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4.0 out of 5 stars
THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT..., Dec 13 2006
Long renowned for her historical fiction, British author, Norah Lofts, turned her hand at a work of fiction based upon the heartbreaking and tragic story of the Donner Party, a group of nearly ninety individuals who, in 1846, set out for California from Missouri, taking a new route that obliged them to cross the Sierra Mountains. They were to find themselves trapped high in the Sierra Mountains by a bitter, winter cavalcade of storms and relentless snow. This desperate group of pioneers, who saw their numbers reduced by nearly half, finally resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Their tragic story is the inspiration for this book.
In this book, the author leaves behind the English countryside where so much of her historical fiction takes place. Ms. Lofts, instead, turns to the American West, where in 1846 a small party of pioneers, meet up at a lonely outpost, Fort Mason. There, they learn that one of the parties, led by Kevin Furmage, a well to do businessman, is going to try a new route to California, believing that such would shorten the traveling time. The others are intrigued by the opportunity to shorten their traveling time, and, one by one, they elect to join Mr. Furmage's party of three.
Mr. Furmage now finds himself accompanied by four other parties: the Smiths, a family of five now joined by a Mr. Cooper, an invalid, the Warrens, a family of five, the Glennys, a party of three, and that of Madame Jurer, a party of five. Together, this motley, rag-tag group intends to break new trail to California through the Sierra Mountains. What they will discover is that this new trail would break them. Beset by desert thirst, Indians, flood waters, loss of their oxen and their food stores, as well as snow storms high in the Sierras, which would leave them caught in its drifts, and bone piercing cold, this disparate group of people would have to resolve their differences and band together in order to survive. Their survival, however, would come at a price that they would never have believed that they would be called upon to pay.
This is an interesting tale that will engage those who enjoy well-written historical fiction. It is a story that will keep the reader turning the pages. While the book is more plot driven, rather than character driven, a number of the characters are fairly well-developed. Those who like historical fiction will enjoy reading this book.
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