I must admit that as well as the fact of the heroine being a packhorse librarian I was also drawn to this book by the simply beautiful cover. As it happens, there really were packhorse librarians in the Appalachian mountains in the 1930s, and they must’ve been pretty determined and resolute people, because they were far from fair weather riders.
This is a refreshing read with a feisty heroine in Tansy, and some other love stories along the way. One of which unexpectedly concerns the wonderfully irritable character of ‘Aunt Perdie’, whose solitary and spartan existence is suddenly shattered by the arrival on her doorstop of the young, desperate and pregnant Coralee.
Ann Gabhart writes fantastic characters. Visiting writer Damien has just the right balance of charm and unpleasantness (is that a word?). Caleb is loyal but hesitant, maybe to his cost. Caleb’s ma, determined to have her own way, made me want to grind my teeth, and the transformations of Aunt Perdie and others in the story are perfectly written. As well as the people I also liked the wonderfully-named Shadrach – Tansy’s horse.
The faith elements are woven through the story in a way that feels real to the people and the time period, and this faith is honed through tough times and heartaches, as well as joy.
An engrossing story, told believably with very well described settings and lots of interesting historical details about the work of the Pack Horse Library Initiative whose riders covered 100-120 miles per week even in winter when their boots froze to their stirrups. A fascinating insight into a part of American history I’d never heard of before.
9780800737214, Revell, Jul21 (UK)
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