Search - The Diary of Mattie Spenser

The buoyancy and simple, uncloying sweetness of spirit of Dallas's appealing protagonist--the young wife of a homesteader in Colorado Territory--give a bright, fresh shading to the tragedies and small sharp joys of 19th-century frontier life. Again, as in The Persian Pickle Club (1995), Dallas has caught the lilt and drift of regional speech. At 22, plain Mattie is astounded that handsome Luke Spenser desires to marry her--he has been keeping company with pretty Persia. Nonetheless, he chooses her, and they head out from Iowa in May 1865 to the homestead Luke has already planted in Colorado Territory. There are pleasures along the way: nice folks, and quiet days spent with Luke, her ``Darling Boy.'' But Luke, who doesn't smile at her jokes, works very hard and doesn't like her to flirt with him. As for the marital act: ``I still think it's overrated.'' Danger comes soon enough, and it's Mattie's quick shooting that saves two lives, although she doesn't seriously contradict Luke's dismissive observation that it was a ``lucky shot.'' Once they arrive in Colorado, though, Mattie is disappointed by the homestead (out on the plains, she finds, there is ``too much sky''). Her education in the real travails of people, particularly women, separated from the cushioning platitudes and quick-step judgments of home, begins immediately. A despised ``slattern'' proves herself a true friend; Mattie witnesses women weakened by too many births, another abused and horribly killed, and murder and torture by both whites and Indians. She also experiences wild joy and then tragedy, suffers many dangers, and is rocked by Luke's sudden betrayal. (``How could he ever again be my Darling Boy?'') Yet torment yields to endurance and a kind of compassion. Tragedies and sad little domestic dramas are muffled within the decency and humanity of a character whose understanding--but not essence--changes with events. A modest, appealing novel with a convincing reach into Colorado's plains and skies.

An intensely vivid portrait of historic fiction ~ I couldn't put it down and am very eager to read more by this talented author!

Mattie Spenser's diary contains the flip-side of what we all pictured frontier life to be in the air-brushed "Little House on the Prairie" vision many of us grew up with.

I'd read this book long ago and lent it to a friend and never got it back. I loved it then, and couldn't remember the name of it after awhile. I was so pleasantly surprised when another friend of mine purchased it and I reconnected with it. I was as enthralled with the second reading of it as I was with the first. So, I've just requested this for my permanent bookshelf. I'm sure I will enjoy it again someday.

Loved this book. Great tale of life as a pioneer woman in Colorado Territory in the late 1800's. Mattie was a strong, kind spirited woman. She had to be to survive in a world run by men. She had a great sense of humor! But she also suffered the births and deaths of several children. The loss of friends to death, suicide, domestic violence and capture by Indians. Great story written in the form of a diary.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Loved the format, the content. I am a sucker for plot twists and this provided them. Have now read 2 or 3 of this author's books and enjoyed them all.

One of Sandra Dallas's best! Based on real pioneer diaries, this book allows you to share in the joys and sorrows of the women who pioneered the prairies. An easy and fun read. Highly recommended.