Yankee Settlement

Historical fiction and the Iowa Territory - the perfect background for a beautifully written history that enlightens readers with a story of family, adventure, and love that spanned several decades. For those who are filled to overflowing with a curiosity of their ancestors, "Yankee Settlement" serves to titillate their interest... wondering if our own family history is filled with similar courage, dedication, and passion for life - even when it grows difficult. The first "promise" evident in Wooldridge's second edition of "Yankee Settlement" says so much about how the story unfolds, "Women were strong. Men were stronger. Each was determined to swallow the bitter disappointments of pioneer life and push on... building their farms, families, and homes."

Mildred Brewer awakens readers to the early days of the Territory of Iowa as her stalwart characters come alive in this historical novel. In a descriptive style of writing that brings about visions of bright summer days that faded into fall, and nights that were so cold a freezing frost would float down through the trees-readers can almost touch the leaves and timber that become magnificent with a blaze of color. She also deftly mixes up the tone, moving easily in an authentic, and sometimes wry dialogue between Mary and her husband, neighbors, and children. Readers will easily be drawn into a story written in brilliant accuracy of the time and hopefully, will be inspired to know more about their own ancestry in a novel that dazzles with intelligence and authenticity.