They Call Her Dana

by Jennifer Wilde

Born in the backwater bayous of Louisiana, beautiful Dana O'Malley fled the squalid farm and heavy work that had killed her well-born mother. With the pride and intelligence that was her heritage, Dana soon achieved wealth, fame... and the avid attentions of four different men.

Set against the glittering panorama of the nineteenth-century South, here is the story of an indomitable woman who would let no man stand between her and destiny, who would let nothing keep her from discovering the secret of her birth...

Genres: Historical, Historical Romance, Romance

Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jennifer Wilde is a pseudonym of T. E. Huff (Thomas Elmer Huff). He also wrote under the names Edwina Marlow and Beatrice Parker.

Reviews

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dana is a swamp girl, desperately poor, when luck has her stumbling into the path of a wealthy man. But her destiny does not lie in becoming someone's wife, but rather on the stage.

This is my second Jennifer Wilde book, and it plays around with some of the same themes of social class and art. However, I much preferred this heroine.

Dana O'Malley is a fun heroine to follow, beautiful and spirited and talented. I enjoyed the sometimes tongue-in-cheek writing, and the plethora of adventures that Dana goes on. This book has a smaller scope than Dare to Love, but I thought it worked well here as we get to better know the characters. I also enjoyed the found family that Dana got with the theatre troupe she falls in with.

However, I did think once again that the romance was kind of lacking. For example, though I liked the character that she ended up with, I did not think her connection with him was shown to be as deep as the one she had with some of the other (rather less likable) leading men. And the dialogue of the Black characters in this book was definitely a product of the time, and made me rather uncomfortable at times.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was a teenager. I found it in a stack of books at a garage sale and my grandmother bought it for me. I never told her there were very descriptive sex scenes in the book. LOL. It's a great read and I just read it again for the 5th time.

[Whitney Millirons]

In the midst of reading this. Started reading "Jennifer Wilde" in my teens and was feeling a bit nostalgic. Found a glaring historical mistake and had to say something about it. Dana complains about her math teacher quizzing her on the climate of Southern Rhodesia. The book's timeframe is 1830s New Orleans. I don't think that part of Africa had even been discovered by Europeans, much less colonized by them, lol.

[Grace Peck]

I’m going to refer to Jennifer Wilde/Tom Huff books as “endearingly offensive”. I really enjoy them but wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to others

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a good read if you like romance novels about a poor girl thats basically "swamp trash" who becomes the toast of 1830's New Orleans. Yeah, its got some naughty bits...thats why I read it!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Take on Pygmalion

The book is basically a retelling of Pygmalion with a very southern twist. Dana is fascinating woman 🚺 and watching her character develop kept me from putting the book down.

[Cami · Rating 1 out of 5]

i hated everything about this book. if you would like to read something that makes you want to gouge your eyes out, this one is the one for you! this was not the feminist uplifting girlboss tale I thought it would be.

[Cely R Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

Great story line. I thought I figured out who she would end up with and I was wrong. I'm glad too. Love the books from this author

[Deborah Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding storyline that is so very well written. This is the kind of John Jakes saga I enjoy. Thank you, Jennifer Wilde!

[Tahrima Arani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book back in 2012 and honestly, I was only 12 years old so I don't remember all the details.
this book focused on a tremendous journey of, Dana, a girl from the swamp, who mainly dreams about her charming prince on a white horse. literally.
Jennifer Wilde has a very exceptional and vague writing style, which I am sure if you read her others books you would know. as I have read this book when I was 12, I would definitely never suggest this to any 12 years old. this book is clearly for people who are at least 15+.

Reading this book was a great adventure for me. watching the hardships of Dana and her mother's past life was very encouraging yet the fiction of the book and the reality of my world stopped me from dwelling too much with the book. But surely I was craving for more JW books after this.
If I have to answer the question of recommending, then, yes. I would happily recommend this book to any book lover who has interest in sensational romance and are committed to living through all the romantic scenarios of the book.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in the late 90s, and I loved it. It was probably one of the first romance novels I read, and it still pops up in my mind every so often. I loved the setting of the book; I have a thing for historicals, and it was set in New Orleans. I think I might have to reread this one soon.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite colorful and set in a fairly fresh landscape. Things got hella obscene upon the latter pages upon the involvement of this fourth......guy. Spoilers: It weirded me out so bad. It's gonna make lots of people cringe.

[Season · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just an awfully long and drawn out story. Could have gotten to the point way sooner than it did and then you add in all the unnecessary characters and subplots it just made the book annoying.

[Lennellson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun read. Good romance while getting a picture of life in 1830's in swamps of Lousiana and then New Orleans. Well written and entertaining.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!

[S Miller]

Used - Good (Moderate amounts of spine creases; Light amount of wear on front and back cover)

[Mishal · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this for the second time and can i just say,
I. JUST WANT. TO. MEET. DANA.
thats all.

[Dorothea Collyear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this from the first page til the last !