Berrigan's Ride - Softcover

Elpel, Jan L

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1892784378 ISBN 13: 9781892784377

Publisher: Hops Press, LLC, 2016

Synopsis

Kent Berrigan never expected to fall in love with raw, remote Montana Territory. He recognizes himself in the night flight of wild horses running past his shack in the gold fields of Madison County, 1866. "His pulse stimulated to breaking in this land of intemper­ance, temper, and indifference with an edge on its own terms. He yearned to run with the herd--as with the horses, another life formed a past he ran from, or a future he was running toward..."

Kent settles on Norwegian Creek with other Rebels, a dog and a captured wild horse. After a friend was murdered, he follows his heart to California gold camps in pursuit of Marion Patton, an independent woman with a vision for the country, if not of her own destiny. Eventually, an Alder Gulch mine tragedy near Virginia City forces Kent to confront his unresolved relationship with the North.

About this title

Review

"The first attempt I've read to create in fiction the post-war trauma experience of 1860s veterans of both sides of the Civil War residing in Montana Territory... a good read." -Jeffrey J. Safford, PhD, author Mechanics of Optimism "I am impressed with how much careful work went into the manuscript. The attention to historic accuracy and detail, the poetic descriptions of landscape and flora, and the vistas and scenes. And with a style of dialogue that seemed quite 'in period.' It seemed to me there was a consistency that made it a fast and easy read. "I think American males, in large measure, have suffered from post-war trauma throughout our history, and their families, children, and innocent bystanders have all suffered the effects. So the characters you describe-the men-from Kent to Benson-are just like the men we have always known! In short-your characters seem perfectly normal." -Theodora Kreps, PhD (Ret.) Anthropology, Stanford University "My great-grandmother (maternal) was the niece of Varina Howell Davis, second wife of Jeff Davis, president of the Confederacy. Varina was the sister of my great-grandmother's father. My great-grandmother's family moved to Union territory (Illinois) and fought for the Union. My great-grandfather and his brothers came from Wales, paid by the Union to come and fight for them-that was their stake in the war." -Lilie Allen, author of poetry collections, Bread in Your House and A Perfect Blossom

Edition details

• Publisher: Hops Press, LLC
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1892784378
• ISBN 13: 9781892784377
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 294