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 Etta Place, notorious lover of the Sundance Kid, is one of history’s mysteries. Both her origins and her fate are completely unknown despite many guesses. Etta is given new life in this novel as a young Philadelphia debutante. Forced from her home at her father’s death, Lorinda Jameson becomes Etta Place and finds a refuge with scandalous criminals. A master horsewoman and sharpshooter with a gentle manner, Etta is perfect for assisting with train robberies and keeping hold of everyone’s money. Her circumstances constantly change, but Etta remains a strong, compassionate character throughout this engaging novel.
In this novel, Etta’s imagined story is given life through fictional letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings. Since so little is actually known about the real life Etta, I really liked this aspect of the book and felt that I could imagine these events actually happening more than if perhaps Kolpan had kept the story as a diary. The only ones I didn’t like were Harry Longbaugh’s letters to his father. In truth I didn’t really like Harry (the Sundance Kid) much himself. He remained a very shadowy character despite Etta’s love for him. The rest of the outlaws were similar, although I did like the women, Laura Bullion and the little Native American girl.
In fact, I’d say the character of Etta is the best part of this novel. She is strong, compassionate, independent, and stubborn. She deals with each issue with grace and dignity, even when she is required to fight for her life. I think her character is really what holds this novel together. I also particularly enjoyed the inclusion of Eleanor Roosevelt. Although all of this is fictional, I quite liked the glimpse into what her youth may have been like. I also was glad that Etta spent time in the East so that the author could portray more of the country than the initial description seemed to entail.
Overall, this was a pretty good work of historical fiction. The plot didn’t entirely captivate me and some of the characters were weak, but I enjoyed reading it.
Buy Etta: A Novel on Amazon.
Thanks to my messed up time schedule, I’m awake early enough that I have some time to spend in the Salon. I spent yesterday traveling from the UK to the USA through France. It was a decent trip except for the hour we spent landing at the very end. I absolutely hate flying and I hate it even more when we’re not landing when I’ve been told we’ll land but flying around in circles in turbulent air dropping 100 feet at a time, especially when the pilot is communicating in French rather than also translating into English like he had been before. I need to learn more languages! Then my second suitcase took half an hour to turn up after I thought they’d finished with the baggage, which was very stressful. I always worry that they’ll have lost my things on a connecting flight but I escaped this time, albeit with a ripped suitcase. Never mind, I have my things and that’s all that matters.
I had four books on the flights with me, but I only managed to get through half of one, Moonheart by Charles de Lint. I’m not totally in love with it, but I like it quite a bit. I don’t normally bring books for review to read on my flights because I know I’ll be so stressed that I’ll have no chance of focusing. The rest of the reading I brought reflects this:
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Her Secret Fantasy by Gaelen Foley
So, with nearly 12 hours of traveling, why did I only read 300 pages? Easy, I was watching movies. I’m a little too poor to go to the cinema very frequently these days (although Keith’s unexpected bonus meant we went to see The Young Victoria last week!), so I always go for it when it comes to seeing movies like Slumdog Millionaire included in the price of my flight. I loved that one, by the way. I also watched Australia which was lovely but not exactly spectacular and just a little too long, so I can see the validity of its rating.
Today I’ll be reading Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn and very possibly Kitty Goes to Washington. The blog tour for the last two books, Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand and Kitty Raises Hell will be stopping here on Wednesday. I’ve come home to 37 ARCs. I’m not behind on any of them yet but I need to get cracking. I also have 4 books to get through for my dissertation, need to study for my Latin and palaeography exams and at least think about my source analysis essay in the next two weeks. Oh, and I’m behind on reviews! I have some absolutely fabulous books waiting for me here though, like The Tory Widow by Christine Blevins and The Traitor’s Wife by Susan Higginbotham, so I’m not complaining!
Have a lovely week everyone!
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