Rural Route Bookstore - Novels & Stories

Novels and Stories

Historical Novels

Grass of the Earth by Aagot Raaen

First written in the early 50s, this book has been republished by popular demand. One isn't sure where nonfiction leaves off and fiction begins, but my brother-in-law in the Northwood, North Dakota area recognizes the names and places described. The book recounts the settling of the Red River Valley from the late 1880s.

I - 03     Paperback     $15.95

The Emigrants by Johan Bojer

This is the Norwegian version of emigration to homesteads in North Dakota. Written in 1925 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Norwegian emigration, the book was, and perhaps still is, required reading in "Grad School."

I - 08     Paperback     $12.95

The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg

Considered one of Sweden's greatest 20th-century writers, Vilhelm Moberg chronicled the joys and tragedies of Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson's lives as early Swedish pioneers in America. First published between 1949 and 1959 in Swedish, the four books were considered a single work by Moberg, who intended that they be read as documentary novels. Book 1 introduces Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson, their three young children, and eleven others who make up a resolute party of Swedes fleeing the poverty, religious persecution, and social oppression of Småland in 1850.

I - 09-1     Paperback     $17.95 each

The Settlers by Vilhelm Moberg

Book 2 opens in the summer of 1850 as the emigrants disembark in New York City. Their journey to a new home in Minnesota Territory takes them by riverboat, steam wagon, Great Lakes steamship, and oxcart to Chisago County.

I - 09-2     Paperback     $17.95 each

Unto a Good Land by Vilhelm Moberg

Book 3 focuses on Karl Oskar and Kristina as they adapt to their new homeland and struggle to survive on their new farm.

I - 09-3     Paperback     $17.95 each

The Last Letter Home by Vilhelm Moberg

Book 4 portrays the Nilsson family during the turmoil of the Civil War and Dakota Conflict and their prospering in the midst of Minnesota's growing Swedish community of the 1860s-90s.

I - 09-4     Paperback     $17.95 each

Ole Edvart Rølvaag
Ole E. Rølvaag immigrated to the U. S. in 1896 from Dønne, an island in the North Atlantic, where his ancestors had been fishermen and seafaring people for generations. Rølvaag, too, was a fisherman for several years as part of the family operation.

studying for a year at the However, at the age of 20 — after little formal education — he emigrated to South Dakota to work on his uncle's farm and attend Augustana College. He next attended St. Olaf College where he received his BA degree, and returned to NorwayUniversity of Olso.

Returning to America in 1906, Rølvaag joined the faculty of St. Olaf's College. Two years later became a U.S. citizen. During his teaching years he began chronicling the lives of Norwegian immigrants.

His works have been described as realistic portrayals of Norwegian settlers on the Dakota prairies, but also called "grimly pessimistic." Unlike many writers of immigrant novels, Rølvaag's focus was not only on the hardships of farming and adjusting to a new country and a new language, but also on the clash of cultures and the loss one's values.

Of his many books — all written in his native language — most of his works have been translated into English and several in other languages. Rølvaag is most famous for his epic trilogy that was considered by the Nation magazine as "the fullest, finest and most powerful novel that has been written about pioneer life in America."   Giants in the Earth is the most famous of all of Rølvaag's novels.

Giants in the Earth       by Ole Rølvaag

Subtitled "The Saga of the Prairie," Rølvaag's award-winning Giants in the Earth, was written in 1927. This classic about the lives of Per and Berit Hansa describes the hardships common to settlers from hunger to severe weather issues to grasshopper plagues and finally to Berit's insanity.

PF - 01 $14.95

Peder Victorious        by Ole Rølvaag

Written in 1929, Peder Victorious, subtitled "A Tale of the Pioneers Twenty Years Later," is the second book in this trilogy and brings the immigrants into the twentieth century. For Rølvaag's second generation of "vikings of the prairie," the battle against the land has been won, but they are faced with a second struggle — to adapt and become Americans.

PF - 02      $19.95

Their Fathers' God    by Ole Rølvaag

Their Fathers' God, the final book in the trilogy, was written in 1931, and the emphasis is on intense and dramatic projections of the Minnesota and Dakota prairies and the whole westward movement in America.

Against a backdrop of hard times and mixed feelings brought on by the Populist and anti-monopolist movements occurring in America, Rølvaag's characters must now deal with social and business schemers and ruthless competition in the midst of scarcity. The immediate issue facing the family now is typical of yet another struggle facing many families at that time as they tried to deal with the drought and the Great Depression — religious faith, skepticism about it, or a lack of it.

PF - 03 $19.95

The Boat of Longing     by Ole Rølvaag    (Not part of the Trilogy)

This novel, written in 1921, was intended to be the first book in Rølvaag's trilogy. It follows some of the same themes Rølvaag used in his other books (a young fisherman leaving Norway to seek his fortune in America and the human cost of moving to a new land) along with themes of hardships used by many authors of immigration stories: the long and unpleasant voyage, aching homesickness, fierce elements of nature, and the difficulties of trying to succeed in a new country — especially when one doesn't understand the language or culture.

However, unlike Rølvaag's other works, this story takes place in an urban setting (Minneapolis, and more specifically the area Minnesotans refer to as "Snooze Boulevard") where temptations abound, and the struggles differ from those on the prairie. When this book became available in English in 1933, it received wide praise from literary critics in America. The Christian Science Monitor referred to it as "a poem rather than a novel," and felt the book contained "sustained beauty of expression." Of all his novels, The Boat of Longing was Rølvaag's favorite.

PF - 04 $13.95

Erling Nicolai Rolfsrud's Stories

More books by Rolfsrud are found here.

Gopher Tails for Papa R - 01 $8.95

This book was used in grades 4 through 8 in North Dakota schools. Rolfsrud's most widely read book, it has recently been reprinted by Popular demand.

Boy from Johnny Butte R 1- 02 $8.95

Touching characterizations of a time gone by: courtship, first automobile in Johnny Butte, hero worship, etc.

Cutbank Girl R 1- 03 $8.95

Immigrant homesteaders speak only Norwegian causing interesting situations. Writings about children's games, escapades, school and work.

Petticoat Pioneer R 1- 04 $10.95

A novel inspired by Rolfrud's immigrant mother. Fiction based upon experiences of single women and widows who homesteaded, often beginning in sod huts.

Stone Johnny School R 1- 05 $8.95

Rolfsrud's experiences as a one-room schoolhouse teacher with comments on the "Palmer Method" and the potbellied stove.

Girl of the Tumbleweeds R1- 06 $8.95

When no Christmas tree can be found, the indomitable Dikka comes up with a solution.

Flickertail Stories R 1- 07 $8.95

Master storytelling about the 'spunky men and women' who left their mark on the Territory and State of North Dakota.

Order by using the 'Place an Order' form or you may order by phone (800 494-9124). For payment and shipping charges, see 'Place an Order.'

All Caragana Press products are available at wholesale prices to qualified retailers, organizations, churches, schools, and libraries. Call 800 494-9124 for details.

An online-only bookstore featuring books about Rural and Small Town Life and the History, Heritage and Humor of Scandinavian-Americans

Ole Edvart Rølvaag

Boy from Johnny Butte R 1- 02 $8.95

An online-only bookstore featuring books about
Rural and Small Town Life and the History, Heritage and Humor of Scandinavian-Americans