July 23, 2018
In this enjoyable historical novel set on the 19th-century American frontier, Kirkpatrick (This Road We Traveled) fleshes out the story of real-life pioneer Carrie Adelle Strahorn. Raised in the Midwest within an affluent family, Dell, as she was known, moves west after marrying Robert Strahorn, a publicist for the Union Pacific Railroad. While Dell struggles with infertility, runaway stagecoaches, black bears, her faith, and long separations from her husband, she is also blessed with strong family support, luxuries unavailable to most pioneer women, and a degree of control over her own destiny not afforded to most women of her era. Filled with gumption and desire, Dell is more concerned with what she doesn’t have—a child, a stable home life—than what she does. Kirkpatrick used Strahorn’s 1911 memoir Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, as the backbone of the narrative, filling out Dell’s biography with vibrant detail. Embedded in the novel is also an illuminating history of railway expansion during the late 1800s. While Dell’s tale will appeal to those interested in stories of American westward expansion, it lacks a discernible plot, and outside of Dell, the characters are difficult to care about. However, fans of Kirkpatrick’s research-heavy style will enjoy this exciting novel.
Starred review from August 1, 2018
Kirkpatrick (All She Left Behind, 2017) returns to the American West with a fascinating fictionalization of the story behind the real-life Carrie Adell Strahorn (1854-1925) and her actual memoir, Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, published in 1911. When Carrie's strong-willed husband sets out to write books promoting the pioneer life along the western railway, she follows to please him and prove that a society woman can weather frontier hardships. She braves dangerous travels and elements, never expecting that her greatest challenge will be supporting her husband's fragile ego while muting her own dreams. As the miles stretch between them on the trail and in their hearts, Carrie must find the strength to speak her truth and the God-given courage to live it. Spanning the years from 1877 to 1922, Kirkpatrick's novel is a tale of love and obligation, and an early snapshot of the now widely discussed emotional labor of women. Carrie is remarkably complex, and Kirkpatrick seamlessly blends fact and fiction such that readers cannot tell where historical accounts end and the brilliance of her imagination begins. Kirkpatrick illuminates the subtext of Strahorn's work with incredible spirit, depth, and creativity, illustrating the compelling ways in which people of the past filtered their lives and experiences.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)