A Small Part of History by Peggy Elliott

[Michelle]

The unforgettable story of the women who travelled the Oregon Trail in 1845 - a tale of incredible bravery told through narrative, fictional diaries and recipes.

At twenty-seven years old Rebecca has just become the third wife of John Springer. Moving into her new home has had its ups and downs - her four step-sons like and obey her, she's getting used to her new husband's ways but Sarah, her step-daughter, is proving to be more difficult. And now, her husband has decided that the country is becoming 'too da**ned crowded' and they're going to pack up everything they can carry and travel thousands of miles across the USA. As they travel across plains, mountains and rivers, through blistering heat and blizzards that lasted for days, Rebecca does her best to feed and care for her new family, despite appalling adversity. At first Rebecca and the fifteen-year-old Sarah find their fledgling relationship stretched almost to breaking point but, eventually, their bond deepens and becomes breakable only by death.

Part of a give away from Headline, please share your thoughts on this book.

[supergran71]

Originally Posted by Michelle

Part of a give away from Headline, please share your thoughts on this book.

Havent read it yet , but will when I do

[Icecream]

I am half way through. It is a great book. I will share my thoughts when finished.

[madcow]

Here are my thoughts...

This was a very touching story which made me so glad I wasn't born in that era. The struggles and heartaches they went through on their journey don't bear thinking about, it was also very touching in places. To me Sarah started of acting very childish but faced with all the adversity on the trail she matured into a lovely thoughtful person. The book gives the reader a real insight into what it would have been like to up sticks so to speak and start a new life on the other side of the country including all the hardships without being graffic or depressing. A highly recommended read.

Apologies for my review I'm not very good at them and it does not do this book justice

[Icecream]

I am about half way through, but already I can see Sarah starting to grow up. It certainly is a good account of moving across the country, with all the hardships endured.

[Mia]

I finished this a couple of days ago and found it a very compelling read. It was a real page-turner and I just had to find out what happened next.

I haven't read such a fascinating, touching, compelling, heartbreaking and downright depressing story for a long time! I never normally read this kind of thing, but I would heartily recommend this book. It's written in a very plain, simple style, mostly from extracts of various women's journals, which makes everything seem so realistic.

I know some people have to be pioneers, or nothing much would ever be achieved, but... Why couldn't they just have stayed where they were? All those women, some of them pregnant, being forced to up sticks and travel across the country just because their husbands wanted to. It's a very good insight into how women at the time had no say in anything and no rights, they were literally the property of their husbands. They weren't even entitled to any land when they reached Oregon!

I found the book quite upsetting - I was reading it on the train and had to stop myself from crying many times. If I'd been at home I would have been bawling my eyes out!

This was an excellent book. I want to say I enjoyed it, but I don't think "enjoyed" is the right word when it was so sad. I'm glad I read it though.

Originally Posted by madcow

This was a very touching story which made me so glad I wasn't born in that era.

I so agree, madcow! It was horrific how the slightest injury led to death in those days. *shudder* And the toilet arrangements for modesty!!

PS: I'm wondering if this book should be in the Historical Fiction forum rather than Contemporary Fiction?

[Michelle]

Originally Posted by Mia

PS: I'm wondering if this book should be in the Historical Fiction forum rather than Contemporary Fiction?

I haven't read it yet, so wouldn't know. I shall go by your recommendation though.

[Mia]

Ooh, now I'm scared I've got it wrong! I just thought it's fiction about 1845, so it's historical. Is that the criteria?

[Michelle]

I hate sorting out these genres! I would say that historical is anything not set in the present day, or recent past.

That's not helpful, is it?!

[Mia]

That's very helpful, because it means I was right. And I just love being right!

Anyway, you've got to read this book when you get the chance Michelle because it was really good.

[Michelle]

Believe me, it is sitting there, patiently waiting for me. I just had a bunch of review-type books all turn up at once, plus plenty of other problems keeping me busy.

[Icecream]

This book definitely belongs here. I finished it last night.

This tale is both encouraging and heartbreaking. It is a story which shows the need for companionship, how much men need women, and vice versa, but also of differences, of how different the two sexes are. It is a story that shows the strength of human beings as they come through immense suffering. It is a journey both physically and spiritually. Told from the perspective of two of the travellers, a young girl and her step-mother as, through their hardships, they find a way to put aside their hostility and communicate, building there once hazy relationship into a full and loving one.

The description on the front of the book says that in it, The Island meets Cold Mountain. I have not read The Island, but I read Cold Mountain last year and am straining to see the similarities, past there being a mountain, a journey, and a community. The more I think about it, the more I see they are two very different books. At first, the book reminded me a lot of little house on the prairie, with the quaint little old stlye town, the descriptions of the houses, the children playing by the creek, running through fields, and the way of life, with the men and women the way they were, as well as the expectations people had. Who does the cover picture portray? I would say it is Sarah, grown from childhood to womanhood through her hardships. You can see both loss and wisdom in that look. The format of narrative and diaries (the book cover says recipies too, but where were they?) was not difficult to follow, but is a new style to me, and took a little getting used to at first.

The book is supposed to be on a very serious subject, but it was quite funny in places, and I had to laugh at some things. I wasn't expecting such a book to mention sex, and there are references to it when the main couple in the book are alone, but it is not very much, and not too explicit. the inclusion of it shows another thing about those times. I was amazed at the pace of the journey. It took six months to travel across a few states. How long would that take these days? A few days?

Highlight to view spoiler: I noticed that on P104, Sarah mentioned having black thoughts, but it was not clear whether that was about Rebecca and the baby, or about the hanging man. As soon as it is mentioned, the story moves on, and it isn't really mentioned again (though her feelings toward Rebecca are often mentioned, and change towards over the progression of the journey.

Highlight to view spoiler: I couldn't believe that that woman was beaten just for mourning her child. It would be terrible to lose a child, let alone having to leave that child in the wilderness. She could have had more compassion shown her.

Highlight to view spoiler:
For someone who had been that way before, the captain sure lost a lot of people. Maybe it was his decisions, or maybe somebody elses, or maybe just the people or cirumstances on this journey. There were some very difficult journeys made in those days, but without these people where would we be today?


Highlight to view spoiler:
When people started dying off, I saw John's death coming. I just knew it would happen.


Highlight to view spoiler: I am glad that Captain Stokes stuck up for Sarah in the end. It shows that the women were not always treated badly, and maybe a change in Stokses character too, though we do not learn enough about him to judge.

Highlight to view spoiler: Sarah grew up a lot over this journey, and I believe that she is strong enough to make herself a life, for her and the children, even if she cannot find a man to marry. The book did not say that women would not get portions. The comment of Sarah's was ambiguous. Maybe she was unsure, or maybe she had heard women were not getting any. Either way, she would find some way of making a life for her family.

I did notice one spelling mistake near the end of the book. The book is upstairs now though so I can't look. This book would certainly make for good discussion. I really enjoyed reading about this epic journey.