townspeople to Elizabeth’s school make you think about schooling today? Do you understand the local’s concern that an expansive education—filling the children’s heads with philosophy, poetry, literature and the aristocracy—would make them unsatisfied with their lots in life, i.e. the girls won’t be satisfied as a farmer’s wife?
4. Why are money, land and resources important tools to the Mohawk people, aside from the usual basic needs? Why do they hide and guard those resources? How does that compare with the role of money and resources as tools in your own life?
5. Money is an element in all their histories, a tool for all of them, rich, poor, greedy, generous, in the business of trade, etc. Women can not own land on their own; it must go into the hands of a husband should she marry. How does control of land, resources, wealth drive their lives? How does Elizabeths marriage to Nathaniel affect those resources?
6. Elizabeth says she and Nathaniel have power over each other. What evidence did you see of that mutual power? Do you feel that this is a contemporary issue, too?
7. Questions for readers of any of Sara Donati's Wilderness novels:
The northern and northwestern part of New York State was the nation’s untamed frontier in the late 18th and early 19th Century, the era of the Wilderness series. How does this frontier experience differ from that of the traditional western or “wagons west” description of America’s wilder places? How is it the same? Why was the settlement of upper New York State significant to people in Canada? To England? To France? To Holland?
8. Why is settlement by Europeans significant to the Native Peoples—and how do settlers like the Bonner family and others in the town of Paradise both complement and conflict with them? What roles do the slaves and the freed slaves, serve?
9. Discuss the Freeman family’s activities in aiding runaway slaves’ flight to freedom. Do you think they helped these people, or contributed to setting the stage for continuing and future conflict for them? What role did the African Free School, and Manny Freeman’s association with it, play in the abolition of slavery? Do you think the Gradual Manumission Act was devised in a fair manner?
10. Most of the characters in this book have dealt with an eminent amount of loss. How have these losses shaped the characters’ weaknesses and strengths?
11. Author Donati uses wonderful place and character names drawn from the Native Language. Discuss the symbolism of the characters’ names (i.e. Walks-Ahead, Bone-in-Her-Back, Hawkeye, etc.). How do these names illuminate the characters themselves? Would you choose a descriptive name for yourself—and what would that be?
Anonymous
Posted Wed May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I Also Recommend:
I really enjoyed Into The Wilderness. Every time I had to put the book down I couldn't wait till I was about to pick it back up. I know it's a good book when after I put the book down I keep thinking about the characters and reliving the scenes I have just read, and wondering what could possibly happen next. I like that there was a little real history involved, but not so much that it over shadowed the love story. I was so happy to find out that Into The Wilderness is the first in a series of book involving Nathaniel, Elizabeth, and the rest of residents of Paradise.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BookishKB
Posted Wed Jul 18 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Ever seen the movie (or read) The Last of the Mohicans? That is where the premise of this book picks up, with Cora and Hawkeyes' son as the love interest and hero which I picked up on in the first 3 chapters. It was a great movie!!! This book is good for a light and fast read with tasteful romance and a decent plot. Elizabeth & Nathaniel don't remind me at all of Claire and Jamie Fraser, but fans of Outlander would like the story I'm sure.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AustenfanCH
Posted Thu Aug 19 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I Also Recommend:
As I am reading this book, I keep thinking of Outlander! Then I see that so many other readers have compared it to Outlander! THEN...the Outlander characters appear in the novel! Well I wasn't impressed. If I already thought Nathaniel Bonner was an American version of Jamie Fraser, this sured it up for me. Elizabeth (the main female character) is basically another Claire Fraser. She is even given the name (Bone in her Back). So I guess it is a mild version of Oulander but to be honest, it's more like Sara Donati picked up the Frasers, dusted them off, and plopped them in Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bonners clothes...no origality! Plus...if you are an avid Jane Austen fan...be prepared, this author has also stole several of her scenes from Pride and Prejudice as well. When Richard Todd first asks Elizabeth to marry him I had to look at the front of the book again to be sure I was still reading Into the Wilderness...come on! This author has a wonderful writing style. She can pull you into the book, and the characters SHE created and didn't borrow from other authors are very good. My suggestion to Ms. Donati is keep writing BUT trust yourself! You don't need someone elses characters! I would recommend the book, truthfully I loved both Outlander and Pride and Prejudice so I liked the book, but I would like to see more of this authors work, her original work. In the end a good book and I think I will read the next one. Hope this helps other readers.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Well...I was very hopeful with this book since I'm a big fan of Gabaldon's Outlander. But...It wasn't as I expected. The characters seem promising at first, but then it all gets too predictable. Yes, it has the touch of romance and adventure, but it stays short, and sometimes I found myself trying to skip on pages (something that never ever happened with Outlander). Not a good review...sorry.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2010
Sara Donati (aka Rosina Lippi) is a fabulous writer and her tale of Elizabeth Bonner in early America (Saratoga Springs) is captivating. Once started, you will not be able to put it and all the books that follow in the series down. Rosina is a local author (Bellingham WA) and whip smart (former professor of linguistics). If you like high quality historical fiction, you are in luck. This series has been compared to the Diana Gabaldon series and I can see why, but it is superior. It holds together better and all of the characters are more compelling. I never wanted it to end and there will be a lot of us in mourning this month (January 2010) when her last book comes out.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Jan 30 00:00:00 EST 2000
I think it is probably the best book I have read in a long time. I could not put it down! It's a exciting mixture of romance and adventure. I am looking forward to her next novel.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Apr 09 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Just finished Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series and was looking for something else to read. I am really enjoying this series. I am already reading the second book in the series.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Mar 28 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I just finished this 1st book of the series, set in 18th Century New England, & can't wait to read the rest. I, too, am a huge fan of Gabaldon's Outlander books so am happy to find another historical fiction series that keeps me coming back for more. Nathanial & Elizabeth, like Jamie & Claire, find themselves facing one challenge after another. I couldn't wait to see what happened next & how they would get themselves out of whatever fix they're in. If you're a fan of Historical Fiction with likable characters, great story & descriptive writing, this is definitely for you.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Well-written period piece set in the late 1700s in upstate New York - includes a great love story. Recently re-released in this beautiful trade paper edition. Highly recommended - worth reading more than once.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Gabaldon recommended this series and that made me interested in it. It is a long novel with many plot twists that kept it interesting and made it worth reading. It also had a nice connection to the Outlander series.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Great read.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Reading this story makes one feel as if they are in the story. As if the reader is a character invited to listen to a conversation. I need to read the entire series now.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Dec 24 00:00:00 EST 2012
Couldn't put it down! LOVED it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Oct 12 00:00:00 EDT 2012
This was a long read, but it was well worth the time. Very interesting characters, well developed. Also an interesting insight into the world of the Native Americans in the 1700's as well as the life of the early settlers. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I am in the middle of this book and can't put it down. I will read all in the series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Excellent - will read the next one in the series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Jun 14 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I began this series because it was recommended after reading the Outlander series. It started slow. It picks up the pace around page 200. It was almost painfully slow up until this point. All in all though, it was a great book. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Once you start reading this book it will be hard to put down. I have already ordered the second book in the series. Reminds me of Diane Gabaldon series, if you liked them you will like this too.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue May 08 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Loved the characters...at first it seemed predictible but there were so many twists and turns in the story that I couldn't wait to read on. I'm anxious to start #2. Donati is a very graceful, smooth writer with a flair for the language and customs of the era.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2012
If you have read all Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and are aching for more, this is your author. Very closely related yet different enough to enjoy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview