Prophet Annie [Mass Market Paperback]

Ellen Recknor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2000

A WEDDING NIGHT SHE'LL NEVER FORGET

Annie Pinkerton Boone Newcastle's wedding night is one she wouldn't soon forget. One moment she's arriving in the practically barbarian Arizona Territory for a prearranged marriage -- the next she's a widow. The honeymoon has just begun when her newly acquired, much older husband breathes his last breath -- leaving Annie without funds, and with his two elderly relatives to support. To make matters worse, the dead geezer has the unmitigated gall to take up residence in Annie's body!

But, it turns out, the ghost of Jonas Newcastle makes himself useful by channeling vital information from the great beyond through Annie, and the somewhat bewildered widow quickly earns a reputation as a seer. She's soon sharing Jonas's psychic "hints" with the public and, no longer impoverished, she's a local celebrity. However, even "Prophet Annie" can't foresee all the raucous adventures and passionate fulfillment the future has in store for her...

A WEDDING NIGHT SHE'LL NEVER FORGET

Annie Pinkerton Boone Newcastle's wedding night is one she wouldn't soon forget. One moment she's arriving in the practically barbarian Arizona Territory for a prearranged marriage -- the next she's a widow. The honeymoon has just begun when her newly acquired, much older husband breathes his last breath -- leaving Annie without funds, and with his two elderly relatives to support. To make matters worse, the dead geezer has the unmitigated gall to take up residence in Annie's body!

But, it turns out, the ghost of Jonas Newcastle makes himself useful by channeling vital information from the great beyond through Annie, and the somewhat bewildered widow quickly earns a reputation as a seer. She's soon sharing Jonas's psychic "hints" with the public and, no longer impoverished, she's a local celebrity. However, even "Prophet Annie" can't foresee all the raucous adventures and passionate fulfillment the future has in store for her...A WEDDING NIGHT SHE'LL NEVER FORGET

Annie Pinkerton Boone Newcastle's wedding night is one she wouldn't soon forget. One moment she's arriving in the practically barbarian Arizona Territory for a prearranged marriage -- the next she's a widow. The honeymoon has just begun when her newly acquired, much older husband breathes his last breath -- leaving Annie without funds, and with his two elderly relatives to support. To make matters worse, the dead geezer has the unmitigated gall to take up residence in Annie's body!

But, it turns out, the ghost of Jonas Newcastle makes himself useful by channeling vital information from the great beyond through Annie, and the somewhat bewildered widow quickly earns a reputation as a seer. She's soon sharing Jonas's psychic "hints" with the public and, no longer impoverished, she's a local celebrity. However, even "Prophet Annie" can't foresee all the raucous adventures and passionate fulfillment the future has in store for her...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Spur Award-winner Recknor (Leaving Missouri) offers a daffy, highly original western told in the voice of a sassy and bewildered heroine whose unlikely and hilarious adventures skewer the conventions of the traditional Wild West tale. In 1881, at age 22, Annie Pinkerton Boone Newcastle is already twice a widow. Born in Sycamore, Iowa, which she fled only briefly at 17 to marry a gandy dancer who was promptly kicked in the head by a mule, she is promised in marriage by her dying mother to Jonas Newcastle, a prosperous "old geezer" 54 years her senior. Jonas dies in bed on their wedding night (shouting, "Freedom!"), and that's the good news for Annie. The bad news is that Jonas's ghost inhabits Annie's body, talking to her, demanding conjugal visits and giving speeches through her to audiences eager to hear Jonas's visions of the future. As a circus oddity, she becomes Prophet Annie, sort of a Psychic Network of the 1880s. Traveling with P.T. Barnum and her gourmet chef Navajo pal, Sam Two Trees, Annie feeds shortcake to her pet African cheetah in the Arizona desert while dead birds fall on her head and Jonas spouts predictions about baseball, automobiles, electricity, WWI and Jack Benny. Annie's notoriety brings her fame, fortune and the unwelcome attentions of an inept gang of outlaws whose meanness is only outmatched by their odor. Here Recknor's tale bogs down in sappy predictability as Annie falls in love with the outlaw leader in a typical good-girl-loves-bad-boy scenario. The earlier charm of Annie's blunt-spoken narrative eventually loses its magic, skidding into a too-cute conclusion. When Jonas's ghost departs, the reader will wish for an encore by the "dirty-minded old coot."
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A highly original western told in the voice of a sassy heroine." -- Publishers Weekly

"How does Ellen Recknor do what she does? Prophet Annie will worm her way into your heart where you'll want her to stay." -- Cindy Bonner, author of Right from Wrong

"Not since Mark Twain has anyone written of the Old West with more humor. What a fun read!" -- --- Robert Vaughn, author of Adobe Walls

"This is the sort of book you'd rather have than food. PROPHET ANNIE is destined to be the most unforgettable character you'll meet this year. Her story is hilarious, heart-wrenching, tragic and triumphant." -- Susan Wiggs, author of The Charm School

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Reprint edition (January 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380811227
• ISBN-13: 978-0380811229
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,442,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Read!, March 27, 2001

By 

Teresa Medeiros - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prophet Annie (Mass Market Paperback)

With PROPHET ANNIE, I discovered a new favorite author. Annie Newcastle is a sassy, hilarious heroine with a distinctive voice. This book reminded me of one of Larry McMurtry's funnier westerns because it combined humor and pathos. The characters and dialogue are priceless. I especially loved Sam Two Trees' dry wit. I'm heartbroken that Ms. Recknor's earlier efforts seem to be out of print (What is Avon thinking???) but I'm off to search for them in an out-of-print store. After reading PROPHET ANNIE, I would definitely buy anything this author writes--paperback or hardcover--as soon as it hits the shelves because you just don't discover a treasure like this very often.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A STORY WITH A DIFFERENT TWIST........, April 23, 2000

By 

K. Hudson (Destin, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prophet Annie (Mass Market Paperback)

HAVING READ RECKNORS TWO EARLIER BOOKS, "LEAVING MISSOURI" AND& "ME AND THE BOYS", I HAD MORE THAN AN IDLE INTEREST IN SEEING WHAT SHE HAD IN STORE THIS TIME AROUND. HERE IS A WRITER WITH A PROFOUND MASTERY OF LANGUAGE AND HUMOR AND WHO HAS AN UNEQUALED ABILITY TO PULL THE READER INTO HER STORIES EARLY ON.I FOUND "PROPHET ANNIE" TO BE A VERY INTERESTING STORY WITH A NOVEL APPROACH TO DEALING WITH DEATH THROUGH HUMOR AND AS WITH BOTH PREVIOUS BOOKS, I WAS UNABLE TO PUT IT DOWN UNTIL I WAS SURE OF THE OUTCOME.IF YOU'VE NEVER READ ANYTHING BY ELLEN RECKNOR, AND YOU ENJOY STORIES WITH A WESTERN THEME AND A HEAVY DOSE OF HUMOR, THEN "PROPHET ANNIE" IS JUST WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THIS WRITER COMES UP WITH NEXT...........

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast moving, exciting and extremely funny............., May 1, 2000

By 

Todd Sutton (Greenville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prophet Annie (Mass Market Paperback)

Fast moving, exciting and extremely funny.......There is no other way to describe Ellen Recknors' latest book, "PROPHET ANNIE". This writer has taken the age old fear of ghosts and put a new and interesting twist to it......Anyone and everyone who enjoys a tale of the old west with a heavy dose of comedy should pick up this book and read it....Keep up the good work Ellen.....