Novels & Stories
Historical Novels
The Abercrombie Trail Series
There are four books in this wonderful series, and I honestly couldn’t put the books down. Simar, a life-long Minnesotan and grandchild of immigrants, has combined her love of history with her Scandinavian heritage, and has done impeccable research. This evident in these new award-winning books of historical fiction in which Simar tells the story of Scandinavian immigrants in early Minnesota during the 1862 Sioux Uprising.
The first book, Abercrombie Trail, tells the story of Evan Jacobson, a stagecoach driver, who witnesses the Sioux Uprising as he drives his route between Fort Snelling and Fort Abercrombie. The second, Pomme de Terre, focuses on Serena and Gust who lose everything in the uprising, and relocate to Fort Pomme de Terre in the western part of the state. It also includes a Dakota point of view and the tragic story of broken treaties and eviction from their homeland. Birdie, the third book, continues the story of Evan and Inga eleven years later during the 1870s grasshopper plagues, and is named after a character who was kidnapped during the 1862 Sioux Uprising. This book received the 2012 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. Blooming Prairie, the fourth and final novel in this series, was released September 2012, and continues the story of characters from previous books. I want more, a fifth book! The series also has study guides for book clubs.
Homesteaders Series: Four books about a Norwegian Immigrant Family by Esther Allen Peterson
The four books in this series gave me yet another fix for my Norwegian Immigration appetite. These delightful books, are perfect for those interested in light reading about immigrants and early Minnesota. Peterson, another Minnesota-based author, writes about the Ytterhorn/Olson families and their adventures and trials as they leave their homes in Norway, make the voyage to America, and settle in Dakota Territory.
In the first book, A Long Journey to a New Home, the reader follows the Ytterhorns from their decision to leave Norway to packing the America trunk to establishing “a place of their own” near Breckenridge, MN. The second book (Will Spring Come?), which begins in May 1868, has changes in the original immigrant family and follows them to Dakota to claim land. After breaking sod, planting wheat, and building a log house, they are joined by the Olson family who just came from Norway. In the third book, The House That Cared, the two main families — who have been through much already — are faced with the realities of life and politics on the the prairie. The Reformation of Grandmother Hulda, the final book, brings yet more changes to the families’ structures as they adjust to life in the New World.