Book Review - Dakota or What's a Heaven For

About the Book

In this brave and moving epic, set in late nineteenth century Dakota Territory, Brenda K Marshall opens a window onto the history of a place little known and often misunderstood, to tell an original tale of desire and ambition.

The lives and schemes of frontier politicians, Northern Pacific Railroad executives, bonanza farmers, and homesteaders converge in the story of Frances Houghton Bingham, who marries the son of a Red River Valley bonanza farmer in order to remain near her new husband s sister. Emotionally complex, willful and resourceful, Frances is seduced by the myths of opportunity driving the settlement of Dakota Territory, and dares to dream of a new world in which to realize her unconventional desires. Providing a counterpoint to the dramatic risks taken by Frances is the generous voice of Kirsten Knudson, the daughter of Norwegian homesteaders. As Kirsten grows from a voluble girl to a formidable woman, her observations (equal parts absurdity and insight) reveal the heart of the novel

For more on Brenda and Dakota, or What’s a Heaven For, please visit:
http://www.brendamarshallauthor.com/


About the Author

Brenda Marshall began as a scholar and scholastic writer, publishing her book of scholarship, Teaching the Postmodern: Fiction and Theory in 1992. Her first foray into fiction was the novel, Mavis, (Fawcett-Columbine, 1996), which went on to be a critical success. She continues her historical fiction excellence with her second novel, Dakota, Or What's a Heaven For; for which she won Best Regional Fiction (Mid-West) at the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was named High Plains Book Award Finalist for “Best Woman Writer.”

Brenda Marshall was born on a farm in the Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota, and grew up climbing trees, riding my pony, and daydreaming under a wide prairie sky. She left the Dakotas after college and has since lived in Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Michigan. She has a Ph.D. in English, and teaches English at the University of Michigan.

Marshall, and her “unlawfully wedded spouse of twenty-five years, Valerie,”—her words—live in the country near Ann Arbor, Michigan, with two horses, two dogs, and a cat. When not writing or teaching, she is improving her woodworking skills, riding horseback, gardening, exercising, listening to opera, or planning trips.

No matter where she lives, she thinks of herself as a lifelong North Dakotan.

You can find more on Brenda at: http://www.brendamarshallauthor.com/index.html

My Take on the Book
What was amazing about this story was the strength that was shown in the characters that are presented within this book. Not only does the author take great pains to set the stage by developing strong characters, but she also paints a vivid landscape that is almost tangible to the touch. The author has done a superb job at interweaving fact and fiction and incorporating intrigue, suspense and even more. This was a book that was engaging to me as a reader and I found that I could not put it down!

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