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Author Reviews
Prairie Bride
Julianne MacLean
Harlequin Historicals, 2000, 298 pages
ISBN#0-373-29126-4
Western, Kansas 1882
(Out of Print)
Reviewed by Tom
November 2005
Julianne MacLean's debut novel is set on the Kansas prairie of 1882. She weaves her story around the majestic expanse of the great plains and the realities of manuel farming. The hardships, the resourcefulness of the people, and day to day life all have a place in her story.
Sarah MacFarland of Boston, Mass. decided to become a mail-order bride. A "simple life on Kansas prairie. Must agree to daily toil and plain home," the advertisement read in part. It sounded perfect to her. Simple. Safe. A change from the bustle of city life, and far away from Garrison, a dangerous man, someone she wishes she had never met. Although she was young and resourceful life had not been easy for her. Since her parents died she had worked odd jobs. She dreamed of a husband, a simple life on a farm, and a family. It was time for a fresh start.
Arthur "Briggs" Brigman has a barn, livestock, fields of wheat and corn, and a dugout homestead that is not just plain, it's primitive, but it's what Briggs doesn't have that is on his mind. His nearest neighbors, the Whitikers, live nearly three miles away. His only family, George, lives in town, hours away by wagon. After a long day working in the fields, he comes home to his dark, lonely home and does the milking and tries to set something on the table. After his intended ran off with another man, he is tired of beautiful but undependable women, so he puts in an advertisement for a wife. Love is not necessary, or even desirous. A plain woman is the ticket. He just wants a companion willing to work together to make a life. As his beautiful young bride exits the train, he realizes she was not what he expected. He realizes she could be everything he hoped for.
Julianne MacLean does a wonderful job making prairie life come alive. As Briggs and Sarah struggle together through hardships, they find out if love and trust can grow out of the unforgiving Kansas prairie.