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Fiction about settling in the "wild west"


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Hi!

I'm looking for suggestions on books that deals with people settling in the western part of the U.S. during the 17th - 19th century I would like to read fiction on this,

but it can be based on actual events as long as its not like a schoolbook :P

I'm also interested in books along the likes of "Gone with the wind" that deals with life in the South.

Thanks for suggestions!

 

/Nali

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Hi Nali

Since I'm from the US,maybe I can help you out a little. If you have a kindle there are lots of free or very low cost books about the west - stories about the settlers traveling in wagon trains, stories about famous western peope,such as Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickock ,etc ...

 

If you don't have a kindle,there are many books also :

 

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is about the Lewis and Clark expedition .

 

Another if you are interested in the south,say during the Civil War, there's one called Widow of the South by Robert Hicks ,which is based on a true story .

 

Another called 1000 White Women by Jim Fergus is also loosely based on a story of the Indians out West who wanted white wives to be sent out to them .

 

I just read one not too long ago called Hearts West ( sorry I gave the book away and can't remember the suthor ),which told about ladies who placed ads in the paper about themselves ,or men who would post ,asking for a wife,so it was a mail-order bride type service,which was all true stories .

 

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig is a book that takes place out west .I'm not sure about the story ,since I just got the book and haven't read it yet . I think that same author wrote others that were in the Western states .

 

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird .

 

The Black Flower by Howard Bahr tells a fictional story of the Civil War. He has also written a couple others about the same time period .

 

Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel is like true journal pages taken from ladies who traveled west and settled there .

 

Hope this list will get you started .Give a shout out if you need more. I have lots of them because I love reading about the Civil War and the Old West .

Edited by julie
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My Antonia or O Pioneers by Willa Cather is good, as is Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. You could also try The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper.

 

As for fiction that takes place in the South, I recommend The Awakening by Kate Chopin. It's a gorgeous book!

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If you like American History try,

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown or Creek Mary’s Blood by the same author, in fact anything by Dee Brown is good, :D and if you fancy a little Non-Fiction on the same subject, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions-(The life of a Sioux Medicine Man)by John (Fire),Lame Deer is also a great read

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Did someone already say Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry? Amazing and wonderful read :D

 

Also if you want to try non-fiction, I can recommend one I read earlier this year called 'Land of the Burnt Thigh.' It's about 2 sisters who travel from Missouri to the badlands of South Dakota in the mid/late 1800's to settle the land. They always had land grabs going on where people could get land for cheap or even free, and so many hardships happened. But these two sisters started a school, a post office and a trading post all on their own, plus working their farm and animals. It was really interesting!

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The entire Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is wonderful and follows her whole life from being a very small child living in a Little House in the Big Woods, then moving further and further west with her pioneering family, right through to the first four years of her marriage to a farmer.

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The entire Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is wonderful and follows her whole life from being a very small child living in a Little House in the Big Woods, then moving further and further west with her pioneering family, right through to the first four years of her marriage to a farmer.

 

Ditto to what Kell said. Those books have always been close to my heart, knowing the history Laura had here in my state. I still love going to the museum in my old age! :D

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