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Three Wives' Tales
In 1950, a simple wedding toast highlights the bringing together of two Basque families, culminating and combining their immigrant stories and launching a new American tale. Three Wives' Tales provides a glimpse into the lives of Victoria, Eladia, and Annie, three formidable women who served as the backbone of their families in the American West. Victoria leaves her tiny village in Bizkaia to seek work and struggles to overcome her superstitions and Old Country ways. Eladia, cut off from her family for marrying a man beneath her social class, hesitates to embrace her new Nevada home. Optimistic Annie, whose marriage brings the two families together, does her best to fulfill the promise of American opportunity. Woven together as a work of historical fiction, the memoirs and family lore of these three Nevada women capture a journey of self-discovery filled with wisdom and strength that other Basque and immigrant families will recognize. Three Wives’ Tales was the winner of the 2020 Basque Writing Contest sponsored by the University of Nevada, Reno, and Boise State University. The author is the son and grandson of the tale’s protagonists.
235 pages, Paperback
Published December 9, 2021
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 20, 2022
A poignant, honest book about family, hardships and the struggles and joys of an immigrant family. Bravo to the author for an epic first book.
April 1, 2025
⭐️❤️⭐️❤️⭐️❤️
Reading Three Wives’ Tales felt like stepping into a piece of my town’s history. Dale Erquiaga masterfully weaves the stories of two Basque families (his family) making their way from Spain to the rugged Nevada desert, a journey that resonates deeply with me as someone who calls this landscape home. The novel isn’t just about survival—it’s about the sacrifices, choices, and sheer determination that shaped generations of Basque immigrants to my hometown in Battle Mountain. Where to this day we still celebrate Basque traditions.
Eladia’s story immediately pulls you in. She comes from a wealthy family in Spain, but when she marries a man beneath her family’s statues of wealth, she’s cut off and forced to carve out a new life with him in Nevada. As the years unfold, I found myself questioning alongside her—was the sacrifice for him worth it? Her struggles as a wife and mother felt so real, a reflection of the hard lives many women endured in this era and many generations after.
But for me, the heart of the book was Victoria. She leaves Spain, young and almost on her own, determined to find work in America, and ends up in Winnemucca—a town next to my homeyown. Reading about her job as a maid in a hotel across from the Martin Hotel, where I’ve had so many wonderful Basque meals, made the story feel incredibly personal and fun!. It was like looking at this old town I know well through a window to the past. I’ve always known the Basque culture runs thick through this area but it was still fun to read. I could picture the dusty streets, the close-knit community, and the resilience of those early Basque immigrants who made a home here.
And then there’s Eladia’s arrival in America, stepping off the train in Battle Mountain with her three kids. I couldn’t help but smile at the mention of the old station, even though it’s mostly forgotten now. Little details like that, woven so naturally into the story, made me feel connected to the book. It’s one thing to read historical fiction—it’s another to see your own world reflected in its pages.
Three Wives’ Tales is more than just a novel—it’s a love letter to the Basque people of Nevada, Winnamucca, Austin, Battle Mountain, Fallon… all the sacrifices they made to build a future here. If you have any connection to this history, or simply love stories of strength, love, and resilience, this book is a must-read. For me, it was an unforgettable journey through a past that still echoes in the land I call home.
Reading Three Wives’ Tales felt like stepping into a piece of my town’s history. Dale Erquiaga masterfully weaves the stories of two Basque families (his family) making their way from Spain to the rugged Nevada desert, a journey that resonates deeply with me as someone who calls this landscape home. The novel isn’t just about survival—it’s about the sacrifices, choices, and sheer determination that shaped generations of Basque immigrants to my hometown in Battle Mountain. Where to this day we still celebrate Basque traditions.
Eladia’s story immediately pulls you in. She comes from a wealthy family in Spain, but when she marries a man beneath her family’s statues of wealth, she’s cut off and forced to carve out a new life with him in Nevada. As the years unfold, I found myself questioning alongside her—was the sacrifice for him worth it? Her struggles as a wife and mother felt so real, a reflection of the hard lives many women endured in this era and many generations after.
But for me, the heart of the book was Victoria. She leaves Spain, young and almost on her own, determined to find work in America, and ends up in Winnemucca—a town next to my homeyown. Reading about her job as a maid in a hotel across from the Martin Hotel, where I’ve had so many wonderful Basque meals, made the story feel incredibly personal and fun!. It was like looking at this old town I know well through a window to the past. I’ve always known the Basque culture runs thick through this area but it was still fun to read. I could picture the dusty streets, the close-knit community, and the resilience of those early Basque immigrants who made a home here.
And then there’s Eladia’s arrival in America, stepping off the train in Battle Mountain with her three kids. I couldn’t help but smile at the mention of the old station, even though it’s mostly forgotten now. Little details like that, woven so naturally into the story, made me feel connected to the book. It’s one thing to read historical fiction—it’s another to see your own world reflected in its pages.
Three Wives’ Tales is more than just a novel—it’s a love letter to the Basque people of Nevada, Winnamucca, Austin, Battle Mountain, Fallon… all the sacrifices they made to build a future here. If you have any connection to this history, or simply love stories of strength, love, and resilience, this book is a must-read. For me, it was an unforgettable journey through a past that still echoes in the land I call home.
January 11, 2026
This book provides vignettes of what life was like for these immigrant families to come and establish homes in Northern Nevada. The stories reminded me of Upton Sinclair's immigrant stories and struggles in The Jungle. It was not easy to establish a new way of life, and this book provides real stories of what it took to survive and prosper while remembering cultural traditions. As a teacher, I can see weaving these vignettes into relevant units to expand my students' knowledge of early America.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews