Into the Wilderness (Mass Market Paperback)

Those readers who have enjoyed the enormously popular
"Outlander" series of novels by author Diana Gabaldon will especially enjoy this book. It should be noted that Diana Gabaldon herself has warmly endorsed this book. Moreover, that its author is herself a fan of Ms. Gabaldon, there can be little doubt, as the two main characters in Ms. Gabaldon's best selling "Outlander" series make a brief appearance nearly midway through this book. Moreover, the author also incorporates James Fennimore Cooper's character "Hawkeye" from his book, "The Last of the Mohicans", adding to the intriguing pastiche of characters, historical, literary, and imaginative, who pepper this book.

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!

Everything and everybody seemed to conspire to disrupt the lives of a few people, echoing the past, present and future struggles of all humans and perhaps, very deeply showing a light for us all to follow to find some kind of peace in the world.

I was absorbed into the plights of each and every character, loving, hating and moved many times to tears. A rollercoaster of emotions with every turn of the page.

I am desparate to pick up the story (Dawn on a Distant Shore) so that I can follow the lives of the Bonners in their endless struggle to keep their family and happiness intact.

I will admit that it was the endorsement from Diana Gabaldon on the cover which made me decide to buy it - I'm a big fan of the Jamie and Claire novels. This is in a similar style (and the author credits Gabaldon with support during the writing of it). I enjoyed it, but it was perhaps a little too derivative. The characters are attractive, though, and the story runs along nicely through its 800+ pages. I read it on a 24 hour plane journey and didn't get bored with it once. It would make a good read for anyone waiting impatiently for the fifth Gabaldon novel to come out but it misses the spark of the Jamie and Claire stories and the unusual idea upon which they are premised. Still worth a look...