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Foxfire
Amanda Lawrence, a charming, sheltered New York socialite, fell in love with Jonathan Dartland, a part-Apache mining engineer who belonged to the vastness of the Arizona desert. Amanda responded to his strength and self-reliance, but had nothing and nobody to guide her when she followed him to the grim town of Lodestone. . . . Foxfire was the book Anya Seton completed immediately before embarking on her best-remembered book, Katherine, and it was soon made into a successful Hollywood movie starring Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler. The book does for the desert Southwest of the Great Depression what Katherine did for Chaucer’s England--makes a forgotten age come alive in all its rich strangeness and passion-filled glory.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1950
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About the author
Anya Seton
38 books918 followersAnya Seton (January 23, 1904 (although the year is often misstated to be 1906 or 1916) - November 8, 1990) was the pen name of the American author of historical romances, Ann Seton.
Ann Seton was born in New York, and died in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was the daughter of English-born naturalist and pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton and Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson. She is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.
Her historical novels were noted for how extensively she researched the historical facts, and some of them were best-sellers.[citation needed] Dragonwyck (1941) and Foxfire (1950) were both made into Hollywood films. Two of her books are classics in their genre and continue in their popularity to the present; Katherine, the story of Katherine Swynford, the mistress and eventual wife of John of Gaunt, and their children, who eventually became the basis for the Tudor and Stuart families of England, and Green Darkness, the story of a modern couple plagued by their past life incarnations. Most of her novels have been recently republished, several with forewords by Philippa Gregory.
Her novel Devil Water concerns James, the luckless Earl of Derwentwater and his involvement with the Jacobite rising of 1715. She also narrates the story of his brother Charles, beheaded after the 1745 rebellion, the last man to die for the cause. The action of the novel moves back and forth between Northumberland, Tyneside, London and America.
Anya Seton stated that the book developed out of her love for Northumberland. Anya certainly visited her Snowdon cousins at Felton. Billy Pigg, the celebrated Northumbrian piper played 'Derwentwater's Farewell' especially for her. The novel shows her typical thorough research of events and places, though the accents are a little wayward. Anya Seton said that her greatest debt of all was to Miss Amy Flagg of Westoe Village in South Shields, her father's birthplace.
Ann Seton was born in New York, and died in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was the daughter of English-born naturalist and pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton and Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson. She is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.
Her historical novels were noted for how extensively she researched the historical facts, and some of them were best-sellers.[citation needed] Dragonwyck (1941) and Foxfire (1950) were both made into Hollywood films. Two of her books are classics in their genre and continue in their popularity to the present; Katherine, the story of Katherine Swynford, the mistress and eventual wife of John of Gaunt, and their children, who eventually became the basis for the Tudor and Stuart families of England, and Green Darkness, the story of a modern couple plagued by their past life incarnations. Most of her novels have been recently republished, several with forewords by Philippa Gregory.
Her novel Devil Water concerns James, the luckless Earl of Derwentwater and his involvement with the Jacobite rising of 1715. She also narrates the story of his brother Charles, beheaded after the 1745 rebellion, the last man to die for the cause. The action of the novel moves back and forth between Northumberland, Tyneside, London and America.
Anya Seton stated that the book developed out of her love for Northumberland. Anya certainly visited her Snowdon cousins at Felton. Billy Pigg, the celebrated Northumbrian piper played 'Derwentwater's Farewell' especially for her. The novel shows her typical thorough research of events and places, though the accents are a little wayward. Anya Seton said that her greatest debt of all was to Miss Amy Flagg of Westoe Village in South Shields, her father's birthplace.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
July 20, 2011
Absolutely vile.
The heroine is an insufferably spoiled racist snob, and the hero is a "savage" half-Apache (modernized with a college education) whom she "tames" through an endless marriage filled with teasing sex, manipulation, and financial scheming.
But when I describe it like this, I make it sound much sexier than it really is.
Because the whole book is deadly dull.
Except when it's really, really offensive.
The heroine is an insufferably spoiled racist snob, and the hero is a "savage" half-Apache (modernized with a college education) whom she "tames" through an endless marriage filled with teasing sex, manipulation, and financial scheming.
But when I describe it like this, I make it sound much sexier than it really is.
Because the whole book is deadly dull.
Except when it's really, really offensive.
December 23, 2016
This is the first Anya Seton book I've read that's not considered historical fiction. What I took away from it was a sense of being happy with what one has and the importance of maturity in new life situations. A simpering, spoiled child marries a sullen, independent miner and moves from her sheltered family's home in the Northeast to her husband's gruff shack in the Southwest. She's clingy and coddled. She consistently makes choices that weaken her marriage, and he is too hard headed to admit anything upsets him or that he has any feelings. In the midst of this drama, a doctoring dipsomaniac helps foster the unrealistic gold-hungry dreams of this cosseted darling. Tragedy is dodged just to create adventure so that tragedy can be dodged again and then finally a celebration of sorts-because the main characters finally learn the lesson of the book.
As you can probably assume, I couldn't tolerate the female role in this novel. She got on my last nerve. She was an idiot. And I certainly do not believe that "love conquers all". You have to work at that shit, people.
As you can probably assume, I couldn't tolerate the female role in this novel. She got on my last nerve. She was an idiot. And I certainly do not believe that "love conquers all". You have to work at that shit, people.
August 20, 2008
Foxfire is set in early 1930s depression era as slightly spoiled Amanda Lawrence meets the dark and brooding Jonathan Dartland (Dart) while returning on cruise from Europe. Despite Dart's poor prospects as a mining engineer, sparks fly and they are married and return to Lodestar, a mining operation in the remote back country of Arizona. Unused to the rougher aspects of life, Amanda has a difficult time settling in to her new life as well as mixing in with the mining community peopled with unusual characters -- from the alcoholic doctor Hugh hiding from his troubled past, the very mysterious Mrs. Cunningham, widow of the original 1880s boom town mine owner, who never leaves her huge mansion on the hill in the adjacent ghost town and more.
When Dart's half Apache mother dies, Amanda finds papers detailing a legend about two priests who discovered an ancient Anasazi cliff dwelling in the high country of Arizona with a glittering wall of gold in the cave behind it. Tensions between Amanda and Dart continue to grow as a miner whose scheme to murder Dart and take his job goes awry but ultimately disgraces Dart. With no career to look forward to, Hugh and Amanda convince Dart to lead them through treacherous back country to the lost city in search of the wall of gold - but Amanda and Dart eventually find a treasure in the valley much richer than gold.
Some readers might find the first half of this novel to be a bit slow paced as Seton sets up her storyline and details in the day to day life of a mining operation, but I enjoyed it very much. I have traveled quite a bit in the desert southwest and have always enjoyed taking the occasional mine tour or two and soaking in the history of those aging ghost towns. I very much enjoyed how Seton set up her scenes, especially the sights and sounds of the Sonoran Desert and the high country approaching the Mogollon (mug-e-yon) Rim. She must have spent a fair amount of time traveling through the region doing her research, I didn't catch a single gaffe in either her descriptions of the local towns, the geography of the region and the flora and fauna. I thought I was going to catch her if she kept describing the saguaros once her characters got into the higher elevations, but she was spot on. As stated previously, I enjoyed this book very much, but probably only for die hard Seton fans (and I am one) or for those interested in mining history and legends of lost gold. I see this book is due out in September '08 in a brand new edition and a beautiful new cover. Four stars.
When Dart's half Apache mother dies, Amanda finds papers detailing a legend about two priests who discovered an ancient Anasazi cliff dwelling in the high country of Arizona with a glittering wall of gold in the cave behind it. Tensions between Amanda and Dart continue to grow as a miner whose scheme to murder Dart and take his job goes awry but ultimately disgraces Dart. With no career to look forward to, Hugh and Amanda convince Dart to lead them through treacherous back country to the lost city in search of the wall of gold - but Amanda and Dart eventually find a treasure in the valley much richer than gold.
Some readers might find the first half of this novel to be a bit slow paced as Seton sets up her storyline and details in the day to day life of a mining operation, but I enjoyed it very much. I have traveled quite a bit in the desert southwest and have always enjoyed taking the occasional mine tour or two and soaking in the history of those aging ghost towns. I very much enjoyed how Seton set up her scenes, especially the sights and sounds of the Sonoran Desert and the high country approaching the Mogollon (mug-e-yon) Rim. She must have spent a fair amount of time traveling through the region doing her research, I didn't catch a single gaffe in either her descriptions of the local towns, the geography of the region and the flora and fauna. I thought I was going to catch her if she kept describing the saguaros once her characters got into the higher elevations, but she was spot on. As stated previously, I enjoyed this book very much, but probably only for die hard Seton fans (and I am one) or for those interested in mining history and legends of lost gold. I see this book is due out in September '08 in a brand new edition and a beautiful new cover. Four stars.
November 5, 2022
"Don't you see how hard they're searching for something? — Just because you're strong and real, you mustn't be so harsh." He did not mean to be harsh, but he was puzzled. What illusion were they all pursuing? Foxfire, he thought or the dancing will-o'-the-wisp, the something always ahead and never here. What merit was there in so futile a waste of effort?
It had parts of excellent historical fiction. I liked the most the parts about mines and life in a town that lived thanks to the mine. The second interesting part were the consequences of the Great Depression.
I liked also the psychological core of the novel, searching for something, pursuing the illusion, etc.
Nonetheless, from eight books by Seton I have read, I have enjoyed this one the less.
June 28, 2008
Another favorite that I re-read every so often. A good story about two people learning to live together despite very different backgrounds. He is so true to his ideals that he cannot bend; she is so flexible that she seems to lose her own sense of self. This was made into a really crappy B movie in the 50's or 60's that didn't seems to have any relation to the book other than the title and it was set in a western mining town.
June 29, 2021
Blegh. I started reading this one previously, but didn't get very far. During that attempt I figured that this title would likely be my least favorite Anya Seton. When I saw I could check out the audiobook I decided to give that format a try but I didn't like the story any better listening versus reading. I do like Anya Seton's writing and have enjoyed her other books I have read so far, but this one was pretty awful. However, its boringness did help me fall asleep some nights while listening, so it was useful for that.
August 22, 2019
Only Anya Seton could make a book set in a 1930s mining village interesting. I loved her descriptions and the character development. I was not expecting the sudden turn in the plot towards an adventure novel; I really enjoyed it.
I have owned this book for years and only bought so I could say I owned all Anya Seton's novels. But I heard so many bad things about this book that I never actually read it. I was an idiot.
I have owned this book for years and only bought so I could say I owned all Anya Seton's novels. But I heard so many bad things about this book that I never actually read it. I was an idiot.
December 17, 2012
Early 1930's depression era when Amanda meets the dark and brooding Jonathan Dartland (Dart) while returning on cruise from Europe. Amanda has had a lovely, somewhat spoiled life, and Dart is well-educated, professor father, American Apache mother. He loves the southwest and the poor mining life. Two lives that don't match, but they fall in love on a ship returning from Europe (he on business, she on a 'tour') They marry and return to Lodestar, a mining operation in the remote back country of Arizona. Totally unused to the rougher aspects of life, (no running water, no bathroom!!) Amanda has a difficult time settling in to her new life as well as mixing in with the mining community peopled. I loved Dart's character and getting to know his Indian family; as always Seton brought them truly to reality for me... they Am Indians that we should all know and appreciate. I also thought that Amanda's reactions and adaptations were spot-on. I loved the southwest adventure, the details of mining in those days. Best, they way that Dart smoothed his rough edges for love, and how Amanda stepped-up for love.
November 2, 2021
Well, I have been a huge Anya Seton fan for about fifty of my sixty years. I have read all of her books...except, until just now, "Foxfire".
In the 1980s, I owned a used copy of the 1970s Fawcett Crest paperback. But I just skimmed parts of it. I knew it took place in a small backwards mining town in Arizona and I knew it took place in the early 1930s and knew it was about a New York society girl marrying a one quarter Apache mining engineer and that she had trouble coping and I knew it had something to do with them trying to find a lost gold mine, but that's all.
I was put off by the time setting. I don't like novels that take place in modern times, and although by the 1980s the early 1930s were over fifty years in the past rather than just seventeen years in the past as they were when the novel was published in 1950, that was still too modern for me. In fact, it still is, even now when the early 1930s are ninety years in the past. Telephones, cars, movies, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair magazines, small airplanes, make-up, blonde hair helped by peroxide, Hershey bars, no thanks, I'm out.
Usually. But I decided that in order to be a true Anya Seton fan I needed to overlook all that and give this one a real go so, the 1970s Fawcett Crest paperback long since having been lost, I ordered a new copy and did just that.
Well, I know that Anya Seton had a real love for the Desert Southwest because her father owned a ranch there or some such, but it turned out that she was not the one person in the world who can convince me that the Desert Southwest is beautiful. I don't like it and never have. So this is the only novel of hers the setting of which I didn't like. (I'm overlooking the New Mexico Territory setting of the beginning of "The Turquoise" because only about the first quarter of the novel is set there.)
Anyway, yes, the first half is slow but you need to have patience so you can get the payoff in the second half.
I started to really enjoy the second half of the book despite its modern setting. I liked the theme of two people falling in love yet not knowing how to bend and compromise, and was interested to see how they would work this out, UNTIL....
The unrealistic, contrived ending in which everything falls into place so beautifully. Most of Seton's books have happy endings but none so contrived as this. It really pushed the ending over the edge from simply happy into excessively sappy. I would rather have seen Dart and Amanda mend their relationship and then just go forth into hard times, knowing they had the strength together to weather them, rather than have God move all of the right chess pieces into all of the right squares just to make things perfect for Dart and Amanda.
So one star docked for disliked setting and time and another docked for the ending. Three stars.
In the 1980s, I owned a used copy of the 1970s Fawcett Crest paperback. But I just skimmed parts of it. I knew it took place in a small backwards mining town in Arizona and I knew it took place in the early 1930s and knew it was about a New York society girl marrying a one quarter Apache mining engineer and that she had trouble coping and I knew it had something to do with them trying to find a lost gold mine, but that's all.
I was put off by the time setting. I don't like novels that take place in modern times, and although by the 1980s the early 1930s were over fifty years in the past rather than just seventeen years in the past as they were when the novel was published in 1950, that was still too modern for me. In fact, it still is, even now when the early 1930s are ninety years in the past. Telephones, cars, movies, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair magazines, small airplanes, make-up, blonde hair helped by peroxide, Hershey bars, no thanks, I'm out.
Usually. But I decided that in order to be a true Anya Seton fan I needed to overlook all that and give this one a real go so, the 1970s Fawcett Crest paperback long since having been lost, I ordered a new copy and did just that.
Well, I know that Anya Seton had a real love for the Desert Southwest because her father owned a ranch there or some such, but it turned out that she was not the one person in the world who can convince me that the Desert Southwest is beautiful. I don't like it and never have. So this is the only novel of hers the setting of which I didn't like. (I'm overlooking the New Mexico Territory setting of the beginning of "The Turquoise" because only about the first quarter of the novel is set there.)
Anyway, yes, the first half is slow but you need to have patience so you can get the payoff in the second half.
I started to really enjoy the second half of the book despite its modern setting. I liked the theme of two people falling in love yet not knowing how to bend and compromise, and was interested to see how they would work this out, UNTIL....
The unrealistic, contrived ending in which everything falls into place so beautifully. Most of Seton's books have happy endings but none so contrived as this. It really pushed the ending over the edge from simply happy into excessively sappy. I would rather have seen Dart and Amanda mend their relationship and then just go forth into hard times, knowing they had the strength together to weather them, rather than have God move all of the right chess pieces into all of the right squares just to make things perfect for Dart and Amanda.
So one star docked for disliked setting and time and another docked for the ending. Three stars.
August 12, 2019
Having watched the newly release Blu Ray DVD of Foxfire I was listening to the film commentary and they described how the book was completely different. They were correct in the assessment. I checked the book out of the library and proceeded to read. The book is about this spoiled city girl named Amanda who goes by (Andy) who meets up with this mysterious man on a cruise ship who goes by the name of Dart. You find out he is half Apache. They start a romance and eventually he proposes marriage. Dart has a job in a very remote mining town in Arizona and basically has a shack for he and Amanda to live in. It is complete culture shock for Amanda when she arrives there and Dart seems to be more married to his job then he is to her. Amanda has trouble getting along with people with exception of a few like the drunken doctor Hugh and a wife of one of Dart's co-workers. Dart decides to make Amanda visit this eccentric old woman who was the wife of the former owner of the mine. Dart use to live with this old woman in her dilapidated old mansion. Amanda visits and is quite taken with the old woman who seems to be a visionary. The old woman escorts her to Dart's old room and Amanda rummages through Dart's belongings. She finds the story written by Dart's father about a special Indian village discovered by two priests who discover a lot of gold but end up going gold crazy and one is killed by the Indians. The other escapes to tell his story but dies shortly thereafter. Dart's father created a map. Amanda now has the desire to search for the gold so they can leave the awful mining town. Dart just laughs the whole thing off because he knows it is just a legend. Amanda then goes to Hugh who is friends with Dart to implore him to search for the treasure. Dart still refuses until a miner's death is blamed on Dart and he loses his job. The three strike out and find the hidden valley and each one's fate is decided by their actions while in that secret valley looking for the gold. It ends with a fairly happy ending but not perfect. I liked the book, the only Anya Seton book I have ever read. I enjoyed the movie but with the exception of characters having the same name, it is a completely different story from the book. I liked the book better. I wish I could remake the movie to fit better with the book.
August 27, 2022
Wow, this was an experience! The only other Seton book I've read was her famous medieval historical novel, Katherine, but she is a giant among 20th-century writers. I should disclose that I would probably not read this book again, just because it was so rough for about 80%, with only the last 20% being the rebuilding, less stressful part. But I forgave its depressing plot because the ending was quite satisfying.
Simply put, this is a book on marriage. Amanda is a silver spoon girl of the Roaring 20s, wanting to be cared for and coddled, Dart is a half white, half Apache desert man, content in his ways and determined that his wife have her own life alongside his. The book was fraught with tension as Amanda faces life during the Great Depression in a little mining town in the Arizona mountains. She doesn't understand why they have to be so poor, why her husband should feel links to his Apache roots, or why he loves his job as a mining engineer so much.
Nowadays, people would consider this book filled with racism and racial slurs, but it was written in the 1950s, and its about the 1930s. Therefore, the tension between racial groups was a constant problem, and the fact that the author digs right into those, determined to show that the patronizing of American Indians by white Americans was misguided and foolish. Some of my snobby college graduate professors would probably disagree with me, but I think this book manages the tensions for the time period it was written in very well, and it's a good read to understand some of the minutia of racial matters in the 1930s West.
Of course, as I said, the main conflict is with Amanda and Dart's marriage. They don't understand each other, and spoiler alert, it takes them almost dying before they finally do. Amanda has to learn to respect her husband's history and personality, and Dart has to learn to open up to her and trust her more. Overall, I found it a good book.
Simply put, this is a book on marriage. Amanda is a silver spoon girl of the Roaring 20s, wanting to be cared for and coddled, Dart is a half white, half Apache desert man, content in his ways and determined that his wife have her own life alongside his. The book was fraught with tension as Amanda faces life during the Great Depression in a little mining town in the Arizona mountains. She doesn't understand why they have to be so poor, why her husband should feel links to his Apache roots, or why he loves his job as a mining engineer so much.
Nowadays, people would consider this book filled with racism and racial slurs, but it was written in the 1950s, and its about the 1930s. Therefore, the tension between racial groups was a constant problem, and the fact that the author digs right into those, determined to show that the patronizing of American Indians by white Americans was misguided and foolish. Some of my snobby college graduate professors would probably disagree with me, but I think this book manages the tensions for the time period it was written in very well, and it's a good read to understand some of the minutia of racial matters in the 1930s West.
Of course, as I said, the main conflict is with Amanda and Dart's marriage. They don't understand each other, and spoiler alert, it takes them almost dying before they finally do. Amanda has to learn to respect her husband's history and personality, and Dart has to learn to open up to her and trust her more. Overall, I found it a good book.
March 6, 2024
Romance in the Past
This story, set in 1933, is reminiscent of a time after the Roaring Twenties, a time when fortunes were lost, but the attempt to keep the mood was still there. Amanda, a product of the world of privilege and keeping up a world of carefree frivolity in spite of waning finances, meets Dart, a cool Westerner, who charms her with his distant demeanor. They fall in love and marry and Dart, who is a geological engineer, takes her to remote Lodestone, Arizona, where he has a job at a small gold mine. It is a bare and crude existence and Amanda is not prepared for the reality or dough life of such a small mining town. Dart is devoted to his work and Amanda is often left alone to cope and adjust to this foreign way of life. Their marriage goes through many difficult trials and they must learn how to be together in a new way. It is rather an old fashioned story, but well written. I sympathized with the characters in their innocence and naivety, trying to navigate through life and come out with new attitudes and new hopes.
This story, set in 1933, is reminiscent of a time after the Roaring Twenties, a time when fortunes were lost, but the attempt to keep the mood was still there. Amanda, a product of the world of privilege and keeping up a world of carefree frivolity in spite of waning finances, meets Dart, a cool Westerner, who charms her with his distant demeanor. They fall in love and marry and Dart, who is a geological engineer, takes her to remote Lodestone, Arizona, where he has a job at a small gold mine. It is a bare and crude existence and Amanda is not prepared for the reality or dough life of such a small mining town. Dart is devoted to his work and Amanda is often left alone to cope and adjust to this foreign way of life. Their marriage goes through many difficult trials and they must learn how to be together in a new way. It is rather an old fashioned story, but well written. I sympathized with the characters in their innocence and naivety, trying to navigate through life and come out with new attitudes and new hopes.
August 18, 2020
This book was a genuine roller coaster for me. Initially the book bored me to tears. I didn't care about Dart or Amanda and I wasn't interested in their inner monologues. I started skimming. I contemplated not finishing it. I am compelled to finish what I started so I kept going. Then about halfway through the book, I started to get interested. When Amanda left Dart to party with Tim, i desperately just wanted them to get back together. I just wanted them to get along! I really began to enjoy the book and the characters up until Amanda lost her baby. Then I was angry. I was going to finish this book but I wasn't going to like it. Their journey and the story's climax ended up changing my judgement AGAIN. I am a sucker for happy endings, especially after they went through so much misery. All in all, difficult to get into but entirely satisfying in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2025
I love Anya Seton's Katherine and Green Darkness, so I was excited to find an edition of this lesser known novel by her in a used bookstore. Sadly, I can see why this book is less read than her other work. One of the main characters, Jonathan Dartland, had Native American heritage and several scenes that directly address this are hard to read without cringing. What I did like about this book is that the two romantic partners started off in love but at odds, struggling with communication and seeing each other's perspective, and by the end they reflected, learned, and grew up a little - a rare thing in both life and novels. Still, I'm not certain that alone would overcome the dated language and characterization for most readers and so I hesitate to recommend this one.
September 15, 2017
3.9***
An impeccable plot that combines a beautiful heroine – Amanda, a dark dashing hero -Dartland and a historic mine (Poldark déjà vu) though the mine in this case is in Arizona in the 1930s midst of the depression. This book really captures the time period, the struggles of frontier mining life and the southwest flora- wonderful references to ocotillo, saguaro, cholla and creosote bush. Insightfully poignant and believable references to Native American plight living in their wickiup dwellings and their children returning to reservation life after required attendance in white schools. It radiates with the beauty and honesty of a WPA painting. I enjoyed this book.
An impeccable plot that combines a beautiful heroine – Amanda, a dark dashing hero -Dartland and a historic mine (Poldark déjà vu) though the mine in this case is in Arizona in the 1930s midst of the depression. This book really captures the time period, the struggles of frontier mining life and the southwest flora- wonderful references to ocotillo, saguaro, cholla and creosote bush. Insightfully poignant and believable references to Native American plight living in their wickiup dwellings and their children returning to reservation life after required attendance in white schools. It radiates with the beauty and honesty of a WPA painting. I enjoyed this book.
September 10, 2019
What a glorious book! Written in 1950, it's about an Apache man and his meeting and marrying a woman who hails from a well-heeled family in the northeast. He's well educated but poor, and she's well educated and also poor due to the depression. They meet, fall in love, marry, and then the relationship falls apart. It falls apart due to the fact that she's terribly young and in a hurry to upgrade her living conditions and she's married to a stoic man who doesn't understand her need for material things. He works for a mining company and she's a homemaker. So much transpired between the time they married to the time they separated that you'd have to read the book to find out!
September 6, 2021
Dropped. What is even going on in chapter 11? All of the previous experiences and stories have been thwarted? Don't ever get me started on how some characters have been overly introduced to just become a one-off plot device.
It really feels like the author got bored of her original story 250 pages in and just decided to write a whole new thing, so she just rushed a change of heart for both Dart and Amanda.
To be fair, Amanda was never happy, and I was expecting her to part ways from Dart. But she just killed off Dart and put a different person under the same hat for the sake of her new story.
It really feels like the author got bored of her original story 250 pages in and just decided to write a whole new thing, so she just rushed a change of heart for both Dart and Amanda.
To be fair, Amanda was never happy, and I was expecting her to part ways from Dart. But she just killed off Dart and put a different person under the same hat for the sake of her new story.
September 19, 2025
The setting reminded me of my time living in New Mexico. Seton does a magnificent job at writing compelling interactions between the characters. Early after arriving in the remote mining town of Lodestone, our protagonist Amanda attends a social event fraught with complicated dynamics. Seton writes the scene so that the reader feels every bit the awkwardness, the longing to create friendships in a new environment, the self-consciousness of being out-of-place, and the uncertainty of a new and untested marriage. Although on the surface a love story, Foxfire is surprisingly gritty. It didn't quite live up to my expectations set by a reading of Seton's Katherine which I adored.
August 6, 2019
I loved this book. The setting and story was so romantic. I think the ending was a little rushed, but all loose end were tied up satisfactorily. This isn't my favorite Anya Seton novel, but definitely high on the list. I love the time period, (1930's), the setting (mine in AZ) and the characters (east coast socialite falls for a part Apache miner and follows him out west to try to make a life .) There was some mystery and adventure thrown in there as well. I look forward to hunting up the movie based on this novel. It stars Jane Russell which is horribly miscast, imo. lol.
December 16, 2022
I found this book, an antique, discarded outside of a restaurant. It was so enjoyable to be able to read start to finish with no previous idea of what the story was about or how the events would progress. The story is well written and contains deep wisdom and themes about love, connection to nature, spirituality, acceptance, and goodness. It showed the necessity of transformation in individuals and relationships. A bonus to the reader is that the falling action and resolution is complete. It has no "cliff hanger", and leaves the reader feeling fuller and satisfied.
September 7, 2018
Was it good...I don't know? I feel confused about how to rate it. I'm not much for romance novels. So I kind of find it hard to be fair. I read Dragonwyck years ago and loved it a lot and always wanted to read some more Anya Seton. This was Arizona set, so it got me interested. It's kind of rambling. I did find it page turning. I didn't really like the last 20 pages at all. It's a bit cliched. I have one more Anya Seton book on my self, so I'll give her another try.
March 16, 2019
Okay read. Plot a little too simplistic for me. Never really got into the characters very much. Too much exploration of character's relationship for me. I prefer historical novels with more history info regarding geographical location or the time period. I made myself finish the book, but can't say that it really mattered to me whether I finished it or not. I plan to read some of her other novels that are more historical based in plot.
October 1, 2023
I saw the movie based on this, and decided to check out the book, which I don't usually do, but it felt to me like the movie didn't give the complete story. It was a bit different, and there were some things I like about it better than the movie, as there's more character depth, yet there are some things I'm glad the movie changed.
While not my favorite Anya seton novel, it's still pretty good, and worth reading.
While not my favorite Anya seton novel, it's still pretty good, and worth reading.
February 17, 2019
Re-reading all my old favorites this winter. Anya Seton's books are wonderfully rich historical fiction. A Chicago Times reviewer of Devil Water said, "Mixed by Miss Seton's skillful hands, the dust of the past becomes the clay of the artist and is molded into memorable lifelike form." Pretty good description of her work.
September 7, 2022
First time I've walked away from a Seton book thinking "hmmm... this kind of sucks." Really contrived and rushed final 50 pages or so. Main character was a total boring dolt, something that Seton is usually really good at avoiding. Still gets 3 stars because of a solid set up and some fun gold mine intrigue.
July 12, 2023
Some time back, I picked up a trade paperback version of "Foxfire" by Anya Seton from the discard pile at the Winona, Miss., library. Just now got around to reading it. Quite satisfying blend of romance, mysticism, the wild west experience of quite a few decades ago. Published last in 1978. A good read, for sure.
July 13, 2024
A romantic story set in a rugged Arizona mining town. Amanda accompanies her new husband, Dart, out west to set up housekeeping in a less than welcoming mining town. Although she loves Dart, she has a terrible time adjusting to her new life, until tragedy occurs and the newlyweds set off on a treasure hunting adventure.
August 31, 2018
3.5 stars. This is an old-fashioned romance written in the early 50's and taking place in the 30's. Somewhat formulaic and not Seton's best work. Some reviewers did not care for heroine but I found the hero rather unlikable. Set in remote areas of Arizona and interesting from that perspective.
February 19, 2021
This was a well-written novel. Quite atmospheric and quaint in it's adherence to old values. The characters were mildly intriguing. But I think the real winner was the atmosphere: it was charged and quite magical.
August 25, 2020
Slightly racist.
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