The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton_ A Novel - Jane Smiley [1]
—Chicago Tribune
"An adventure story, full of suspense, near-misses, and coincidence ... The first and sustaining marvel of [Smiley’s] new novel is Lydia Newton’s voice: grounded in 19th-century reserve, yet honest, self-aware, and curious.’’
—Toronto Globe & Mail
"Smiley nabbed a Pulitzer for A Thousand Acres. This stunning new effort should win equally thunderous acclaim."
—Mademoiselle
"An immensely appealing heroine, a historical setting conveyed with impressive fidelity and a charming and poignant love story make Smiley’s new novel a sure candidate for bestseller longevity.... Propelled by Lidie’s spirited voice, this narrative is packed with drama, irony, historical incident, moral ambiguities, and the perception of human frailty.... This novel performs all the functions of superior fiction: in reading one woman’s moving story, we understand an historical epoch, the social and political conditions that produced it, and the psychological, moral, and economic motivations of the people who incited and endured its violent confrontations."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Gloriously detailed and brilliantly told, this is a hugely entertaining, illuminating, and sagacious vision of a time of profound moral and political conflict, and of one woman’s coming to terms with the perilous, maddening, and precious world."
—Booklist (starred review)
"Smiley scales another peak with this bighearted and thoughtful picaresque novel.... [A] richly entertaining saga of a woman who might have been well matched with Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man, and whom Huck Finn would have been proud to claim as his big sister."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Her Finest Work Yet ...Resembling a cross between the writing of Jane Austen, Stephen Crane, and Mark Twain ... A fast-paced historical ride through a defining moment in our nation’s history as seen through the eyes of a remarkable woman.... Smiley’s biggest triumph is in the character of Lidie. One can actually ’see’ her growth throughout the story as Lidie learns about the ambiguity of human morality—and that true justice is rarely served."
—San Antonio Express-News
"Highly recommended ... Trust Smiley to take a situation charged with both social significance and novelistic opportunity and ride it for all its worth.... Smiley gives us a rich lode of historical detail yet keep the story moving, so that it seems to flow by like a river while at the same time yielding up its riches in leisurely fashion."
—Library Journal (starred review)
"Like Cold Mountain and Beloved—and with more than a casual nod to Mark Twain—this sprawling saga by the Pulitzer-winning author of A Thousand Acres connects readers to the historical issues of the time."
—Glamour
"Our heroine is a horse-riding, river-swimming, plain-faced young woman with a distinctly well-calibrated mind of her own."
—The Baltimore Sun
"A long, wild adventure ... Lidie never loses her pluck, and her story becomes both a rich homage to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a thrilling variation on the derring-do of Lonesome Dove."
—Outside magazine
"[A] gripping, epic new novel ... The All-True Travels is consistently absorbing, thanks in large part to the strong, vibrant voice of the unforgettable Lidie Newton."
—Good Housekeeping "Packed with action in a setting worthy of a Western shoot-’em-up."
—Newark Star-Ledger
Acknowledgments
THE AUTHOR WOULD LIKE to thank Professor David Dary of the University of Oklahoma and Professor Theodore Nostwich of Iowa State University for their invaluable assistance with this project. Whatever mistakes have slipped into the text have done so in spite of Professor Dary and Professor Nostwich’s best efforts, and are entirely the responsibility of the author.
BOOK ONE
CHAPTER I
I Eavesdrop, and Hear III of Myself
Let every woman, then, bear in mind, that, just so long as her dress and position