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Wabash River #1
Lonesome River
From top ranking historical romance writer, Dorothy Garlock, comes the first novel in a new trilogy. This is the romantic saga of a courageous widow who forges the Illinois frontier to make a new life. The author is an expert on the pioneer era, and she uses actual diaries and letters from that time to authenticate her stories.
Hardcover
First published August 1, 1987
66 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Garlock
87 books383 followersDorothy Garlock was a best-selling American author of over 60 historical romance novels, most of them set in the American West. More than 20 million copies of her books are in print, in 18 languages. Her books have been on the New York Times best seller list seven times. She was named one of the 10 most popular writers of women's fiction four years in a row, from 1985-1988. In 1997, she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Garlock is also a member of the Romance Writers Hall of Fame.
Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.
Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn
Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.
Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 18, 2008
This is the book that started my love for Dorothy Garlock. Her characters are real, almost tangible. Her good guys are believable, her bad guys are low down and dirty! I hated to see this book end, but luckily...it is part of a trilogy!
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October 14, 2023DNF 30%
I’m addicted to pioneer romance this month, and this bored me to tears. Too many secondary characters were introduced too quickly, and no one seemed full fleshed.
I wanted more time just with the MCs together, instead it felt like they were always surrounded by SO many people - her sister, father, the 2 kids they adopted on the road, her dying husband, then when they get to H’s town, more people - his MANY friends, father like figure, slave/indentured servants, then all their neighbors were introduced…
Where were all the pioneering stuff… and what romance? I felt like I was reading romance for 60+ year olds… gentle, subtle…no passion!
H is - I don’t even remember much about him..his looks, age or anything. Author kept introducing character after character..it was exhausting.
h is pretty, not beautiful, with very light blonde hair. It’s her hair that makes her stand out. Om is after her so he can use her as his wife -slave, not because he is obsessed with her or her beauty. She seemed like a strong, feisty woman, she’s 19, but she gave off an “old lady” vibe the way she acted. No 18/19yr old girl acts this independent or mature!
This author isn’t for me.
- just fyi, there were racist dialog in this book that’s true to the time period (1810s) against blacks and Native Americans. N word is used on black slaves, and the h’s white arrogance against Native Americans really irritated me, so just a warning.
Oh also, lots of fat shaming lol… h calls some bitchy older woman a fat cow, etc. which was kinda jarring, since I got so used to hearing overweight woman being called “curvy” in romance. This is def an old book.
I had to DNF during this dialog, couldn’t stand it.
Even if this is true to the time period, all the N words being used got on my friggin nerves.
(Scene: they’re gathering men to build a fort
)
““We ain’t got no animal to spare either, but my boy can come.”
“Thompson?”
“I’ll send my nigger and a mule. Neither one’s got the sense of a goose, but you’re welcome to them.”
Liberty/h darted a look at Mr. Washington(H’s black friend) to see if he took offense. He didn’t seem to notice. He stood as tall and straight as an oak tree, his eyes on Farr/H.
“That nigger we’re sending ain’t worth a hoot. He’s so slow and lazy the fleas crawl off him.” Mrs. Thompson’s(Fat cow) voice reached beyond the group of women to her husband, who gave her a quelling look.”
I’m addicted to pioneer romance this month, and this bored me to tears. Too many secondary characters were introduced too quickly, and no one seemed full fleshed.
I wanted more time just with the MCs together, instead it felt like they were always surrounded by SO many people - her sister, father, the 2 kids they adopted on the road, her dying husband, then when they get to H’s town, more people - his MANY friends, father like figure, slave/indentured servants, then all their neighbors were introduced…
Where were all the pioneering stuff… and what romance? I felt like I was reading romance for 60+ year olds… gentle, subtle…no passion!
H is - I don’t even remember much about him..his looks, age or anything. Author kept introducing character after character..it was exhausting.
h is pretty, not beautiful, with very light blonde hair. It’s her hair that makes her stand out. Om is after her so he can use her as his wife -slave, not because he is obsessed with her or her beauty. She seemed like a strong, feisty woman, she’s 19, but she gave off an “old lady” vibe the way she acted. No 18/19yr old girl acts this independent or mature!
This author isn’t for me.
- just fyi, there were racist dialog in this book that’s true to the time period (1810s) against blacks and Native Americans. N word is used on black slaves, and the h’s white arrogance against Native Americans really irritated me, so just a warning.
Oh also, lots of fat shaming lol… h calls some bitchy older woman a fat cow, etc. which was kinda jarring, since I got so used to hearing overweight woman being called “curvy” in romance. This is def an old book.
I had to DNF during this dialog, couldn’t stand it.
Even if this is true to the time period, all the N words being used got on my friggin nerves.
(Scene: they’re gathering men to build a fort
)
““We ain’t got no animal to spare either, but my boy can come.”
“Thompson?”
“I’ll send my nigger and a mule. Neither one’s got the sense of a goose, but you’re welcome to them.”
Liberty/h darted a look at Mr. Washington(H’s black friend) to see if he took offense. He didn’t seem to notice. He stood as tall and straight as an oak tree, his eyes on Farr/H.
“That nigger we’re sending ain’t worth a hoot. He’s so slow and lazy the fleas crawl off him.” Mrs. Thompson’s(Fat cow) voice reached beyond the group of women to her husband, who gave her a quelling look.”
January 21, 2010
I read this book 20 something years ago. I pulled it off my bookshelf and decided to reread it. I loved it. Although some of the words were missing from the pages. Great Story. Liberty sets out across the West in a Wagon with her father, sister and husband to set up home on a River where her husband can make his pots and she can farm. And her family can be safe from Stith Lenning a rich bully who is nothing but a domineering coward who damanded she marry him. Instead she married Jubal and took her family west. She is a Defiant beauty that has more strength that. Frontiersman Farr Quill has every seen. When he helps her bury her husband and continue on to the river he offers his protection.
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November 23, 2024Well I absolutely do not recommend this - it's racist, there's a lot of on page violence, descriptions of rape, and orphaned children that I wasn't here for. I read it for the historical interest, and even then, I probably should've read something else. It's just that every other romance novel I've tried to read recently has been depressingly poorly written.
March 28, 2011
Dorothy Garlock was the first ever romance books I read, I was in 9th grade. They have stayed in my memory as great reads. Two series stick out in my memory, the Wind series and the River series. I found them for my kindle and am going to re-read them and see if they are still as magical as way back then
November 21, 2013
An all-time favorite!
November 25, 2022
Every man except for Farr speaks like a backwoods hillbilly. Every woman speaks proper English. It was so tedious to read and try to figure out what some of the characters were saying at times.
Liberty was supposed to marry a cruel older man named Stith because her cowardly, worthless father believed the wealthy Stith would take care of him. She married another man named Jubal to save herself (married for a year but never consummated), and fearing for her husband’s life, they take off for Illinois to find Jubal’s brother Hammond. (Spoiler: he ends up being worthless too.) Jubal dies on the way, and Liberty, her sister Amy and father Elija (who is rather unwilling) go to Farr’s home where he plans on building a fort. Farr had been married to a 16-year-old mute girl when he was 18 until she was raped to death one day. He and Liberty fall in love and, when Stith appears because Elija sent him word where they were going, they marry so that she doesn’t have to marry Stith. He returns later to try to force the 12-year-old Amy to marry him, but Farr is able to postpone her seizure for a day and marries her to his 80-something-year-old friend Juicy. (He’s not a creep, though, thank god.)
Liberty basically becomes the adoptive mother of Mercy, a little girl Farr had found before he found them, and Daniel, a little boy who survived the slaughter of the other settlers. She also rescues Willa, an indentured servant who was being abused by the family she was indentured too. She is eventually revealed to be the illegitimate daughter of Benedict Arnold, which Stith and Hammond try to use to execute Farr on treason charges - accusing him of passing on information to the Shawnee. Farr eventually kills Stith when he tries to kidnap Willa, which also lands him a murder charge.
Some hooplah occurs, and Zackary Taylor saves the day.
Unresolved drama: Hull Dexter, the wagon train leader who possibly abandoned settlers to be massacred or set them up.
This book is, uh… very racist. The number of times a character said the n word was insane. There’s a Sufferite sect near Farr’s home, and the preacher man is misogynistic as hell. (Everyone but Farr, Juicy, Colby and Rain are misogynistic.)
Rushed side romances between Willa and Colby, Elija and a domineering woman who magically is able to push him around in ways he’s despised for the whole book, and a probably-unrequited infatuation between Amy and Rain.
It took me a week to finish this. Didn’t love it.
Liberty was supposed to marry a cruel older man named Stith because her cowardly, worthless father believed the wealthy Stith would take care of him. She married another man named Jubal to save herself (married for a year but never consummated), and fearing for her husband’s life, they take off for Illinois to find Jubal’s brother Hammond. (Spoiler: he ends up being worthless too.) Jubal dies on the way, and Liberty, her sister Amy and father Elija (who is rather unwilling) go to Farr’s home where he plans on building a fort. Farr had been married to a 16-year-old mute girl when he was 18 until she was raped to death one day. He and Liberty fall in love and, when Stith appears because Elija sent him word where they were going, they marry so that she doesn’t have to marry Stith. He returns later to try to force the 12-year-old Amy to marry him, but Farr is able to postpone her seizure for a day and marries her to his 80-something-year-old friend Juicy. (He’s not a creep, though, thank god.)
Liberty basically becomes the adoptive mother of Mercy, a little girl Farr had found before he found them, and Daniel, a little boy who survived the slaughter of the other settlers. She also rescues Willa, an indentured servant who was being abused by the family she was indentured too. She is eventually revealed to be the illegitimate daughter of Benedict Arnold, which Stith and Hammond try to use to execute Farr on treason charges - accusing him of passing on information to the Shawnee. Farr eventually kills Stith when he tries to kidnap Willa, which also lands him a murder charge.
Some hooplah occurs, and Zackary Taylor saves the day.
Unresolved drama: Hull Dexter, the wagon train leader who possibly abandoned settlers to be massacred or set them up.
This book is, uh… very racist. The number of times a character said the n word was insane. There’s a Sufferite sect near Farr’s home, and the preacher man is misogynistic as hell. (Everyone but Farr, Juicy, Colby and Rain are misogynistic.)
Rushed side romances between Willa and Colby, Elija and a domineering woman who magically is able to push him around in ways he’s despised for the whole book, and a probably-unrequited infatuation between Amy and Rain.
It took me a week to finish this. Didn’t love it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2020
This to me was really a 3.5 stars book.
The novel was fun, following a well established script of strong macho man meets feisty, independently spirited girl and they fall in love despite myriad difficulties and personal doubts along the way. Furthermore the heroine has a chance to prove throughout the novel that she is as brave as the hero.
Frankly this is not the sort of book that I would normally read but did so because the series was recommended by one of the plethora of websites I belong to advertising books.
What I really look for in a novel are the relationships and how well the novelist depicts them. Since this is a straightforward romance it should be no surprise that the men and women on the hero’s and heroine’s side fall in love with each other (the baddies, of course, do not do not have lovers). This is all described well and enjoyably as mentioned above.
But in this book there is also some realism in that the men form a discrete group from the women and each specialise in their day to day roles. This fundamentally differs to,say, modern YA novels in which both sexes are indistinguishable representing the modern political wish rather than reality.
Thus for me, this novel succeeds in that the prose is well written, the romance excellent and fun and the realism reasonably high. On the downside it is a straightforward romance thus following a predictable script with no surprises and the characters are somewhat one dimensional; the goodies were always good and the baddies bad. But all in all I did enjoy it. Hence the 3.5 stars.
The novel was fun, following a well established script of strong macho man meets feisty, independently spirited girl and they fall in love despite myriad difficulties and personal doubts along the way. Furthermore the heroine has a chance to prove throughout the novel that she is as brave as the hero.
Frankly this is not the sort of book that I would normally read but did so because the series was recommended by one of the plethora of websites I belong to advertising books.
What I really look for in a novel are the relationships and how well the novelist depicts them. Since this is a straightforward romance it should be no surprise that the men and women on the hero’s and heroine’s side fall in love with each other (the baddies, of course, do not do not have lovers). This is all described well and enjoyably as mentioned above.
But in this book there is also some realism in that the men form a discrete group from the women and each specialise in their day to day roles. This fundamentally differs to,say, modern YA novels in which both sexes are indistinguishable representing the modern political wish rather than reality.
Thus for me, this novel succeeds in that the prose is well written, the romance excellent and fun and the realism reasonably high. On the downside it is a straightforward romance thus following a predictable script with no surprises and the characters are somewhat one dimensional; the goodies were always good and the baddies bad. But all in all I did enjoy it. Hence the 3.5 stars.
December 13, 2024
I must say that if there were more stars I would have to give this book the highest. From front to finish I was hooked one of the first I read of Dorothy garlocks books and have reread it many times. I have most of her books and would not part with any of them there was only a few of her later books she wrote that I was a little disappointed in but not enough for a bad review that being said the Wabash trilogies are some of the best written books I've ever read in all my years I've not found another writer who can compare especially if you like the era in which it was written. I can still remember hearing my parents and grandparents talking of a lot of the things of that time period and experienced some of the things in a minor way so my imagination was all over what was going on in the book, if you like history you should love her books
January 28, 2023
A good historical novel.
Reading Dorothy Garlic is novels are mini history lessons. My maiden name is the same as the heroine, Liberty Carroll. I like to think my Carroll female ancestors were like Liberty. The life on the frontier was hard. This gives us a peek into the daily life of women. The men who opened the frontiers couldn't have succeeded without strong women like Liberty Carroll. Couldn't put this one down even though I probably read it 30 or more years ago.
Reading Dorothy Garlic is novels are mini history lessons. My maiden name is the same as the heroine, Liberty Carroll. I like to think my Carroll female ancestors were like Liberty. The life on the frontier was hard. This gives us a peek into the daily life of women. The men who opened the frontiers couldn't have succeeded without strong women like Liberty Carroll. Couldn't put this one down even though I probably read it 30 or more years ago.
April 6, 2020
This was a old book by Dorothy Garlock. Probably written 20 years ago. I may have read it back then but did not temember it.She has been a favorite for a long time. She passed away in April, 2018 and I am glad she left a lot of books.
August 18, 2018
This was a fun read, chocked full of excitement and history. It was worth the time it took to read.
August 22, 2019
3,5 stars. Great couple! LOVE them both. Its not a four stars because of the trial, boring and unnecesary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2020
An outspoken woman goes west with family to escape a forced marriage, finds love & saves others.
January 27, 2020
Good book.
I loved this book. The good people are awesome and the bad people are terrible. The good guys win. The hero and heroine are people you want in your life.
I loved this book. The good people are awesome and the bad people are terrible. The good guys win. The hero and heroine are people you want in your life.
December 8, 2020
Pretty good
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August 16, 2021Read 2021
December 31, 2021
Love this book!
I’ve read this story multiple times because it shows how simple life was then but also that our ancestors had to fight to keep their lives and their land
I’ve read this story multiple times because it shows how simple life was then but also that our ancestors had to fight to keep their lives and their land
June 5, 2022
Not for me.
June 6, 2019
This Wabash River series opens in 1811 while pioneers and Indians are hardening their positions and getting for war over the lands of Illinois and Indiana. Against this backdrop, a family is traveling in a Conestoga wagon away from New York State and into the contested area.
Leading the family is Liberty Perry, along with her father and sister Amy. In the wagon, Liberty's husband (of convenience) is dying of a fever. Liberty's father is railing against her to turn around and return home; Liberty refuses. She is running away from a man who still covets her: Stith Lenning, a mean coward who wants to marry and punish Liberty. If she returns to New York now, her father will insist that she marry the hated Stith.
At this low point, frontiersman Farr Quill happens into their lives. He has a small girl with him; he explains that he found the orphan at the scene of carnage. Eventually, Farr helps Liberty bury her husband.
The action in this book moves steadily to its dramatic conclusion. This story is woven between the lines of actual historical fact. Farr and Liberty seem well matched and work well together. The secondary characters add much to the tale - and will provide further adventures in the coming books. 4 stars
Leading the family is Liberty Perry, along with her father and sister Amy. In the wagon, Liberty's husband (of convenience) is dying of a fever. Liberty's father is railing against her to turn around and return home; Liberty refuses. She is running away from a man who still covets her: Stith Lenning, a mean coward who wants to marry and punish Liberty. If she returns to New York now, her father will insist that she marry the hated Stith.
At this low point, frontiersman Farr Quill happens into their lives. He has a small girl with him; he explains that he found the orphan at the scene of carnage. Eventually, Farr helps Liberty bury her husband.
The action in this book moves steadily to its dramatic conclusion. This story is woven between the lines of actual historical fact. Farr and Liberty seem well matched and work well together. The secondary characters add much to the tale - and will provide further adventures in the coming books. 4 stars
November 1, 2015
One of the earlier books of Mrs. Garlock.
I read this series at least 30 years ago, and the characters stayed with me. Rereading the books now, and enjoying them as much as I did the first time. A true classic.
I read this series at least 30 years ago, and the characters stayed with me. Rereading the books now, and enjoying them as much as I did the first time. A true classic.
March 1, 2016
A wonderful book!! Can't wait 2 read the rest!
April 13, 2025
My favorite Dorothy Garlock book.
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May 8, 2012Excellent Book !!!!
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June 11, 2017Time Period: 1811
Location: Illinois Territory
Location: Illinois Territory
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews