Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - The Homesman

The Homesman
The Homesman
Author: Glendon Swarthout
Four women in the isolated frontier territory go mad, and it is up to the unlikely combination of homesteader Mary Bee Cuddy and ne'er-do-well Briggs to escort them east to safety.
ISBN-13: 9781555842352
ISBN-10: 1555842356
Publication Date: 9/1988
Pages: 239
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 4

4 stars, based on 4 ratings
Publisher: Grove Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Homesman on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
I have read this book 3 x's over 35 years. It is one of the best books I've read regarding how it really was for women as settlers on the prairies. It is a very different take on the tragedies of their lives and the characters and their struggles are very real. It is easy to understand why so many women didn't survive mentally.
reviewed The Homesman on
Helpful Score: 3
Life was hard for men settling the west, but it was even harder for women, children and families. Some women reached the limits of their endurance and lost their minds as a result. The Homesman tells the story of a small comunity that engaged a 'Homesman' to escort several unfortunate women to their families back in the eastern states. Mary Bee Cuddy, school teacher, 'plain as an old tin pail', is the 'Homesman' for her small community. For help on her jouney, she engages a 'lowlife army deserter' she manages to rescue from hanging.
Tail of hardships of the trail as well as personal loneliness and overwhelming isolation that lead to unexpected and unfortunate outcomes. This well-written and intriguing novel portrays vivid characters and western life in an unusual story. Not a romance nor a typical western.
Read All 5 Book Reviews of "The Homesman"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed The Homesman on + 32 more book reviews
If you like stories of the American frontier and history, this is for you. This has a very surprising ending. Paul Newman said "I hope the film is as good as the book."

Book Wiki

People/Characters
Mary Bee Cuddy (Primary Character)
George Briggs (Primary Character)

Genres: