A Wild Hope

I'm happy to see the work of the late, beloved Celeste De Blasis finally available in digital format. I'm curious to know if this small publisher, Bookouture, will attract any new readers or if they'll rely on people like me, who still have our hard copies of this book from 1984, but are happy to pick up an e-version that we can read without our glasses (thank goodness for adjustable font size settings). Frankly I doubt that anyone has the time or patience these days for a 700 page historical novel that, in addition to the main narrative, devotes pages and pages to describing horse breeding, the Missouri Compromise of 1819, and the election of John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson. But if you skim through all of that detail, you will get to the heart of the story, the indomitable Alexandria Thaine Carrington Falconer. De Blasis was ahead of her time in featuring strong-willed female characters who didn't take shit from their men, and who found a way to make their mark despite the restrictions of their era. She may still seem old-fashioned to today's readers; she's younger than both of the heroes in the book, and her sexual awakening comes about at the hands (and lips) of the more experienced men. But compared to many of the more traditionally passive or flighty female characters in 1980s historical fiction, she was a breath of fresh air and an inspiration to a young woman like me. De Blasis' singular heroines were the reason why I purchased all seven of her books in hardcover and why they are still on my keeper shelves more than 35 years later. I'm not sure why the publisher had to change the name of the book from its original [b:Wild Swan 9764 Wild Swan (Wild Swan Trilogy, #1) Celeste De Blasis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389514818l/9764.SY75.jpg 12554], or why they had to add the ridiculous qualifying description. Yes this book is epic, spanning 18 years and two continents. I guess it's heartbreaking - characters die and are separated from their true loves, but by the end of the book Alex is happily married to the man you know she belongs with. There are two more books in the “Swan” series, [b:Swan's Chance 1137668 Swan's Chance (Wild Swan Trilogy, #2) Celeste De Blasis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389515126l/1137668.SY75.jpg 2667587] and [b:A Season of Swans 325659 A Season of Swans (Wild Swan Trilogy, #3) Celeste De Blasis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387741786l/325659.SY75.jpg 316308] that focus on Alex's children and grandchildren through the Civil War and several decades beyond. I hope Bookouture publishes them as well because I'd love to add them to the digital shelves. I doubt that there is much of a new audience out there for this author's books, but I could be wrong. In the coming pandemic winter of 2020-21, maybe a long, dense, sweeping historical that takes weeks to read will be just what the doctor ordered. Either way, I'm thankful for the blast from the past. ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.