Entries Categorized as 'Historical Fiction'

Little House in the Big Woods

Our rating: ***½

Laura Ingalls is a little girl who lives in the Big Woods of Wisconsin with her ma and pa and her sisters, Mary and baby Carrie. Laura has many fun adventures. She gets to go to a dance to celebrate sugaring time, see the new threshing machine, and, best of all, her pa tells stories in the evening.

This is a hard book to summarize because it doesn’t follow a plot line. It’s basically a story about life in the Big Woods in the late 1800’s. Little House in the Big Woods provides a good picture of this time period, as do the other books in the Little House series. Please note that while I marked this book for all ages, and all ages will enjoy it, it is written in a style best suited to younger readers. However, I think that I appreciate it more as an older reader.

The Forest Runners

Our rating: ****

Henry Ware and his friend Paul Cotter from Wareville are delivering some gunpowder to a settlement called Marlowe. On the way, Paul is captured by Shawnee Indians and then rescued by Henry. Henry and Paul are followed by the Shawnee Indians to an abandoned house. They escape from the Indians and meet up with some of their friends.

This book is one of the better ones of Joseph Altsheler’s books. The Forest Runners moves quickly for most of the book.

The Black Arrow

Our rating: ****

Ever since his father died, Richard Shelton has been living as the ward of Sir Daniel Brackley. Richard, or Dick, as he is called, has for some time been annoyed with Sir Daniel’s habit of changing sides for material gain. Is Sir Daniel for Lancaster or for York? Dick can’t say, but when he begins to suspect Sir Daniel of having a hand in the murder of his father, Sir Richard Shelton, Dick is faced with a difficult decision. Live with the man who has taken care of him all his life, or avenge his father’s death. At last Dick chooses to avenge his father, but has he delayed too long? Sir Daniel suspects that Dick knows something and wishes to get rid of him as quickly—and permanently—as possible.

And, since that’s such a splendid, suspenseful ending, I’ll leave it there. This is a very good book that takes place during the War of Roses in England. Lancaster and York are the two groups vying for the throne. There’s a thread of romance in the story; Dick becomes separated from his lady fair and spends half the book trying to rescue her. But don’t think that that makes the book dull! On the contrary, I had trouble putting it down. It reminds me of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, and King Arthur. A very good book, highly recommended by me, and I’m sure multiple others. Plenty of action and, as an added bonus, a secret passage! (Pause for collective ooohs and ahhhs) Okay, so I really liked that part.
The writing style is a little hard to understand at times, but don’t despair. The only time I had to read something twice was when I skipped ahead to peek. Take a lesson from my confusion and don’t skip. This book doesn’t deserve to be read in such a slip-shod, higgledy-piggledy manner. Enjoy!

The Guns of Bull Run

Our rating: ***½

This book starts at the beginning of the Civil War. Harry Kenton is sent by his father, a prominent person in Kentucky, to tell the South Carolina leaders that Kentucky will follow it out of the Union. When Harry Kenton arrives in South Carolina, he delivers his message and soon after joins the Southern army. 

Out of Altsheler’s books that I’ve read, this is the one I’ve liked the least. It’s a little slow moving throughout the book. One interesting thing is that The Guns of Bull Run focuses on what is happening in the South.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Our rating: ***

Out in the country of early America, Anna and Caleb’s father puts an ad in the newspaper for a wife. His previous wife died not long after Caleb’s birth. A woman named Sarah answers the ad and comes to live with them for a month for a trial period. But often she misses the sea, where she came from. Will Sarah stay, or will she return to the sea?

A somewhat simple, short story. I read Sarah, Plain and Tall in about an hour, if I remember correctly. This book might be a little better for people younger than me. It’s alright, but not my favorite. Oh, and Sarah, Plain and Tall is the beginning of a trilogy. There are two more books after this one.