Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
This is a tale of extreme hardship, grit, and the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. It's based on the real life of someone the husband and wife author duo met. Despite the many tragedies that take place in these pages (reminds me of Job), this book is redemptive, inspiring, and beautiful in a harsh, rugged, unflinching way, like the Canadian wilderness where it takes place.
An overwhelming and devastating but gorgeous depiction of life in the Canadian wilderness in the 1900s. The heartbreaking reality of that time was fascinating. The racial reality of that time is definitely dated while reading.
Okay, so I thought this was going to be a Little House on the Prairie love story set in Canada………but that wasn’t exactly the case. I have many, many thoughts swirling around my head right now, so let me see if I can get this down on paper. I’m a little more than a little shook.
So, young Kathy (ugh, again another age discrepancy!) goes up north to Canada for her health and abruptly falls in love with a young Mountie. Love story, check. The sergeant takes his new bride even father north and they settle into the unforgiving upper reaches of Canada.
A lot of shit happens. I’m talking wild fires, blizzards, floods, bears, crazy people, epidemics. Just as this book was lulling me into the sense that it was going to be pretty much a Little House scene – hardworking pioneers living their best, simple lives – BAM, diphtheria epidemic!!! Modern authors don’t have the balls to kill babies, but damn the Freemans did. Although, now that I think about it, Little House has some pretty savage moments too.
One thing about this book is that the interactions between the native people doesn’t look well in a modern light. They’re clearly looked at as lesser than (even the Indians they seem to respect) and the language paints them as savages. It’s a hard cringe.
It’s hard to get a grasp on why Kathy loves Mike other than he’s older, pays attention to her, and is handsome. A lot of stuff happens “off screen” so to speak, so you have to look at their relationship from between the lines. The death of their kids and the subsequent struggle through the grief was the most redeeming, if heartbreaking, part of the novel.
I don’t have the guts to be a pioneering type person, so this novel was kind of stressful in parts. I’m screaming at them to go somewhere civilized, yet seeing they couldn’t fit in anywhere else.
Also, this is supposedly a true story, but the more you read about it, the more doubtful that becomes. If you liked the novel and don’t want it to be ruined, I wouldn’t read about the “real” Kathy if I were you.
I see this is a series, but I don’t want to read about Sargent Mike dying so I shall not be continuing the series. Plus it was written sixty years later, so I don’t see it being anything like the original.
A fast read, very absorbing as you do root for the characters and want to see where life takes them, but it isn’t without its negatives.
So, young Kathy (ugh, again another age discrepancy!) goes up north to Canada for her health and abruptly falls in love with a young Mountie. Love story, check. The sergeant takes his new bride even father north and they settle into the unforgiving upper reaches of Canada.
A lot of shit happens. I’m talking wild fires, blizzards, floods, bears, crazy people, epidemics. Just as this book was lulling me into the sense that it was going to be pretty much a Little House scene – hardworking pioneers living their best, simple lives – BAM, diphtheria epidemic!!! Modern authors don’t have the balls to kill babies, but damn the Freemans did. Although, now that I think about it, Little House has some pretty savage moments too.
One thing about this book is that the interactions between the native people doesn’t look well in a modern light. They’re clearly looked at as lesser than (even the Indians they seem to respect) and the language paints them as savages. It’s a hard cringe.
It’s hard to get a grasp on why Kathy loves Mike other than he’s older, pays attention to her, and is handsome. A lot of stuff happens “off screen” so to speak, so you have to look at their relationship from between the lines. The death of their kids and the subsequent struggle through the grief was the most redeeming, if heartbreaking, part of the novel.
I don’t have the guts to be a pioneering type person, so this novel was kind of stressful in parts. I’m screaming at them to go somewhere civilized, yet seeing they couldn’t fit in anywhere else.
Also, this is supposedly a true story, but the more you read about it, the more doubtful that becomes. If you liked the novel and don’t want it to be ruined, I wouldn’t read about the “real” Kathy if I were you.
I see this is a series, but I don’t want to read about Sargent Mike dying so I shall not be continuing the series. Plus it was written sixty years later, so I don’t see it being anything like the original.
A fast read, very absorbing as you do root for the characters and want to see where life takes them, but it isn’t without its negatives.
If you've ever read Janette Oke's Canadian series, When Calls the Heart, you may find a few similarities with this story. But since this series was written first, perhaps Oke was familiar with and inspired by it. Anyways, this is the first book in the series and is the most well known. The follow-up books do not seem to fare as well in the reviews. But nonetheless, I have requested them from the library so I can see for myself. You can read the gist of the plot here on the Goodreads page, so I'll just add that I enjoyed the story and would have likely read it nonstop if it wasn't for my other responsibilities. It does show the precariousness of life and the resiliency of people to continue on despite hard circumstances, but there is no reference to a reliance or hope in God. It is not a forgettable story though and offers an interesting look at life for other people groups.
This was a tough book to rate, and writing a review may be even tougher.
My four-star rating is largely weighted by my fond remembrance of having read it as a kid. We had a hardcover copy that may have been the original 1947 edition; it was probably "borrowed" from the home of one of our older relatives, and has long since disappeared. What really struck me, re-reading it 30+ years later, was how much of it had stayed with me, even down to the very words. "Oh be joyful, Mamotowatom."
What also struck me, reading this later edition, was the confirmation that (as I had always suspected) this was a true story. According to the notes in the Berkeley paperback, Benedict and Nancy Freeman met Katherine O'Fallon Flannigan, the real "Mrs. Mike", in California in the 1940s, when she would have been in her late 50s or early 60s, and were inspired to set down her story to share with others.
Mrs. Mike is the story of 16 year old Katherine, who in 1907 was sent from her home in Boston to live with her uncle John in Alberta, Canada, in hopes that the cold, dry climate would help with her chronic pleurisy. Shortly after arriving, she met, fell in love with and married Mountie Mike Flannigan, whose post was in remote and sparsely populated Hudson's Hope, British Columbia, nearly 1000 miles northwest of her uncle's home outside Calgary (they would later move to Grouard, about 300 miles north of Edmonton.) Mrs. Mike portrays an unimaginably harsh existence where many settlers raised multiple families, only to lose each them in successive waves of the kinds of devastating illnesses (like influenza and diptheria) immunization and other modern medical treatments have long since conquered. Its depiction of their subsistence living (through trapping, hunting, and cultivation of small gardens) is haunting, yet often beautiful.
My main frustration with the book, as an adult, is the horrible level of racism and sexism it contains. Repeated, often disparaging reference to "'breeds" (half-breeds, meaning people of mixed European and Native parentage), the casual treatment of violence against Indian women - I realize that it is probably depicted accurately, and that such attitudes were typical of the time, but while it's clear that Kathy spoke out against it and tried in individual cases to intervene, it's still difficult to read, and I hesitate to "recommend" it to others without that disclaimer.
My four-star rating is largely weighted by my fond remembrance of having read it as a kid. We had a hardcover copy that may have been the original 1947 edition; it was probably "borrowed" from the home of one of our older relatives, and has long since disappeared. What really struck me, re-reading it 30+ years later, was how much of it had stayed with me, even down to the very words. "Oh be joyful, Mamotowatom."
What also struck me, reading this later edition, was the confirmation that (as I had always suspected) this was a true story. According to the notes in the Berkeley paperback, Benedict and Nancy Freeman met Katherine O'Fallon Flannigan, the real "Mrs. Mike", in California in the 1940s, when she would have been in her late 50s or early 60s, and were inspired to set down her story to share with others.
Mrs. Mike is the story of 16 year old Katherine, who in 1907 was sent from her home in Boston to live with her uncle John in Alberta, Canada, in hopes that the cold, dry climate would help with her chronic pleurisy. Shortly after arriving, she met, fell in love with and married Mountie Mike Flannigan, whose post was in remote and sparsely populated Hudson's Hope, British Columbia, nearly 1000 miles northwest of her uncle's home outside Calgary (they would later move to Grouard, about 300 miles north of Edmonton.) Mrs. Mike portrays an unimaginably harsh existence where many settlers raised multiple families, only to lose each them in successive waves of the kinds of devastating illnesses (like influenza and diptheria) immunization and other modern medical treatments have long since conquered. Its depiction of their subsistence living (through trapping, hunting, and cultivation of small gardens) is haunting, yet often beautiful.
My main frustration with the book, as an adult, is the horrible level of racism and sexism it contains. Repeated, often disparaging reference to "'breeds" (half-breeds, meaning people of mixed European and Native parentage), the casual treatment of violence against Indian women - I realize that it is probably depicted accurately, and that such attitudes were typical of the time, but while it's clear that Kathy spoke out against it and tried in individual cases to intervene, it's still difficult to read, and I hesitate to "recommend" it to others without that disclaimer.
Having lived in Alaska as well as traveled on the Al-Can road which connects Alaska to the lower 48, I have a soft spot for stories about the wilds of the area. Mrs. Mike is one such historical fiction title.
Katherine Mary O’Fallon is a 16-year-old Irish gal sent from Boston to live with her uncle in Alberta, Canada with the hopes that the environment will help her heal from pleurisy. Life is quite different there compared to the city of Boston with its fine clothes and theaters. Soon after arriving, Katherine meets Sergeant Mike Flannigan of the Canadian Mounted Police. They are both smitten with each other and wed in time for her to join him at his new duty station of Hudson’s Hope.
While this title is a love story, it also showcases how hard of a life those living in western Canada experienced. You can see how much of a struggle it is and walk with Katherine as she contemplates whether the losses experienced will send her back to her mother in Boston for good.
If you adore historical fiction, definitely give this book a read. Those who like a bit of romance will adore this one and find it to be free of smut.
When I read this (via a copy from NetGalley to review), I didn't realize it was originally published in 1947. I now know that there are subsequent titles in the Mrs. Mike series and can't wait to read them.
Katherine Mary O’Fallon is a 16-year-old Irish gal sent from Boston to live with her uncle in Alberta, Canada with the hopes that the environment will help her heal from pleurisy. Life is quite different there compared to the city of Boston with its fine clothes and theaters. Soon after arriving, Katherine meets Sergeant Mike Flannigan of the Canadian Mounted Police. They are both smitten with each other and wed in time for her to join him at his new duty station of Hudson’s Hope.
While this title is a love story, it also showcases how hard of a life those living in western Canada experienced. You can see how much of a struggle it is and walk with Katherine as she contemplates whether the losses experienced will send her back to her mother in Boston for good.
If you adore historical fiction, definitely give this book a read. Those who like a bit of romance will adore this one and find it to be free of smut.
When I read this (via a copy from NetGalley to review), I didn't realize it was originally published in 1947. I now know that there are subsequent titles in the Mrs. Mike series and can't wait to read them.
Katherine O'Fallon is sent off to the great White North to live with an uncle under the premise that it will be good for her health...at the age of 16, she finds strength, love, tragedy, and a home she never wants to leave.
This was a quaint story. I loved the relationship Kathy had with her Canadian Mounty, Mike, and the family they created. The authors created a very realistic life for those very brave individuals who chose to make the Yukon their home -- a blend of "breeds," Indians, trappers, and white European/Canadians -- who depended on each other for everything!
Life in the tundra was stark -- between the frigid weather and the mosquitos -- I'm not sure how anyone survived.
Kathy's life was not easy and suffered greatly -- but it was also filled with joy. Inspite of the many obstacles, she was able to create a home. And her husband Mike was a welcomed character -- I envisioned him as part Robert Redford part Liam Neeson -- a rugged, tested, and dependable mate who loved Kathy more than life itself.
I didn't LOVE this book, probably because I read something so similar this year -- Maud Hart Lovelace's Early Candlelight -- another historical romance set in the wilderness of the Wisconsin territory.
I do think this is a book anyone would enjoy with it's simple lovestory and vast landscape.
This was a quaint story. I loved the relationship Kathy had with her Canadian Mounty, Mike, and the family they created. The authors created a very realistic life for those very brave individuals who chose to make the Yukon their home -- a blend of "breeds," Indians, trappers, and white European/Canadians -- who depended on each other for everything!
Life in the tundra was stark -- between the frigid weather and the mosquitos -- I'm not sure how anyone survived.
Kathy's life was not easy and suffered greatly -- but it was also filled with joy. Inspite of the many obstacles, she was able to create a home. And her husband Mike was a welcomed character -- I envisioned him as part Robert Redford part Liam Neeson -- a rugged, tested, and dependable mate who loved Kathy more than life itself.
I didn't LOVE this book, probably because I read something so similar this year -- Maud Hart Lovelace's Early Candlelight -- another historical romance set in the wilderness of the Wisconsin territory.
I do think this is a book anyone would enjoy with it's simple lovestory and vast landscape.
I have wanted to read this book for a very long time, and because of that, had high expectations. Firstly, it's not the romance I was expecting. Yes, it could be classified as such, but it's not really about the love of a couple as much as the love of a community and way of life. I would classify it as an historical drama about living and surviving in the wilderness of Canada in the early 1910s.
I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away.
I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a weakness for books that are based on real life people and events. I would classify this book as narrative nonfiction (a book about real people, events, and includes significant facts within a story). I am planning to try and read at least one classic read per week for the next year. When I ran across the latest publication of the novel, “Mrs. Mike” by Nancy and Benedict Freedman (spouse authors) I also learned that there was a real Katherine Mary O'Fallon and Mike Flannigan who lived in the Canadian Northeast. The book includes many facts and true events but there are other parts that are fictionalized to illustrate concepts and advance the narrative so it is a true blend of the two genre.
The story follows Kathy who goes to live with her uncle for her health and to try to shake off a lingering case of pleurisy, and at 16 meets and has a whirlwind romance with a Canadian Mountie, Mike Flannigan. They are married after a brief courtship (5 meetings) because Mike is to be posted to a wilderness region of Canada. They become pillars of the community as an off shoot of his position as the only law enforcement officer in a remote village . Dealing with indigenous people, trappers, traders, prospectors and other individuals who have chosen to live unconventional lives. They withstand extreme weather, loneliness, epidemics and violence—domestic and otherwise. Their two children are victims of a diphtheria outbreak that ravages their community. Kathy descends into a deep depression and flees from Canada back to her home and family in Boston. However, she finds that she doesn’t there anymore and reconciles with Mike. They find themselves adoptive parents for three children whose family has been devastated by the disease.
This book tells the story of two extraordinary people who dared to believe that a different—perhaps better—life was possible and who braved challenges, dangers, and conflicts with courage, grace and love for each other and for their community. The book was initially published in 1947 and it is surprising how well it has weathered the years, particularly in the cases of racial prejudice against the indigenous population and in the cases of domestic violence. The grief and loss of the children was a heartfelt element. It also highlights the talents of the husband and wife author team of this book. They had their own love story and difficult circumstances to overcome. I found a wealth of information about them and their partnership with Kathy to tell this story. In an interview later in life, Nancy Freedman summed up the essence of the book’s message in the following statement.
“I don't think it's a moment of bravery when you have a rush of adrenaline. Courage is something level, a kind of force that sustains you. And that's what it takes to face difficult things, to make it through life successfully." Nancy Freedman, co-author of “Mrs. Mike. “ in “The Story of My Life”
By Peggy Orenstein in https://www.oprah.com/omagazine/mrs-mike-changed-my-life/all.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes