Ashes and Ice: the Yukon Quest continues

Tracie Peterson’s "Yukon Quest" historical fiction trilogy continues with the second installment, Ashes and Ice. Settled in 1898 Alaska, Karen Pierce quickly faces many tragedies that threaten to turn her from God. Soon comparing herself to Job, Karen turns an angry face towards God for allowing all the sorrows that have come upon her. Through her dark experiences, literally from Ashes to Ice, Karen must learn forgiveness, trusting in the sovereignty of God and His justice.

Grace and Peter Colton have settled in San Francisco near Peter’s parents and sister. Yet being unequally yoked, conflict soon disrupts their marriage; Peter wants nothing to do with God. Martin Paxton remains more in the background, but his influence is far from over. His evil deeds still live on in the memories of those he has hurt, driving them to bitterness, suspicion and vengeance.

Faced with the care of two abandoned children, Karen finds she cannot easily return to the States, especially when one of the children departs to the north. She finds nothing to keep her waiting in Skagway, and Adrik Ivankov agrees to accompany the party north towards Dawson (in northern Canada). Introduced in the previous novel, Adrik helps bring healing and order to Karen’s chaotic world. But will she understand and accept his love for her?

In the background, and seemingly very far away, are the world events of 1898, most notable of which is the Spanish-American War, including brief mention of what happened to the Maine. Of course, the immediate surroundings are more pressing for the group traveling along the Chilkoot Trail north through the Yukon. Ashes and Ice mentions several towns, including Lindeman, Bennett, Whitehorse, and Dawson. Among the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people who traveled along this path during the Gold Rush (1896-1899), Adrik and company face the many historical problems along the way, including the dangers of navigating the Yukon River and scaling steep mountains. The mountains prove easier to pass during the winter, over hard-packed snow and ice steps, than in the soggy summer. Due to the Gold Rush Stampeders, trees for good boat-building are scarce, and medicine is even scarcer. The Canadian government required each person to carry a year’s supply of food with them, but other supplies needed come at outrageous costs: a dozen eggs for $25, two eggs for $1, a pint of whiskey for ten dollars.

As with Treasures of the North, this second story also ends with many questions and problems, leaving the reader hanging for the third part (to be published in February 2002). Having read this far, I eagerly await the concluding story.

Treasures of the North: Adventures in the Yukon

Adventure and romance amidst the Yukon Gold Rush: so begins the "Yukon Quest" historical fiction book series. Tracie Peterson fans new and old will enjoy reading her latest offering, a story told in three parts beginning with Treasures of the North.

In 1897 Chicago, 20-year-old Grace Hawkins must marry Martin Paxton at her father's insistence. Yet she soon finds the man, who is blackmailing her father, unbearable. In desperation, she accepts help from her high-spirited governess, Karen Pierce, in a daring escape. Leaving behind the only world she has known, Grace soon finds excitement and freedom in the Yukon.

While men stream to the West Coast, seeking passage to the rumored gold up north, many business men find an easier way to riches: through the ships and other goods required by gold diggers. Peter Colton sees the perfect opportunity to expand his family's fledgling shipping company, and is soon offering passage to Yukon-bound travelers. Soon Peter meets Grace and her determined companions, who travel on his ship Merry Maid to Skagway, Alaska.

Martin Paxton is a two-dimensional, pure evil antagonist with no redemptive or realistic features, and finds himself easily outwitted by the women he seeks to destroy. Grace Hawkins, his primary target, soon falls in love with Peter Colton, and blossoms under both her newfound freedom and Peter's attention. The Paxton / Grace Hawkins plot quickly comes to resemble a melodrama with its classic elements of bad guy forever plotting to destroy the damsel in distress, with the good guy (and, in this case, clever women as well) coming to the rescue. Or so it seems in this first part of the "Yukon Quest" story.

Treasures of the North actually involves three plotlines, and soon the story changes gears to expand Karen's role. First seen as an arrogant, flippant feminist, Karen develops into a mature woman as she takes on the care of two abandoned children while concerned for her missionary father.

The historical background includes interesting details about the gold-rush towns of Skagway and Dyea, Alaska and the steam ships that traveled to these locations. The country had recently suffered an economic downturn with the silver panic of 1893, and Bill Barringer, with his children Jacob and Leah, have gone from riches to rags as a result. Yet now the lure of gold in the Yukon causes men such as Barringer, now widowed and living in a small cabin in Colorado, to bring along his two children and take foolish chances in the land of the midnight sun. Other historical details include the Canadian government's regulations as well as slang words such as "Cheechakos" (the newcomer gold-rushers) and "Sour Doughs" (old timers). The Tlingit Indians, though never met directly, are mentioned briefly as being those among whom Karen's father has worked as a missionary. Much of the story's action takes place in Skagway, a mere tent city with only a few wooden dwellings. Yet the town is constantly growing; indeed, by wintertime, when the women have only lived there about four months, Skagway has grown three times in size.

Treasures of the North is the first of three parts in the same story; Ashes and Ice continues the story, with the conclusion, Rivers of Gold, scheduled for publication in February 2002. While bringing a great deal of action suspense near the end of the first book, the ending only marks a transition in the lives of some characters without satisfactory closure. Fortunately, the second book has already been published, so readers can quickly get to the next chapter of the continuing saga.

Highland Hopes: The Blue Ridge Legacy

Highland Hopes, first in the Blue Ridge Legacy series, begins a story told by 100-year-old Abigail Porter of her early years. Written by Gary E. Parker (published by Bethany House), this historical fiction novel tells an intriguing story about the highlanders, those who lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains during the early 1900s. It is a hard life, and those who live it are well acquainted with death, poverty, alcohol, crime and family feuding.

The Porter family faces tragedy in the spring of 1900, when Rose dies in childbirth. Solomon Porter can never get over the loss of his wife, nor come to terms with his only daughter born in the midst of that loss. Abby Porter grows up feeling alienated from her father and yearns to leave her mountain past behind. Yet despite her urge to tear away from the past, she finds she can never truly escape her highlander heritage.

Spanning nearly thirty years, from 1900 to 1929, Highland Hopes follows the experiences of the Porter family as they move from place to place and then later go their own ways, losing touch with family members. Solomon soon remarries, but Elsa Clack seems to be the only decent member of the Clack family. Meanwhile, Laban, the oldest Porter son, struggles with alcohol and gambling. Luke is slow in the head but gifted musically. His skill as a guitar player more than compensates for his stutter and mental deficiencies. Youngest son Daniel (eight years older than Abby), proves to be a diligent worker and moves up in the world as a hard-working bricklayer in Asheville, North Carolina. Abby determines to get an education early on, and through her harsh upbringing she quickly grows up, reasoning with adult thoughts as early as age ten.

Blue Springs, North Carolina is a small town that only slowly and unwillingly moves into the twentieth century. Progress does not completely escape the holler, and the first World War and the 1918 flu take their toll, but the town and its people continue along, finding faith in God, family, and small-town life. The town’s two churches, a Primitive Baptist at one end of town and the Jesus Holiness Church at the other, meet alternating Sundays each month, and church meetings that last several days are important social events.

The religion of the Blue Springs community tends to the charismatic side, with emphasis on unusual physical manifestations ("touch of the Spirit’s breath") that accompany a person’s salvation experience. Young Abby observes that everyone else in the family has experienced the Spirit’s call and has given testimony at the front of the church. It seems to be expected of all family members as a rite of passage. Solomon Porter calls himself a "Jesus Man" and enjoys hearing the Bible read to him (he can’t read). Abby likewise knows the right and proper Christian way to behave and think, often chiding herself for her wicked thoughts, knowing that "a true Christian person" would not think such things.

Abby’s mother, as she lay dying, wrote a short letter to her newborn daughter, to be given to Abby when she is older. Yet as the family moves from place to place, the letter is misplaced, resurfacing from time to time, but finally seeming to disappear. This letter, and the mystery of what it says, acts as a bridge between Abby and her past. What is in the letter? Does the letter even exist anymore, and will it help Abby?

Highland Hopes tells a touching story about ordinary people and their relationships through the years, against the historical backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains highlanders. Abby in particular must come to terms with her distant father and try to reconcile with him. The story brings finality and closure to some problems while leaving several other issues unresolved, presumably to be explored in subsequent books in the Blue Ridge Legacy series.

The Swan House: Early 1960s Atlanta

Elizabeth Musser's new book, The Swan House, introduces Mary Swan Middleton, a sixteen-year-old girl growing up in Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1960s. Mary Swan has enjoyed a privileged life in the ritzy Buck Head section of town, with all the advantages of wealth including private girls' prep school, society dinners and dances, and a black maid to keep the house in order. Yet in this coming of age story, Mary finds her life torn apart by tragedy and a struggle to bring meaning to her life.

The historical account of the 1962 Paris plane crash, in which over a hundred Atlantans returning from an art tour perished, sets the stage. Mary's mother was on the plane, and the accident sends Mary's world tumbling. When Ella Mae, the family's black maid, suggests that Mary help out others as a way to overcome her depression, Mary discovers a whole new world on the other side of town. Grant Park is a rough, inner-city neighborhood, where every Saturday Mt. Carmel church serves spaghetti lunches to the poor. Yet Carl Matthews, a streetwise black teen, has something that Mary doesn't have. From him and the other blacks in Grant Park she finds both poverty and love, including God's love that goes beyond prejudice.

A school dare, a mystery that Mary must try to solve during the school year, drives the story along. In the process, Mary uncovers the truth about her mother, an artist who suffered from depression. At the same time she encounters the world around her, a world of racial prejudice as well as the hypocrisy and superficiality of the wealthy world. Through Carl Matthews and best friend Rachel Abrams comes discrimination against blacks and Jews respectively. Even Mary's boyfriend Robbie, from a "good family," chafes at the restrictions and high expectations placed on him by his father.

In this turbulent time of the Civil Rights movement, Carl and his friends follow the news of the day, including the incident at University of Mississippi that year, when a black student registers at the all-white school despite the protests. At various times in the story, Carl and his friends attend Civil Rights meetings, are beat up by whites while leaving church, and perform as a band for the "fancy white clubs" in Buck Head.

Part-child, part confused adolescent, Mary Swan enjoys reciting classical poetry and "corrupting" poems with silly rhyming lines, staying up late playing poetry trivia with Rachel. She also eagerly joins her 13-year-old brother Jimmy in schemes to keep rich women (who only want his money) away from daddy, while longing for a closer relationship to her busy and aloof daddy.

Other interesting characters include Miss Abigail, the Christian woman who gave up her wealthy life to live and work in the inner-city, first in Detroit and now Atlanta. Through association with her, Mary learns of the generous help that other wealthy ladies have given to Grant Park, and discovers the reason for Miss Abigail's joy. The Middleton's next door neighbor Trixie also helps out the family, having been close friends with Mary's mother and now someone that Mary can turn to.

The author grew up in Atlanta and currently works as a missionary in France; The Swan House provides a strong background of both places. Coca-Cola and its Atlanta legacy is here, as is the higher society of art appreciation, the influential Atlantans who would bring greater art and culture to the city; also Georgia Tech football games. Many prominent locations are actual historic places in Atlanta, including the Swan House (now open to tours), the High Museum (now part of the Woodruff museums) and Oakland Cemetery. According to the author's notes, a church in Grant Park continues to provide spaghetti meals to the poor every week. Even the Varsity, a fast-food teen hangout, is an actual place still in existence today. Sprinkled throughout are French words and phrases, courtesy of Mary's mother who was part French. Mary enjoys many days in her mother's Atelier (art studio), and makes many references to French painting styles. Painting, she realizes, is good therapy as well as a talent she has inherited from her mother.

It is indeed Mary Swan's story, told in first person from the present day (summer of 2000) perspective while visiting with her daughter Abbie. Mary takes a fresh look back, telling her story to Abbie with fond remembrances of that year, 1962 to 1963.

City of Angels: Historical Fiction Legal Thriller

City of Angels, Tracie Peterson and James Scott Bell's first book of the Shannon Saga, introduces 23-year-old Kit (Kathleen) Shannon, a young woman who desires to practice law. Only problem is, it is 1903 Los Angeles (the "City of Angels"), where the courtrooms are a man's world.

Orphaned Kit arrives by train from the east with a law certificate from the Women's Legal Education Society of New York, believing that it is God's will for her to practice law. She also wanted to meet her great-aunt Freddy, possibly her only living relative, and so traveled to Los Angeles, which, she soon learns, is a far cry from the more civilized East Coast. Even before setting foot in the city, Kit is advised to go back East; women lawyers are not accepted here. Aunt Freddy, a woman of high-society, takes to the girl but, finding her woefully inept in social graces, attempts to transform Kit into a "respectable" young woman who needs to find a husband ASAP!

Kit is not so easily distracted, however, and after many discouraging setbacks, lands employment with none other than the famous Earl Rogers (an actual historical figure), criminal defense lawyer. Assigned to a case of great notoriety, she struggles with her convictions: should she defend a client she suspects is guilty? Kit finds solace and strength through God's word and the memories of her father, a minister who died when she was eleven and whose Bible is all she has left from him.

Many people despise Rogers, whose clients represent the baser elements of society, hardened criminals as opposed to those of high society. Kit desires to help those who lack money yet have a good legal case, in contrast to her boss, a man who only takes those with enough money, but will defend and represent his clients as innocent whether or not they actually are. Earl Rogers and Kit Shannon learn from each other along the way, as Kit learns from Rogers the important parts of a trial lawyer's work -- such as jury selection, opening statements, and cross-examination -- while he comes to appreciate her skill as well as her faith.

Much of the story reads like a contemporary thriller, building upon the various characters by slowly providing more and more background information as the plot intensifies. Like a mystery, too, the reader comes across clues, early on, that build up towards the great murder trial and its conclusion. Soon Kit finds herself alongside Rogers taking on the corruption of the city, in a battle against blackmailed judges and the conniving lawyer Sloate, while also taking on the man who controls and would destroy her Aunt. The trial scenes are riveting, as the courtroom drama unfolds and Kit proves her skills as a quick-thinking lawyer.

Through Kit's experiences, the young Los Angeles of 1903 (population of only 105,000) comes alive, a city not yet overcrowded or polluted like the East; a place where city meets nearby country and desert. Kit finds a friend in a young Mexican girl, one of Aunt Freddy's servants, and enjoys new food such as oranges and tamales. She even experiences her first ride in a horseless carriage, a very noisy and dirty experience. Yet she cannot imagine, as friend Ted Fox does, the coming days of flying machines.

Another interesting historical figure is actor John Barrymore (who later became a successful star of silent movies and early talkies, and is actress Drew Barrymore's grandfather), who has a minor part as one of Earl Rogers' friends. From the east, he is appearing in a play in Los Angeles (Barrymore in fact later lived in Los Angeles, where he died in 1942), and tells of other family members such as his brother Lionel Barrymore. He also has a romantic interest in Kit.

The first in a series of three books (the next two books are currently in progress), City of Angels includes an Authors' note about the history of the court system in America, including the contributions Earl Rogers made with visual presentation of evidence. As portrayed in the story, Rogers was indeed skilled with medical terminology and once presented a jar of human intestines in a courtroom. The authors also note the practical non-existence of women trial lawyers of the time.

Tracie Peterson and James Scott Bell have together written a great story, historical fiction plus legal thriller in the style of John Grisham. Tracie Peterson brings another story in a long line of historical fiction family stories, and James Scott Bell, a former trial lawyer, brings his legal writing experience from previous legal thrillers such as Final Witness.