Into the Wilderness - Softcover

Donati, Sara

4.11

41,041 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553578529 ISBN 13: 9780553578522

Publisher: Bantam Books, 1999

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Weaving a tapestry of fact and fiction, Sara Donati's epic novel sweeps us into another time and place...and into the heart of a forbidden affair between an unconventional Englishwoman and an American frontiersman.

It is December of 1792. Elizabeth Middleton leaves her comfortable English estate to join her family in a remote New York mountain village. It is a place unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man unlike any she has ever encountered--a white man dressed like a Native American, Nathaniel Bonner, known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives. Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village, she soon finds herself locked in conflict with the local slave owners as well as her own family.

Interweaving the fate of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati's compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portrait of an emerging America.

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Review:

‘One of those rare strories that lets you breathe the air of another time and leave your footsteps on the snow of a wild, strange place.’ Diana Gabaldon

‘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

From the Author:

sequel? tribute? retelling? the mystery explored...
I will admit that I am fascinated and (usually) entertained by the reviews posted here by Amazon customers -- writing is a solitary undertaking with so little direct feedback, and sometimes when I'm procrastinating over a difficult scene I'll wander over to Amazon (as some wander to the water cooler) to see who's here and what they have had to say about this story of mine.

What I want to do is clear up something that seems to cause many people confusion and some of them even unhappiness. Is this a sequel to Last of the Mohicans? Why do the same characters show up? Why are some of the names changed? What gives?

To situate this story in relationship to other stories set in this time and place, you do have to begin with James Fenimore Cooper, he of the flowery dialogue (I defy thee, wretched Huron!) but interesting conflicts. This is not a sequel to Last of the Mohicans, but it is a very loose retelling of The Pioneers. I begin with some of his characters, and make them my own. Natty Bumppo, Nathaniel Po, Daniel Boone, to these I add my incarnation of Nathaniel Bonner. Just as my Elizabeth Middleton is modeled on Jane Austen's Elizabeth and Mary Bennet. Retellings are very common in fiction -- some claim there are only twenty plots that get used over and over again. Thus West Side Story might be seen as rewarmed Romeo and Juliet.

So take this for what it's meant to be (a good solid adventure/love story with careful attention to historical detail, and characters who keep you intrigued) or take it for warmed over Cooper -- the choice is yours. Another point of some contention -- If you'd like to call it a romance, that's fine with me too -- there's a love story at the heart of it, after all. If you're looking for a traditional romance, you will find that it doesn't quite follow all the rules of the genre -- but you might like it anyway. You never know.

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