Customer Reviews

The Proud Breed

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis is a one-of-a-kind love story whose backdrop is the wild west of the 1800's. I say "wild" because it's also the time of the gold rush in California. California has not become a state yet, but it does so in the book.

Gavin Ramsey is a tall, black-haired, blue-eyed yankee who falls in love with the beautiful raven-haired Tessa. Their love is the stuff of dreams. Gavin is an ambitious man who wants a better life for himself and his family, and who is willing to work long and hard to make this a reality. Tessa is a soft-hearted woman who has a backbone of steel when needed. Both of these characters are someone who I would be proud to know in any lifetime. Many people are involved in their lives including: Indian (Gavin's beloved best friend and "brother" - half Negro and half Indian), Carmelita (a woman Gavin had a brief affair with. She and Tessa come to share a deep friendship full of love and compassion.), Gavin and Tessa's two sons - Brand and Jeff (and later Paul whom Gavin and Tessa adopt), Tessa's father and grandfather, the people who work on both ranches - especially Ramon and Maria, Chong Sing, and Thia (who eventually marries Indian). Of course there are other characters including Soledad (Gavin's whore), and Luis (the man Tessa was "sold" to because of gambling debts her father accrued) - he was supposed to marry Tessa.

This is a story about two people meeting, falling in love, trying to deny that love, succumbing to it, building a life together, and loving until death did part them. Gavin and Tessa build an empire that could stand the test of time. I mentioned earlier that this story takes place during California's gold rush. Gavin and Tessa takes full advantage of this by becoming merchants and selling goods to the miners. Later they move to San Francisco where they fulfill life's promise.

Their journey is a long, hard, loving, hating, adulterous, and final one. So much goes into this story it's almost hard to know where to begin. Ms. DeBlasis weaves a tale of fiction peppered with accurate historical facts that is so engrossing that someone who reads this book for the first time will go back again and again to reread it, because each time you do, you fall in love with the characters all over again. It is like visiting old friends you have not seen in a while, and being welcomed with smiles of love and an honest warmth of greeting. They almost seem pleased you visited again. That's the feeling I get when I read this book.

There is love, laughter, humor, sadness, anger, deceit, hate, and compassion as well as passion in this book. Romeo and Juliet's love cannot compare to the love between Gavin and Tessa. This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read, and I have read thousands of books.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who can find it.

I read this book many years ago. Since then, I have re-read it many times, usually once a year. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is not only a great love story, but a great story about family and friends and the history of early California. Every time I read it, I can't put it down until I am finished. As you can see 99.9% of the people gave it 5 stars. I would give it 10. If you have not read this book, you need to. You'll never forget it.

Read it and cried at the end. Re-read it a few years later in paperback and cried again. The book is gone now (no idea where) and I morn it. I am surprised it never became a movie or mini-series, butI am not sure anything would do it justice. For two people, Gavin and Tess, to love so strongly, yet hurt one another, only a love such as theirs could survive to the complete and bitter end. I brag about this book to anyone I know who enjoys history and romance. If I can ever find another copy, I will bronze it..but only after I have read it again and again. But, then again....maybe I'll just find a peaceful rainy afternoon, and sit back and enjoy a love so true. Please get this book out of the archives and release it again!!!!!!

This is by far my favorite book. The characters are true to life. The author has painted a vivid portrait of the characters, places, and the historical information that makes them come to life for the reader. I have read every book written by this author and, while I have enjoyed all of them, this has remained my favorite and has remained in my memory for many years and I find myself going back to re-read this at least once a year. I would highly recommend this book.

I read this book many times along time ago... This book has always stuck out in my mind. The story is so beautiful and makes you feel good after reading. I lent this book to a friend and never got it back, I've looked for it in bookstores and still couldn't find it.. I'm happy to know other people feel the same way I do about this book it's a book that you want to read again and again and again!!!

It's like the movie "GIANT" its a wonderful story about family and what makes it so wonderful that it keeps going and you don't want it to end.......

I read the other reviews of this book, and I have to agree with every wonderful thing that has been said! My mother also gave me this book to read when I was about 14 years old, and I read it once a year for a long time. My book was lost when I moved one time and I have been looking for a copy ever since. It has been at least 4 years since I have read it and I can still tell you everything in the book, most of it word for word. I tell everybody who will listen what a great book it is and that it is a must read for any woman.

I read this book back when it was first published. It is still my favorite book of all time!!!! There never has been another love like Gavin and Tessa. I love sagas and this is the best ever written.

I read this book 24 years ago and have not read one better ever. Would love to see this as a movie, but doubt if a movie could do it justice. Everyone I have loaned my copy to agree that this is the best book they have ever read as well. Cannot believe it has not again been reprinted in hard copy, I for one would purchase it and never let it out of my sight again!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this sweeping saga that was first published in 1978. The story begins in the territory of California, 1844, when our hot-blooded heroine, Tessa, takes a private swim in her favorite secluded pool, discovers she's being watched by a strange Yankee with lust in his eyes, takes out her knife, and stabs him. Thus begins the love of a lifetime between Teresa Maria Julieta Margarita Macleod y Amarista and Gavin Ramsay.

Together they will raise a family and an empire, carving out their own piece of California with blood, sweat, and tears. They will battle the whims of mother nature, from massive floods to scorching heat, devastating drought, and earthquakes. They will face wild animals and even wilder people as Californios, Mexicans, Yankees, Indians, and the Chinese all grapple for control of the land of plenty. They will make their fortune from the Gold Rush and the development of the grand new city of San Francisco, where even more danger appears in the form of raging fires and bedlam as criminals and vigilantes battle for control of the streets. And then, as the railroad bridges the gap between the east and the west, bringing hoardes of fortune-seekers along with news of a terrible growing conflict between the north and the south, they will mourn the passing of their old way of life, and face a frightening, uncertain future.

Underneath it all their love for each other and for their homeland sees them through more than forty years of this tumultuous time in California's history. But their marriage is not without its share of emotional drama. As happens when two people love each other as fiercely as these two do, they can also hurt each other as no one else can. There were several times when I was so distressed by their actions that I wanted to scream and throw the book across the room, but always my anxious desire to see what would happen next and how they would overcome their mistakes and find their way back to each other won out. And thank goodness, they do always find their way back to each other.

I loved this novel. I hated this novel. I savored this novel. I took my time reading 821 pages packed with love and sorrow, adventure and excitement, triumphs and injustices; peopled with all sorts of colorful characters, some real and some imagined, representing the many facets of California's fascinating history. I really don't feel like I'm giving this novel the credit it deserves with my humble review, so I'm just going to wrap it up by saying that while I was reading this novel it became a part of me: feeding my soul, lifting my spirit, and then shattering my heart. But it was worth it. I'll never forget Tessa and Gavin. The Proud Breed will stand on my shelf of honor along some of my other favorites of the genre, like Gone With the Wind and Lonesome Dove, and I'll reread it every once in a while, when I need to be reminded of the power of a book to transport and transform. Celeste De Blasis was a fantastic storyteller. If you like to read about the courageous people who shaped America; if you like to lose your heart to a great love story; if you like to be swept away to a lost golden age--then this is the book for you!

Wonderful book, VERY well written. So in depth and rich. Emotions run high, fast & deep in this story. Have read it 6X- bawl my eyes out every time. Recommended.