The Knotted Ring

By

Myra Hargrave McIlvain

Historical Fiction / Family Saga / Historical Romance

Publisher: Next Chapter

Page Count: 412

Publication Date: December 7, 2023

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Susannah Mobley, expecting a baby by her lover, a slave owned by her family, submits to an arranged marriage to Hezekiah James who is headed to Texas to claim a Spanish land grant. Caught in a series of lies about the origin of a beautiful ring woven from her red hair and the circumstances of her pregnancy, Susannah embarks on the harsh trip to Texas, grieving for her lost love and determined to control her destiny.

On the wagon train journey, Hezekiah is tested by his beliefs and strengths with his slaves and Native Americans, as well as a strange Mad Stone. His determination to build a plantation as fine as Susannah’s home place and to make the best decisions for Susannah fails. Susannah will have to decide if she can live with the consequences of her lies and open herself to this man who shows every form of contrition or if she will allow longing for what she cannot have to destroy her life.

The Knotted Ring is currently a semi-finalist in the Laramie Awards for Western and Americana Fiction.

“An often engrossing and well-handled story of the 19th century.” —Kirkus Reviews

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This historical romance depicts the tough times that early settlers had moving west and settling in uncharted territory. It also showcases women’s lives and Susannah’s forbidden love.

Our protagonist, Susannah, is a smart woman who lives in a time when slavery abounds, marriages are arranged, and love does not always win the day. She has a forbidden affair with a slave and winds up pregnant. To save face, her father marries her off to a man who is leading a wagon train to Texas. This solves her father’s issues and not wanting to see his daughter give birth to this child. But what Susannah doesn’t realize until much later is that Hezekiah truly loves her and will do anything for her to make her happy.

While Susannah fights the relationship forming between the two of them, after all, he isn’t her lover; we do see their relationship grow in spite of everything. It takes a lot of time; hurt feelings have to be overcome, and the realization that perhaps her first love was not her true love.

Outside of the marriage, Susannah has to learn a lot about life on a wagon train and in a strange new state. Life was not easy for the pioneers as they journeyed to stake new claims in the West. I admired their fortitude in seeking this new life. While it wasn’t easy, they had others to lean on in harder times. The women especially created a close-knit friendship and supported one another. Not everything was rosy, but knowing that someone had your back was important.

This story reminded me that I should be grateful for everything that I have that was created by those who came before me. The author does a beautiful job of depicting the life these pioneers forged, their struggles, their hopes, and their dreams. There is symbolism throughout the book, and it will mean something different to each reader.

We give this book 4 paws up.

Myra Hargrave McIlvain, a sixth-generation Texan, is a storyteller who has written Texas historical markers (yes, real people write those things lining Texas highways), articles for newspapers and magazines such as Texas Highways, and six nonfiction books about famous and infamous Texas characters and places.

McIlvain found her real love when she wrote her first historical fiction. All her tales take place in Texas during major periods of its history. However, The Knotted Ring was inspired by an old family story, and in her search to understand what may have happened, she imagined their lives set in a time that she knew well––the establishment of the first Anglo colony.

McIlvain views history as the story of a people; the people she knows best have made Texas home.

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