Dawn on a Distant Shore (Hardcover)

by Sara Donati (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Sara Donati's novel Dawn on a Distant Shore picks up soon after the conclusion of her prior book, Into the Wilderness. In the winter of 1794, on the edge of the New York wilderness, Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have settled into the comforts of domestic bliss. Typically, however, adventure seeks these two out. Alone but for her stepdaughter Hannah, Elizabeth gives birth to twins, while Nathaniel and his father Hawkeye are imprisoned in Montreal. Determined to help her men, Elizabeth packs up the children and sets off to free them. Liberty does not bring relief to the Bonner clan, however, as sinister forces conspire to pirate them to Scotland and embroil them in a complex family feud.

History and adventure are slathered on thickly throughout this epic tale. Donati's talent for dialect and detail bring the large cast of characters to life, though the steady pace of dramatic catastrophe is somewhat exhausting. Will our heroes never get a break? Fans of Donati's earlier work will enjoy seeing the familiar characters, but new readers would benefit by reading the books in the series in order. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From Publishers Weekly
In her second foray into the genre, Donati's sequel to Into the Wilderness continues the saga of hunter and trapper Nathaniel Bonner and his wife, Elizabeth, a couple living in upper New York State, America's eastern frontier at the end of the 18th century. As established in the first book, Nathaniel is the son of Scottish-born Daniel "Hawkeye" Bonner, who was raised by Mohawks. The drama is as intriguing as a TV miniseries, and in the conventions of the genre, the dialogue can be stilted and heavy-handed: "'I want you, yes,' she hissed. Because she could not lie to him, or herself. 'But I can't, I can't.'" After celebrating the birth of twins, Nathaniel travels to Canada, where his father has been arrested by the British, to aid his escape. They are discovered, however, and Nathaniel, too, is imprisoned as a spy. Concerned that Nathaniel and Hawkeye will hang if convicted, a worried, brave Elizabeth treks through the wilderness to find her husband, taking along their babies and Nathaniel's 10-year-old daughter from his first marriage. Through a series of intrigues and deceptions, the twins are kidnapped and, to retrieve them, the Bonners are forced to sail to Scotland, where the Earl of Carryck, a distant relative, is determined that these long-lost American kin claim the castle that is their birthright. His motives for taking desperate measures to draw the Bonners to Scotland are political as well as personal, as the book's conclusion reveals. But before the pieces fall together, the adventurous couple encounter much adversity (redcoats, privateers and small-minded society types, to name a few) and many interesting people, like poet Robert Burns in a cameo appearance. In fact, there are so many folks passing through the story that Donati (a pseudonym for PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author Rosina Lippi-Green) thoughtfully provides a list of major characters. The likable protagonists, a multitude of amusing secondary characters and exciting escapades make this a compelling read despite the often overblown language and melodramatic plotting. Agent, Jill Grinberg. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553107488
• ISBN-13: 978-0553107487
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #718,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the New World to the Old, April 16, 2000

By	ladybug10 "ladybug10" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

If you are new to this series, read this review - then go buy INTO THE WILDERNESS and read it first. Some series stories can be read out of sequence, but this is not one of them. DAWN ON A DISTANT SHORE assumes the reader already has some background knowledge about the main characters, and wastes little time bringing newcomers up to speed on their history. Instead, the tale plunges headfirst into the action and intrigue, and you'll miss out on some enjoyment if you have to play guess and catch-up with the events that precede it.

The Bonners of New York State, in early post-revolutionary America, trade the wildness of the New World for the jaded Old, as they are forced into a trans-Atlantic chase to Scotland orchestrated by Nathaniel's distant older cousin, the Earl of Carryck. The Earl, a shadow figure about whom we learn only from others' perceptions for almost two-thirds of the book, is desperate to induce one of the male Bonners to stand as his heir, and thus help him avoid forfeiture of his ancestral lands. Although it is Hawkeye, the eldest in the Bonner line, whom he originally covets (yes, new readers, this is the same LAST OF THE MOHICANS Hawkeye), any male Bonner will do - which, of course, means that Nathaniel and his baby son, Daniel, are also at risk. In WILDERNESS, fresh characters populated a virgin land, with all its beauty, sharp edges, and savage nature. In DAWN, almost a third of the story is spent at sea, and the dangers are more human than natural.

Sara Donati's sequel to INTO THE WILDERNESS is a different sort of book, and it is hard to avoid comparisons. However, DAWN stands on its own as a complex story about family and political relationships. I admire the inventive mind of the author, whom I forgive (just kidding) for making me wait six months longer than I'd hoped, to read this book. What a devious plot! The various characters are unfolding their personalities layer by layer; this time, Nathaniel's and Elizabeth's relationship is somewhat taken for granted and less in the forefront, while Hannah, Curiosity, and Hawkeye receive more attention. Several new characters, including one nice surprise, make their appearances (to be fleshed out later, I hope). Too many times to count, I found myself rereading certain passages in order to make sure I had all the relationships straight. In that respect, the story parallels WILDERNESS, where the reader has to thread a path through the intricacies of kinships that blend English, Mohawk, and American blood.

To me, this book felt like a transitional work - a necessary middle story to elaborate on background, context, and personalities, and to introduce new faces while pruning away others whose time had come. Readers of WILDERNESS will notice that Dr. Todd, a very central character in the foundation story, is absent from this one, as is most of the Mohawk portion of the Bonner family. I missed these characters, and I also missed the excitement, newness, and panorama of the New World and the fledgling nation setting that WILDERNESS gave us. DAWN is still a five-star book, for me, but like many of the other readers, and the Bonners themselves, I now want to go back to Paradise and Lake in the Clouds. Ms. Donati, I hope you'll take us back there next time!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it and surprised to read reviews in which people didn't, July 24, 2000

By	Amy Greaney (Pleasanton, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I read Into the Wilderness and had to immediately pick up Dawn on a Distant Shore to continue reading the detailed way in which Sara Donati writes to take me back into a different time. I have to say that now that I have finished both books and compared the two,they are written a little differently. I enjoyed both books immensly. Dawn on a Different Shore is packed full of adventure and detail however there isn't the slow pace detail in the story to savor like Into the Wilderness had. I too look forward to another book from Sara Donati that will let us enjoy Hidden Wolf and the wonderful characters and setting she has created for us there.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Donati delivers thrilling sequel, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

Sara Donati sure isn't afraid to take risks! Within pages of the beginning of the book she separates Elizabeth and Nathaniel, the heroine and hero she brought to life in INTO THE WILDERNESS. In the middle of winter Elizabeth delivers twins, but when the couple learns that Nathaniel's father, Hawkeye, and their friend Robbie MacLachlan are in prison in Canada, Nathaniel sets off to free them. He ends up being arrested, and this triggers a thrilling chain of events that leads the Bonner family and their friend, Curiosity Freeman, all the way to Scotland where they become the unwilling participants in age old political and religious conflict. Donati continues to explore the evolving relationship between Elizabeth and Nathaniel while bringing Nathaniel's daughter from his first marriage, Hannah, front and center. The end leaves open the possibility of further additions to Donati's saga. This is very good news, indeed, for her many readers who have come to care about this marvelous cast of characters. (And any book which cleverly manages to give Scottish poet Robert Burns a cameo is a winner in this reviewer's estimation!)