I need suggestions for pioneer novels or series. Any ideas?
I need suggestions for pioneer novels or series. Any ideas?
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I need suggestions for pioneer novels or series. Any ideas?
I’ve just discovered Willa Cather thanks to a thread on here, very much enjoying her so far.
This might seem obvious but, if you haven’t read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I’d highly recommend them.
Jed Nord I found a three in one volume of the first books, which I didn’t know existed, thanks to this group. Available on Amazon. Other retailers are available lol
@Lisa good to know! It’s been years since I’ve read any of them and I’m overdue for a re-read.
Willa Cather!!!
These is My Words 1st in series by NAncy turner.
I was totally writing the same thing at the same time. Lol.
I was going to suggest this as well. I do believe there might be a second book either coming or came out recently.
“These is my words” is a 3 book series I read many years ago and I liked it. Not a series, but one book “a thousand white women” I also liked. I don’t read a lot of this genre but recall these ones and really liked both.
I didn’t realize there were 3 already, I will certainly be getting those! I really liked A Thousand White Women as well.
And now there is a sequel to A thousand white women…The Vengenance of mother’s.
there is! Thank you. I did not know. I will check it out, although it has been a long time since I read one thousand white women.
So the vengeance of mother’s was in Spanish only on goodreads, but then said that book two was “ the wild girls” so I am confused about what is the actually book number two.
@Shasta no that’s not correct.Look on Amazon for The Vengenance of Mothers.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Oh Pioneer! Also by Willa Cather
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
All three are great reads.
My Antonia by Willa Cather.
Conrad Richter’s trilogy about the Ohio Frontier: The Awakening Land. The books in it are: The Trees, The Field, The Town…won the Pulitzer Prize…and True Women: A Novel of Texas by Janice Woods Windle…
News of the World, Paulette Jilles. This is a wonderful book set in frontier Texas. I recommend it to everyone. You’ll fall in love with the two main characters.
Mrs. Mike!!!
And I second Lonesome Dove
The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans… James Fenimore Cooper
News of the World – Paulette Jiles…..soooo good!!!
Little house on the prairie
Last of the Mohicans
The Virginian by Owen Wister
Trials of the Earth- Mary Mann Hamilton; O Pioneer! – Willa Cather;
It’s not a series – but unforgettable – “The Children’s Blizzard” – weather of the Plains – based on true story with interesting historical details.
@Karen This reminds me of one of the Little House on the Prairie books. The Ingalls family barely survived that epic winter. Amazingly strong people.
My Book group determined it as one of ‘best reads’ -it also covers the government’s role in the tragedy.
A Lantern in Her Hand
Bess Streetcher Aldrich
One of my absolute favorites
Excellent book.
Another good one by her is The Lieutenant’s Lady.
@Brenda Thank you! I don’t know why, but I’ve never read anything else by her. I honestly bought the book because it was a 1928 copy and I loved the way it looked. Then of course the book is so moving that I’ve read it many times. I’ll look into that one too.
These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E.Turner
And the two sequels!
It’s so funny @Nancy. I never knew there were two sequels until I joined SBC! I have them on my TBR list, but haven’t gotten around to them yet. I loved These is my Words.
Willa Cather books
A LANTERN IN HER HAND
Good one
Willa Cather is a great author for this subject.
Also Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose
Little house on the prairie? Lol
Ivan Doig. Wallace Stegner. Stegner does not have any series that I know of, though. Doig is a fabulous writer, and does. Stegner’s novels are not pioneer-era — although he’s written nonfiction about that period — but they are deeply steeped in the culture of the American West that arose from the 19th century experience on the frontier. Doig has written books set further in the past. Like Stegner, his books set in more recent times are deeply rooted in the frontier-incluenced culture of the West.
@Todd I have read several of Doig’s books and liked them.
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson, 1st of a series. (I think at least the 2nd is out now, maybe a third.) Marketed as YA, but I think the distinction is fairly meaningless — good fiction is good fiction. This one is for people who like magic/fantasy. Heroine/protagonist has paranormal ability to sense gold … and the book is set in Gold Rush days.
Carson’s series is set in realistic historic America. For mythologized American frontier, of course, there is Orson Scott Card’s Alvin Maker series. (If you can get past Card’s implicit political and religious agendas, which I could when I first read him, and have a harder time with now.)
Janice Holt Giles: a novel called Hannah Fowler is one of my all time favorite reads. It’s about the settlement of Kentucky. It’s sequel is called The Seekers. And The Awakening Land series: The Trees, The Fields, The Town, by Conrad Richter. Those books are about the settlement of Ohio. I’ve read those books over and over again. Really beautifully written.
Another good book by Conrad Richter is A Light in the Forest, about a boy who was captured by Indians, raised with them, and then forcibly returned to his white family.
There’s one called Diary of a Female Homesteader (something like that). It was a true story and a wonderful movie called Heartland.
@Kathy I loved that book!
Amy, I loved the movie too!
@Kathy I wonder if it’s on Netflix or Prime?
I recommended it to my beautician, who is from a cattle farm in Nebraska. She found it on Netflix
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Giants in the Earth by Rolvagg (most all of his books are good). Giants in the Earth is sort of the seminal prairie novel. From there move on to Willa Cather, especially O’ Pioneers and My Antonia.
These Is My Words, Sarah’s Quilt and The Star Garden by Nancy E. Turner.
It’s a kid’s book but… Caddie Woodlawn.
The Emigrants: The Emigrant Novels by Wilhelm Moberg – These books were written about 40 years ago but are really good! It’s a series of 4 books. I loved them and plan to reread them!
Willa Cather novels.
Yes Willa Cather and Prairie Fires
The Orchardist
Lauraine Snelling has a really good series set in North Dakota
@Liz I really enjoyed the Red River series
A Time Remermbered… (?) Smith. Florida
A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith – one of my favorites
Coal River. Serena.
Giants in the Earth. Norwegian immigrants in the Dakotas. Second Hoeing. colorado..
Anne of Green Gables
Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove”, The Berrybender Series, “Streets of Laredo”, “Comanche Moon”. Willa Cather’s “O, Pioneer”. I just started a book about the Donner family “The Indifferent Stars Above” by Daniel James Brown (who also wrote “The Boys in the Boat”)
Little House in the Big Woods and the rest of the series
The Light in the Forest by Conrad @Richter
Centennial by James Michener.
It’s an oldie but Little House series by Laura Ignalls Wilder.
Or a little sci fi David Gemmell – Jon Shannow trilogy
A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith
Stef Penney The Tenderness of Wolves.
If you like historical fiction with a twist, Patricia Wrede’s “Thirteenth Child” trilogy is really fun. Pioneer times but if magic were real.