- Paperback: 896 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (2 April 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007108281
- ISBN-13: 978-0007108282
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 4.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 232,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
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
Product Description
The beginning of a captivating saga, transcending genre boundaries, set among British colonials in the North American wilderness.
Elizabeth Middleton leaves a comfortable life in the upper-class England of 1792 to join her father in his colonial mission in a remote American outpost.
It is not long, however, before Elizabeth realises that her father has brought her to America under false pretences. While encouraging her dreams of teaching the local children, he in fact intends to marry off the fiercely independent Elizabeth to Richard Todd, a fellow pioneer, thereby ensuring his own possession of the local land. As a result, Elizabeth is increasingly drawn away from her English colonial heritage and towards that of the Mohawks, and in particular towards the man who will eventually change her life forever, the white Mohawk Nathaniel Bonner.
Beautifully written, passionate and compelling, Sara Donati interweaves the destiny of the two lovers torn between the English and Mohawk cultures in a unforgettably vivid portrait of an emerging America.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Elizabeth Middleton, twenty-nine years old and unmarried, overly educated and excessively rational, knowing right from wrong and fancy from fact, woke in a nest of marten and fox pelts to the sight of an eagle circling overhead, and saw at once that it could not be far to Paradise. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Elizabeth Middleton, twenty-nine years old and unmarried, overly educated and excessively rational, knowing right from wrong and fancy from fact, woke in a nest of marten and fox pelts to the sight of an eagle circling overhead, and saw at once that it could not be far to Paradise. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A SWEEPING SAGA OF LATE 18TH CENTURY UPSTATE NEW YORK...,
By
This review is from: Into the Wilderness (Wilderness Saga 1) (Paperback)
This novel is the first in a series of three such novels published to date. It is a riveting, page-turning work of well-written historical fiction. It is a story woven from the gossamer threads of history and infused with the creativity of this author, so as to produce an utterly spellbinding and ambitious, sweeping epic novel. This is a novel that will appeal to those who love rousing historical fiction that carries with it a sense of teeming and timeless adventure. Those readers who have enjoyed the enormously popular The book is simple in its premise. An independent and outspoken, intelligent Englishwoman in her twenties, Elizabeth Middleton, leaves England with her brother Julian, to join their father, Judge Alfred Middleton, in the mountains of upstate New York, northwest of Albany. There, she meets Hawkeye's son, handsome backwoods man Nathaniel Bonner, a man who straddles two worlds, that of the white man and that of the native American, and finds herself falling head-over-heels in love with him. Despite her father's attempts to marry her off to a wealthy landowner and the village doctor, Richard Todd, she gravitates towards Nathaniel in defiance of her father, who has his own reasons for wanting to marry her off to Dr. Todd. The good doctor also has his own secret agenda in this matter, a secret that he keeps well hidden until thwarted of his desire. To further complicate matters, Elizabeth sets herself up as a school teacher for all the children of the village in which she lives, black, white, and native American, but finds herself locked in conflict with those who believe that education is only for a select group. What happens to Elizabeth and Nathaniel, as well as to their respective families, is positively gripping, given the adventures into which they are thrust. The author gives the reader a tantalizing glimpse into what life may have been like in upstate New York during that time period, with all its hardships, deprivations, and political and social turmoil, as well as the constantly shifting conflicts and alliances between the white settlers and the Mohawk nation. Descriptively rich and densely plotted, filled with historical personages of the time and well-known historical events, this ambitious and compelling novel will have the reader compulsively turning the pages until the very end. It is simply a wonderfully told and enthralling tale that any discerning lover of historical fiction will enjoy. Bravo!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Trite, inauthentic,
By A Customer
This review is from: Into the Wilderness (Mass Market Paperback)
The book starts off promising enough, but after about a hundred pages or so, you realize you are dealing with simple, one-dimensional characters. The good people are very, very good, and the bad people are very, very bad, with no gray area or subtlety in between. Naturally, the Indians and black people are all kind, noble, intelligent and brave. The bad white people are vicious, venal, murderous and stupid. Like most dull novels, there is also a contrivance which makes our heroes almost invulnerable. I was initially attracted to this novel because it takes place in 1792 upstate New York, but other than there being a lot of trees and lakes, one never gets the sense of colonial America. At least, one never gets the sense of colonial America beyond what one has already learned from grade school texts. This could have taken place in 1892 or 1692, or, in the way Nathaniel is cupping his hand around Elizabeth's breast every thirty pages or so, 1992. I gave up
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
too long...and too predictable,
By A Customer
This review is from: Into the Wilderness (Mass Market Paperback)
I guess I missed something. I couln't find many vibrant passages, or engaging writing here. The characters in this romantic novel are highly predictable, and shallow. I don't get the 'fully-rounded' and 'highly intelligent' phrases which were used to describe them. The protagonist, Elizabeth, giggles, blushes, and can't seem to concentrate on anything but kisses, much like a thirteen year old school girl. Come on! I wanted her actions to convey her intelligence...to be focused and more mature in her arguements with her overbearing father, and languid lout of a brother. Instead, there are shallow attempts at out-witting her papa, and the law regarding a deed of land...and all for the sake of Nathaniel's approval and strong, manly chest...It's high school, all over again. Elizabeth is an unbelievable mix of aloof spinster, schoolmarm...vixen...psychic and empty-headed moppet. When the house servant, Curiosity, sets up ruse after ruse, to fool her old man, Elizabeth still needs to be walked through all the major tricks. Yet, she has the uncanny ability, just before bedding down, to gaze out the window, on the moonlit winter snow, and spy her lover, who just happens to be out walking...in the wilderness. She, of course, rushes out, into the winter night, with a candle?!, and brings it, into the barn, where the two arrange their future, with a bit of breathless groping. Over 900 pages of 'wolfish' looks...gasping groans...and well, some good, yet highly questionable love-making, in the swamps, caves, and backwoods of upper New York. Romping around and on top of martin and fisher pelts, swimming with turtles...whispering wild words in each other's ears...but, darnit, we never get to hear those 'highly historical' passages! Let's call this stuff what it is! Romantic fiction, rather than a historical novel. No big deal..but, then, no disappointment for those of us who will continue to search out a worthwhile read!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- Books > Fiction > Family Sagas
- Books > Fiction > Historical
- Books > Romance > Adult & Contemporary
- Books > Romance > Historical
- Books > Romance > Sagas
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
