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The Fugitive Wife: A Novel
The year is 1900 in gold-prospecting Alaska. Essie, a Midwestern farm girl fleeing from a stormy marriage, joins up with prospectors bound for Nome, where the golden sands teem with dreamers, schemers, and high rollers. When Leonard, Essie's stubborn and volatile husband, travels north, astonishing scenes of pursuit, sacrifice, and crucial decision rise to a conclusion tha...more
Paperback, 432 pages
Published
January 17th 2007
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 2006)
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Jul 21, 2009
Christina
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
library-book,
2009-reads
really struggled to get into The Fugitive Wife, the story of one woman’s journey to gold-mining Nome, Alaska to escape her abusive husband, Leonard, after the death of their son, Gabriel. The novel is divided into four sections with the first discussing the trail to Nome, the second Essie’s son, the third about Leonard’s journey to Nome, and the fourth the end to this very weak story. It’s a very slow read, and a difficult one to slog through at that.
The story does pick up once The Fugitive Wif...more
The story does pick up once The Fugitive Wif...more
My local library featured a display of books associated with Jack London, wolves, Alaska and etc. during its "Big Read" campaign and the title and cover of this book caught my attention. I picked it up and read the blurb and decided to give it a shot.
I really enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it. I immediately liked the main male character, Nate, from the start and I also liked the main female character, Essie. The only negative thing I have to say about it is I always hate it when I'm rea...more
I really enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it. I immediately liked the main male character, Nate, from the start and I also liked the main female character, Essie. The only negative thing I have to say about it is I always hate it when I'm rea...more
--Shin's Book Review--
Title: The Fugitive Wife
Author: Peter C. Brown
Rating: 1.02 star over 5
-----------------------
i did not like this book.
and frankly i am wondering if anybody ever did.
i mean, this is one of those books who does not belong to any genre at all (
in a bad way. i mean, The Wind-Up Chronicle cant be put in a single genre, yet i found it amazing)
this, i think, is NOT a romance novel (not romantic at all. except the love scenes. and the way Essie contemplated over Leonard's dea
An outline of this story would be interesting. The characters began with potential but didn't really take off. It was as if the author were trying to add the unknown details but couldn't quite imagine them fully, and the story/characters lack because of it. The note at the end tells that the story is based on family history and shows that the time and place were well researched, both of which add some historical significance. However, the story itself -people looking for meaning, love, place- wa...more
The Fugitive Wife
Unforgettable characters, adventure, and powerful symbolism makes The Fugitive Wife a must read. Although the story is slow to start, after about fifty pages, I found the book impossible to put down. You’ll never forget Essie, the farm girl from the American Midwest, who flees to Alaska to escape from her creepy husband, Leonard, who comes after her. When she finds herself attracted to Nate Deacon, she must choose between what she considers her duty as Leonard’s wife, and her l...more
Unforgettable characters, adventure, and powerful symbolism makes The Fugitive Wife a must read. Although the story is slow to start, after about fifty pages, I found the book impossible to put down. You’ll never forget Essie, the farm girl from the American Midwest, who flees to Alaska to escape from her creepy husband, Leonard, who comes after her. When she finds herself attracted to Nate Deacon, she must choose between what she considers her duty as Leonard’s wife, and her l...more
This one started out slowly for me and I wasn't sure I'd like it, but after the first couple of chapters I was hooked. I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but something about the settings in this book was very appealing to me - the stark Midwest, Alaska - neither of which was made very attractive by the author. The main character, Esther, is strong and brave, and it's impossible not to care what happens to her. The dialogue in the first 3/4 of the book was very annoying - abbreviated senten...more
I found the first 1/3 of this book interesting and the last 1/3 was great but the middle focused so much on her husband - who is just a gross character - that it kind of dragged the book down for me. I really liked the book and the main character was so great. I really want to give the book four stars because it was interesting and a good read and I can't stop thinking about it, but that middle part of the book was disappointing.
Wonderful book- well researched, beautifully written. The characters think, act, and speak like people of their time, and the story unfolds with an emotional richness and compelling detail that invites the reader into a complicated and non-romanticized past.
I struggled with this. It was good - but the language seemed a bit flowery - like the author was trying to sound upity.
It read like a story about a woman that was written by a man - a bit of a stretch. Interesting - but a bit lacking in historical information to be a historical novel and missing in romance to be a romance.
Hmmmmmm....
It read like a story about a woman that was written by a man - a bit of a stretch. Interesting - but a bit lacking in historical information to be a historical novel and missing in romance to be a romance.
Hmmmmmm....
Taking place during gold rush times, this midwestern wife leaves her husband and travels west, ending up in Washington/Alaska. She was a strong independent woman,so I liked it.
Historical fiction recounting Alaskan gold rush of 1900. Also a love story. Good storytelling, narrative moved along...I didn't want it to end.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, thought it was a great story and the author created really likable characters. The setting was particularly well drawn, her description of Essie's first glimpse of Nome was perfect
a “jumble of white rectangles spilled down the coast like cubed sugar, crawling with life” A perfect setting for someone tough and tenacious like Essie.
The dilemmas faced by Essie near the end seemed real to me and I like the way the author let her resolve them : real life is complicate...more
a “jumble of white rectangles spilled down the coast like cubed sugar, crawling with life” A perfect setting for someone tough and tenacious like Essie.
The dilemmas faced by Essie near the end seemed real to me and I like the way the author let her resolve them : real life is complicate...more
It was good but the author at points wandered with too many non-important details, especially about birds.
Reminded me of A Sudden Country. In the same vein but set in a different frontier, that of Alaska.
Reminiscent of Guy Vanderhaeghe's Last Crossing, which I loved. Great read!
Very entertaining book ..kept me occupied for a whole sick day!
I really loved this book. The "wife" is a wonderful character.
really good, a st. paul native...autographed copy
The first 1/3 of the novel was engaging. It degraded after that point. Bleh.
Hardly great literature, but I enjoyed the characters, story and the Alaskan setting.
Sep 04, 2010
Eben Pendleton
added it
Alaska! Gold! Ships! Historical Fiction!
easy read. good for passing time
Very cool details & a fun heroine
An interesting tale about gold mining in the Alaskan territory. It involves a young woman who moves west, escaping her husband, and making a way for her self. (strong female character, love that!) Leonard, the husband she left behind, he's a real snake. The snake???, well he's a real "leonard"! If that doesn't intrigue you, well...
Not recommended.
Historical fiction from a heartland farm to the gold rush with a hop through Seattle. Good story, good setting. I like books set in places I am familiar with
A very well-written novel about a woman who leaves her Minnesota home to head west and ends up in Alaska during the gold rush days. She cares for the horses and delivers mail and supplies to the miners as she discovers providing these services is more lucrative than gold mining. It's a story of leaving the past to build a new future, until the past returns and demands a final accounting. Wonderful details about Alaska and the lives of those who sought riches during the gold rush years.
I liked Esther's story the best. I think the novel would have been stronger focusing only on her and not telling the other points of view. We got just as good a picture of the other characters from Esther's point of view. weak ending. started slow with all kinds of junk about setting out for Alaska. got better when the author started focusing on the characters. Then he could throw in all the historical detail he wanted without it getting in the way as it sometimes did.
I liked reading about the time period, the gold rush in Alaska, and the main characters. But the second half gets slow and drawn out and it looses its momentum. You feel their courage and strength, the wilderness and the adventure all in the beginning and then it looses that in the end. The characters loose their fight and conviction and so does the book.
This is an unusual story of a woman who grows up in Minnesota, but ends up fleeing her husband and going to Alaska. Full of details about sea travel and mining - almost as vivid as a movie. Some disturbing scenes around her family, I'm not sure I would enjoy it so much now that I'm a mom, but at the time I read it I found it very absorbing.
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