The Pioneer Woman

Historical fiction set on the Illinois prairie 

Lilly Setterdahl has written 22 nonfiction books about Swedes in America and eight novels.  Four of her books are about the Titanic.

THE PIONEER WOMAN is her 30th book. It was published on July 12 and is available on amazon.com. It can also be ordered from large bookstores. The price for the paperback is $16.49.

This unique historical novel, based on Lilly’s study of utopian and pioneer life, is about a Swedish immigrant woman, Kristina, who is expelled from a religious colony. Not being able to speak English, she settles for a marriage of convenience to a widowed farmer with an infant son. Life is hard on the frontier. Children die in epidemics, men die in the Civil War, and women are left alone to maintain their foothold on the prairie. After all their hard work, they may find that they don’t own any part of the farm. Kristina fights for the survival of her family. Her happiness depends on men. She wonders if that will change in her lifetime but hopes to use her experience to help other women against the injustices they face.

Review: The Pioneer Woman by Lilly Setterdahl is an epic journey that recounts the struggles for survival from the pre-civil era of utopianism to the years after when men and women fought the ravages of nature to maintain their foothold on the midwestern prairie. The story spans generations and bridges the Hardscrabble past to the coming of age in more modern  times. Hardships abound but so does the resilience of the pioneer spirit of those who came lookin for a new life. Hard work becomes second nature for these immigrants on their way to becoming Americans. Mary Davidsaver. 

This book is an easy read. I enjoyed the characters, and I can recommend it o everyone interested about life on the American frontier, but especially those who are curious about the contemporaneous Bishop Hill Colony in Illinois. Kerstin Lane.