Fearless: A Novel of Sarah Bowman

by Lucia St. Clair Robson

Riding tall against the Texas sky, Sarah Bowman was a force of nature all her own. A strong-willed woman, she participated in the Florida campaign against the Seminoles, later marrying a man who admired her boundless spirit. Then, in 1845, as the United States prepared for war with Mexico, Sarah signed on as a laundress and cook with General Zachary "Old Rough and Ready" Taylor's army in Corpus Christi. Before the war even began, though, her husband was killed. But going home was out of the question. She considered the army her home and its soldiers her family. While battle raged around her, Sarah became a familiar figure through the haze of exploding gunpowder, riding among the flames to retrieve the wounded. And eventually, she would find love again where she least expected it. . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, 19th Century, Westerns, Native American, War, Historical

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Lucia St. Clair Robson has been a Peace Corps Volunteer, a teacher and a librarian. Her first historical novel, RIDE THE WIND, appeared on the New York Times best seller list, and in 1983 received the Golden Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. Since then she has written seven more novels set in a variety of times and places. Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Few novelists working today have a better grasp of early American history than Robson.""

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good western of a military laundress, over 6-ft tall, red haired, beautiful nad strong as any man. Her life, including many misadventures and successes is all the more interesting because it is based on an actual person. Recommended!

[Kris Irvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so boring. All the characters are the same person, and the story is not going anywhere. I've been trying to power through it but life is too short to read lame books. I quit.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The backdrop of this novel was the best part - the sweeping scenery and the vivid descriptions of a war most Americans have forgotten. Sarah Bowman was also a good main character and must have been an amazing person in real life but I didn't totally connect with her.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a more accurate historical novel. This book took too many liberties.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written story about an amazing woman who could take care of herself during a dangerous time in a wild land.

[Ris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Enjoyed the story and the woman is fabulous! Not the world's greatest book ever, but I liked it.

[Catqueen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Ride the Wind. It’s one of my fav books ever! This one didn’t really compare. Five stars for the lovely descriptions of the landscapes and scenery, as well as for the clothing, food and other details, but two stars for the main characters. Being constrained by history is hard because if you take liberties with a character, you’re distorting reality, but if you don’t, then it just seems a little bit boring. The plot was kind of all over the place and disjointed and hard to follow at times. I didn’t really feel anything for the characters at all. Sarah seemed unbelievable, which I suppose was the point, given that she was so much larger than life in reality. Honestly, I liked Jake the donkey the best. He was a good boy and hilarious. I wish more of the main characters had been done with his spirit.

[Meri Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read several of Robson's other novels; a few I really enjoyed; Ride the Wind and Walk in My Soul. Fearless is the story of Sarah Bowman, a hearty soul who worked hand in hand with the Army, and moved from Florida to Texas with them; she was a cook (amongst other things) for the officers. I thought this book was a decent read; at times it didn't keep my attention though. I feel like the writing was a bit disjointed, and the dialect used for Sarah was maybe true for the time (1800's); but hard to follow if you didn't pay strict attention. A lot of metaphors, that sort of thing.

[Doug Lunsford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good and she had a great thesaurus aiding her with obtuse adjectives and names of flora, fauna, and historic facts! Only found mistake talking about PT Branum’s massive elephant! About 38 or 40 years early!

The end of the book was top notch but I thought she jumped chapters precariously.

Hard to put down. I read other novels by her back in 1986! Saw this in a used bookstore and couldn’t pass it up because of those superlative renderings.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books with strong female characters

Sarah Bowman must have been one of the toughest women in the Rio Grande Valley. The language was different to read but seemed very timely.

[Jennifer Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first blind book opening, and my first historical romance read. It was captivating and refreshing change to what I normally read. Lovely Writing as well as greatly vivid details. I will be definitely checking out more by this author.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this novel about the life of Sarah Bowman. Some of the stories about her life seemed so fantastical as to be made up but she was a real person. She sounded like a woman you did not want to cross.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, interesting book.

[Ginny]

Enjoyed every minute.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I finished it was because it was set in Texas.

[Patrick Boyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read her other novels, so can't substantiate the opinions of some here, that this is one of her lesser efforts. For me, this would have been a better read and a better story if she had resisted the urge to entwine Sarah's story with every possible historical event and character imaginable (e.g. U.S. Grant and Jefferson Davis) and to explain away the inconvenient first husband by having him die in the explosion of the steamship Dayton. If she had knocked a hundred pages out of this and tightened it up she could have scored 5 stars. I started skimming after less than halfway through, just to get done with it.