Escape to Zion

by Jean Holbrook Mathews

Maria stumbles across the rain-soaked forest floor, injured and breathless but determined to flee the baying hounds behind her. Reaching the riverbank, she plunges into the frigid water with only a fallen log for support. She can’t swim, but she has no choice — not with Lafayette Breaux on her tail. As the fastest of the hounds spots Maria, Breaux’s furious voice rises above their deafening “Find her! FIND HER!” Sold as an indentured servant after her parents perished en route from Germany to America, Maria dutifully completes her ten years of service. But instead of granting her freedom at age eighteen, her master, Breaux, insists she is a metif (white) slave. Then he forces his will upon her, hoping to bind Maria to him for good. Now Maria is running for her life, hoping to cut all ties to her wicked overseer. Rescued from drowning by Hank Shroeder, she makes a new start in Mississippi as a freed woman and joins the Latter-day Saints — where she and Hank grow closer as they begin to lean on each other for support. But the malicious Breaux will stop at nothing to reclaim her as his own, and relentlessly tracks Maria — even as she treks West with her fellow Saints. Will she be able to escape her tormentor and find peace when she reaches her promised land?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Lds Fiction, Lds, Fiction, Religion, Historical Romance, Romance

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Michelle Llewellyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jean Holbrook Mathews did her homework, I'll grant her that the story was well researched and she knew her history. Guess it helps having a BS and Masters in History too bad they're no help at all in telling an entertaining story.
I mean, really, how many slave owners in American History would go to so much trouble tracking one woman clear across the country even all the way to Utah? There was so much in this book that disgusted me. I quickly grew tired of every hot blooded male who looked at Maria attempted to rape her while we could always count on good old Hank to come swinging in from the rafters and save the day. Every time. Too bad it took till page 279 to kill him off.

[Kris Irvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was just. plain. bad. How does stuff like this even get published?

[Ann T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend brought me this book to read. It is church-related and my first fiction book on church history. While is was fiction, it brought to light true stories and how LDS families lived and survived during the early pilgrimage of moving to the Salt Lake valley for many. I really enjoyed this book. I was not expecting the beginning to be so graphic in detail. It was a beautiful love story of kindness, faith, and devotion. I was sobbing at the last chapters of the book.

[Raslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever cried so hard over a book. Although I was sceptical about the book in the beginning due to some more intense elements of the story, it proved to be a good read about healing. It was also a good sweet romance novel that incorporated church history. I loved it and would recommend it to my friends (with a fair warning that they will cry).

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book that deals with many things that really happened in our history. Life in the old west was never easy and I appreciated the way Jean handled the story line. I will look for more of her books to read.
I do know not all books are enjoyed by all readers but for me this book was a " I don't want to Qit reading" kind of book.

[Nancy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Our have a very accurate detail of the early pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It also have a different outlook of the slavery issue that I've never heard about. Highly recommend this book.

[Pattisue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this historical fiction and the emphasis on indentured servants. There were many facts and details that spotlighted the hardships faced by those seeking freedom and a new life. Truly, slavery has many faces. A beautiful story of redemption, faith, resilience, and eternal love.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Semi-interesting story and some interesting historical facts but the writing was painful to get through.

[Melinda Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of the ending and some was a bit much, but it was a nice a good premise

[Beverly Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspirational

I love this book. I adored the characters. I was thrilled by their strong faith and character. The ending was perfect and for me filled with tears and emotion!

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly flat. No character development and it was a slog to get through.

[Linnae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maria's perilous path away from a vicious and lecherous slave master.

Maria comes over on the boat from Germany with her parents, but when they die crossing the ocean, she is sold as an indentured servant. She serves her 10 years, the last few under a hateful master, Lafayette Breaux, only to discover upon turning 18 that he has no intentions of releasing her. In fact, he insists that she is a metif (white slave) and belongs to him.

After he rapes her, she manages to escape. She finds a hero in Hank, an unassuming man who is willing to let her ride on his boat for awhile, as he travels upriver to sell some goods. All the while, Breaux is determined to find her no matter the cost.

Maria and Hank eventually become friends and decide to join the Mormon church. They get married, fall in love, and make their way west with the Saints. Breaux continues to send bad guys to find them, some more successfully than others.

* * * * *
While there were some of the historical aspects I found interesting--the white slaves and their struggle for rights--I was less than thrilled with the overall plot. I had a hard time believing that Breaux wouldn't just cut his losses at some point--long before he did--and move on to easier prey. Their life seemed an endless loop of running away, getting found, big confrontation, running away again.

Also, it seemed like any slightly shady character with a mile of Maria thought he should assault her. Thank goodness for Hank, who would unfailingly come to the rescue. Still. It was a bit tiresome. The romance was just okay. While I could understand Hank wanting to protect Maria, I had a hard time figuring out what he saw in her on a day-to-day basis.

Content: As mentioned, Maria was raped at the beginning of the book, though it was not graphically described.

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[Nat Rowley · Rating 1 out of 5]

(spoiler)
It seems most pioneer books turn out to be the same. There's a super pretty girl who keeps being assaulted by -what seems like- every male that looks upon her beauty. Of course the handsome and misunderstood and lost young man (or old... they really don't give a preference on that particular point, sometimes it just gets disgusting on their lack of preference) comes to find this poor beautiful girl and he falls immediately for her. So as to protect her from all the inappropriate behavior directed at her, they decide to marry each other out of convenience. oh how romantic. Oh but don't worry, the girl finally realizes how much she loves the man and they live happily ever after. And the man dies. Yup... that's how it goes. Am i the only one who sees the similarity between all pioneer books?

Anyways, I didn't finish it. Because first, well as i pointed out earlier, i was starting to get a feeling that i was going to travel down an all too familiar literature path; second, it was rather boring. When i get super bored with a book i kind of look ahead to see if it gets any more exciting. When i did just that with this book, i found out he died. So with that in mind, i thought, 'heck, why am i reading this.'
And that was the end.

Other than that, it was pretty good. Not bad writing style.

[Lorell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story. This is LDS fiction, and it was interesting to read a story based on accounts of those who left the South to come to Utah and join in with the main group of saints at that time. This novel tells us of Maria, a young woman who comes to America as an indentured servant. After serving two other families, she eventually ends up in the household of Lafayette Breaux. He is a cruel, unfeeling man who views Maria as his property, and refuses to honor the original terms of her indentured servitude. He intends to keep her as a slave forever, if he can help it. Maria eventually flees from his household after he rapes her, and she is saved by a man named Hank, who finds her floating down the river in her attempt to escape. The two of them eventually marry, join the Mormon religion and travel to Utah, or Zion, all the while being pursued by Breaux.

This book taught me things about the struggle many of indentured servants went through to obtain freedom and have a better life...it's crazy how not so long ago (and even still today, in some parts of the world), people are considered property and not full-fledged human beings. Ir was nice to see that Maria did eventually ago her freedom, but the ending of the book was unexpected and had its sad moments. It was still a very worthwhile read, though.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. So I don't really read LDS romance novels. In all actuality, I hate them. All of them. All the mushy happily ever after blah blah blah. Ugh.
Now this story wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But the sentiment, 'it was okay,' comes from a person who really doesn't like the genre, so I guess it could possibly be construed as, 'I really liked it,' if you were to pretend I was someone who read this stuff like my life depended on it... coughcough Anita Stansfield lovers coughcough.
The only thing that really bothered me, besides the fact that it was a romance novel, was the fact that she was 'attacked' more times than was really necessary. I mean, I think I can understand how amazingly beautiful she was without men going after her a million times... Just sayin'.

[Rachel Robins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This was a wonderful historical fiction book. The book draws on the southern-states Saints who were ahead of Brigham Young on the trail so they ended up wintering in Ft. Pueblo in New Mexico and happened to be there to aid the sick from the Mormon Battalion before joining the Saints in SLC. She also explores the little know fact that many early immigrants (think 1800's) came as indentured servants and had to work off their freedom. Excellent reseach and compelling plot. My only complaint is that she wrapped up the last half of the main character's life in a chapter or so. Wish it would have been a series but totally worth reading. It was fastinating to hear about another part of the pioneers that I had not known much about.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an historical fiction novel that takes place in the 1840's and 1850's. It is about Maria, a German immigrant to the U.S. who became an indentured servant to pay for her parents' (who both died on the ship) and her passage. She ends up with a master who won't give her her freedom, but decides to have a baby by her. Maria escapes, but the "master" pays big money to anyone who will return her. She meets Hank who helps her and, eventually, they marry. Maria and Hank join the LDS church and come to Utah after many harrowing experiences, but the bad guy is still after them. I learned a lot about the indentured servant system, about the Mississippi saints who came to Utah, and about church history.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

History is fiction form. Enjoyed it even though, because it has a fact base, it didn't always go as I wanted it to. Maria, an indentured servant, is not released by her master who claims she is really a metif (white) slave (based on an actual trial on this issue). After he forces himself on her she runs away. Rescued from the river by Hank, a former indentured servant himself, they must travel and hide to keep her from being captured. Then the church historical part when they join the Mormon church and head west with a group from the South.

[Kathee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder what it means that I started crying just reading the Foreward of this book? It was explaining how in the 1700 and 1800's there were so many slaves and indentured servants who were treated like slaves, and how most of those kind of servants (who never really got a free life and were treated terribly) were from Germany. It took my breath away and I started crying, then I wondered to myself, did I have ancestors that happened to? I don't know. That was only the first of many times I cried reading this book though.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be better than a good mystery with suspense and drama and love but no real sex or bad language. This sweet story of a young woman who came to America for freedom but lost both her parents on the voyage over and was sold into service to pay for her passage and then sold again and again and ended up a slave. Her courage and bravery as she sought her freedom and a better life and the courage and bravery of the young man who helped her were the stuff of legends. I enjoyed it all and had moments when I couldn't put it down.

[Tausha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure how I keep picking such depressing books lately. This book wasn't bad but to be honest if I had any hint of the ending I don't think I would have read it. It was a very faith promoting book and I appreciated the struggles and trials that Maria and Hank went through and I do believe a lot of it was accurate to the time period it was written. However, I also believe the faith the early pioneers had also brought them happiness and that was hard to find in this story. So...I hope to have learned something from this one, but wouldn't put it on the reread list.

[Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel! Though a pioneer story of the Mormon pioneers, it was not predictable at all. The story line took unusual turns, and led us into interesting situations. The main characters were well developed and became people you'd want to know. The ending was surprising, but satisfying. This was my first novel by Jean Holbrook Mathews, but I'd like to read more of her writing. This was an audio book, and the narrator was one we had heard before. She is excellent in both expression and accents. Her voice and inflections are very pleasant to listen to.

[Lavonne Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended

This is a five star book in my opinion and anyone who enjoys historical fiction will enjoy this one. The author has woven facts about early pioneers from the south heading for the west into a wonderful fictional story. It is clean enough for my grandchildren to read yet is a beautiful love story with many amazing adventures. The trials of faith and how the characters responded to them were an inspiration to me. I like the author's style and will look for more books by this author.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

As an indentured servant, Maria is expected to fulfill her masters wishes, even when it means going against everything she knows to be true and giving up what matters most. So, she escapes, and with the help of Hank, a boatman, she flees to safety finding love and truth along the way. A so-so story. I didn't understand the motivation of the evil master to track Maria down even across the country. Seems like he could have easily found another slave girl.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So not a book I'd normally read but it was a lot better than I anticipated. I laughed at a line that read "I will miss you like I would miss half my heart." It was a cute & cheesy LDS fiction about the struggles a young girl had growing up, joining the church & crossing the plains. It was touching and probably not far from what the saints really endured. I was constantly reminded how grateful I am to live today instead of the pioneer era.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book pretty well. Its about a young woman who was sold as an indentured servent but her master would not give her freedom when she turned 18 so she ran away and is later rescued by a man who helps her escape. It then goes on to tell her story as she hides and is later converted to the LDS church. I enjoyed the Pioneer time love story and how if shows that if we just have faith in the Lord we can overcome anything. Good read!

[Darlis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! I can't believe it! A Mormon book that I actually liked! This was written by a woman who spent some years in the Missouri legislature and had studied history. (always a plus) There are complex sentences and the research is good enough for a fiction. The story is intersting and there are enough "adventures" to keep my interest. Unfortunately, the "heroine" is vapid and after she runs away from the plantation, becomes so dependent. But, actually, I liked the book.

[Christie Lammers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. I couldn't put this down! I had not read much about indentured servants, nor about white slavery in the US. I felt as though I were living in this time period (mid 1800's). The author wove that storyline into the Mormon exodus to the west experience in a smooth and believable way. This is a great read...although the ending left me wanting...what can I say? I love Hallmark happy endings!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is historical fiction, and I enjoyed listening to it. It's a store about indentured servants, slaves, conversion to the Church of Jesus Christs of Latter-day Saints, and an obsessed Master, who does all he can to try to get his beautiful white slave, and his son back, after she runs away. It didn't seem too likely a tale, but it was very intriguing. I kept me listening way passed my bed time. The author does incorporate Mormon history in her story.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria was sold as an indentured servant after her parents pass away on the ship from Germany to America. Once she completes her ten years of service and should be granted her freedom her master insists that she is a white slave and will not let her go free. Maria flees and is on the run where she meets up with Hank. They are both on the run!