So Far From Paradise

by Judy Alter

.Ranching is a man’s story, but in So Far from Paradise, Cassie Belden recalls the story from a woman’s point of view—life on the plains of North Texas, the Comanche and Kiowa raids, the cattle drives, the building of an empire, and finally the move to Fort Worth, where the city shaped her family’s life even as the cattle barons shaped the city of cowboys and culture. A novel first serialized by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1986 to celebrate the Texas Sesquicentennial.

171 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2019

About the author

Judy Alter was an American novelist and nonfiction writer whose work explored the history and literature of Texas and the American West, with a particular focus on women’s experiences in the nineteenth century. She authored numerous books for adults and young readers, including over fifty young adult nonfiction titles and a series of cozy mysteries, many set in Texas. Before turning to full-time writing, she worked as editor and later director of TCU Press. Alter earned degrees from the University of Chicago, Truman State University, and Texas Christian University. She received multiple literary honors, including the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement, and remained an influential voice in Western literature.

Reviews

[Susan Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Texas historical fiction is usually written by men, about men. To celebrate the state's sesquicentennial, Judy Alter wrote a woman's story: the saga of Cassie Belden, a strong woman who tells her own strong and stirring story about the founding of a ranch on the open plains of Texas in the hard, dangerous years after the Civil War and the move to the pioneer town of Fort Worth. It's all here: the grueling work, the losses, the fear--but above all, the passion and undaunted courage of the brave people, women and men, who made their homes on an unfriendly prairie. Alter's characters will pull you into the story and hold you there, and her attention to period detail will enrich your understanding of times and places that live now only in our memories of the past.

An award-winning author of dozens of works of historical fiction, Alter was commissioned to write So Far From Paradise by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where it was serialized in 1986. This new digital reprint makes the novel available now to new readers, who will find in Cassie Belden a woman of their own hearts.

[ELIZABETH SABINS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about early days in Texas.

Pretty good story about a young woman who comes of age in 1880s Texas. Not as good as "Mattie" but prairie story moves along nicely. Main characters needed more fleshing out, particularly Cassie. Still, an enjoyable read and would recommend it..