A Lady Follows (Women of the West Novels (Hardcover Forge)) [Hardcover]

Holly Newman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999 | Series: Women of the West Novels (Hardcover Forge)

Carolina Harper is bound to traverse the Santa Fe Trail in the spring of 1846. War with Mexico is imminent, and Santa Fe lies in the heart of the contested territory. Still numb from the death of her son and husband, Carolina sets out from Westport, Missouri with a freed slave, a Mexican servant, and a scarred, reticent Mountain Man.

The Santa Fe Trail is fraught with dangers. And beyond the travails of the perilous journey lies a territory claimed by two powerful nations preparing for war. Carolina, like New Mexico, finds herself torn between two cultures. Born in America of Spanish descent, she enters the strange and marvelous world of her father's origin only to come face to face with the most feared man in New Mexico -- her father's mysterious brother, who will stop at nothing to crush the swelling tide of the invading Anglos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Newman's debut chronicles the challenging trek of a spunky young widow from Missouri to Santa Fe in 1846. Following the death of her only child and her alcoholic, mentally unbalanced husband, sheltered New Orleans belle Carolina Harper, of American and Spanish-Mexican descent, decides to go to Santa Fe to care for her three motherless cousins. She hires Gerald Gaspard, a mountain man with a scarred face, to act as her guide. In a harsh and hazardous land, Carolina is forced to act heroically on several occasions and wins the admiration and respect of the stalwart Gaspard, who comes to mean a great deal more to her than a mere employee. Carolina recovers from a concussion after being thrown from her horse and even deals courageously with her violent, Anglo-hating uncle, Colonel Diego Navarro, when he tries to use her as a political pawn. Newman alternates third-person narration with Carolina's journal entries and somewhat flat discussions of the politics of the time, and the war with Mexico. While the terrain has been trod before, Newman manages to sustain action and excitement in this addition to the publisher's Women of the West series.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868715
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868710
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,924,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting "Woman of the West" entry, February 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Lady Follows (Women of the West Novels (Hardcover Forge)) (Hardcover)

In 1846 Missouri, widow Carolina Harper decides that she must do something useful with her life after the deaths of her husband and child. In spite of being pregnant and the talk of war between Mexico and the United States, Carolina begins traveling along the Santa Fe Trail. Her destination is Santa Fe where her uncle is raising three children without their mother.

The Trail is as dangerous as she has been warned by individuals trying to persuade her to forget her folly.

Still, she reaches her destination, the home land of her father's family. However, just like her own divided culture, two countries apparently are ready to clash over the territory. Her own uncle, being one of the most powerful individuals in the area, plans to drive the Anglos out of New Mexico.

A LADY FOLLOWS is an interesting entry in the "Woman of the West" series. The characters are well developed as both positions of the sides in the upcoming Mexican-American War are brilliantly explained without prejudice. Readers accompanying Carolina and her cohorts on their trek along the Santa Fe Trail will feel the danger as much as if they were there (or at least simulating it through the computer game). However, the pace is knocked off kilter by repeating each day's adventures of Carolina in her diary, thereby causing several unnecessary painful detours to a well-designed story line. Fans of American romance should skip the diary passages (as this reviewer eventually did), which leads to an entertaining reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Western action from a female perspective!, March 7, 1999

By 

Diane A. S. Stuckart "Ladyhart" (Southern Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lady Follows (Women of the West Novels (Hardcover Forge)) (Hardcover)

For fans of westerns and romances both, A LADY FOLLOWS provides an interesting and entertaining read. The heroine, Carolina Harper, embarks upon an action-filled expedition during an exciting if often overlooked period of American history. Her journey from Missouri to Santa Fe, recounted in both narrative and journal format, parallels Carolina's own internal quest to find herself. Ms. Newman gives her readers an authentic look at life on the Santa Fe trail, with detailed description, lively action, and colorful characters...especially, Carolina's guide, the rugged mountain man-cum-philosopher, Gerard Gaspard.

The story pace is leisurely, at times, making this a book to savor over several evenings. When I finally said good-bye to Carolina, I felt I was parting from a friend. Ms. Newman has used her considerable writing skills to successfully make the leap from the Regency romance genre (where I first discovered her) to women's fiction. I look forward to reading more from this talented author!