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September Dawn
On September 11, 1857, the first act of religious terrorism in the United States took place in Utah when a group of fanatical Mormons massacred a prosperous wagon train of 120 settlers from Arkansas and Missouri on their way to California. Driven by a despotic Brigham Young who thundered chilling messages of Blood Atonement from the pulpit, the faithful committed polygamy, murder and castration in the name of God.Based on one of America's most horrific historical events, this is the story of the improbable romance between two nineteen-year-olds from starkly different worlds, the son of a Mormon Bishop, and the daughter of a Christian pastor. In a beautiful, pristine valley called Mountain Meadows, Jonathan, tormented by the execution of his beautiful mother by a lecherous Apostle, falls in love with beautiful, spirited Emily. Ordered to spy on the wagon train by his father, Jonathan tames a magnificent wild black stallion and wins the heart of the girl who has captured his.The tension builds to a crescendo with the growing conflict between Jonathan and his father Jacob. Fanatically wedded to the cause, Jacob believes in the righteousness of the atrocity commanded by the Prophet and the leaders of the Mormon Church. Another victim of the tragedy is Jonathan's beloved brother, good-natured Micah, who self-destructs in the process of becoming a mass murderer. In the midst of the massacre, Jonathan must choose between his brother and his faith, or Emily.As Jonathan races to save Emily before September Dawn, the reader is left breathless with heart-pounding anticipation as the scope and magnitude of their love amidst the searing fire and ashes of the Mountain Meadow Massacre dramatically, and unforgettably, unfolds. After you read the book, be sure to check out the movie. For more information on September Dawn the movie, please visit the official website for the film.
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
9 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
C.W. Schutter
9 books10 followersI'm originally from Hawaii where I grew up listening to fascinating stories of my family and the people around them from my mother. As far back as I can remember, I loved books. I wrote in a notebook at the age of eight, "I want to grow up to be an author."
I loved everything from fairy tales to historical fiction and non-fiction. Books were my passion and my best friends. I preferred reading books to playing with toys. It took me around the world to places I yearned to go to and places I wanted to see. I could be anyone and do the impossible. I became a princess, an equestrian, an adventurer, a warrior, or a ballerina.
As an author and a woman who has lived a roller coaster life, my desire is to bring this magical world where everything is possible to anyone who dreams. I want my readers to fall in love with my characters, get mad at them, cry with them, laugh with them, and become a part of their lives. I'd like to take my readers on a journey they will never forget so at the end of the story, the readers will feel like they were part of my made-up world. I wish for them to learn something new and discover new ways of looking at people and situations. I hope to challenge my readers to think in a way they've never thought before. Most of all, I want my stories to resonate in the hearts of everyone who reads my books. And, of course, I wish to entertain. Thank you and Aloha for reading my stories.
I loved everything from fairy tales to historical fiction and non-fiction. Books were my passion and my best friends. I preferred reading books to playing with toys. It took me around the world to places I yearned to go to and places I wanted to see. I could be anyone and do the impossible. I became a princess, an equestrian, an adventurer, a warrior, or a ballerina.
As an author and a woman who has lived a roller coaster life, my desire is to bring this magical world where everything is possible to anyone who dreams. I want my readers to fall in love with my characters, get mad at them, cry with them, laugh with them, and become a part of their lives. I'd like to take my readers on a journey they will never forget so at the end of the story, the readers will feel like they were part of my made-up world. I wish for them to learn something new and discover new ways of looking at people and situations. I hope to challenge my readers to think in a way they've never thought before. Most of all, I want my stories to resonate in the hearts of everyone who reads my books. And, of course, I wish to entertain. Thank you and Aloha for reading my stories.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 18, 2008
This book is not just an attempt to capitalize off the success of the movie. The author is well researched and represents a measured interpretation of the historical record. The love story, which did not likely occur, adds an element of human decency, intrigue and humanity to what might otherwise be a horror story. The issues most hotly contested by LDS defenders, with respect to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, will press their hot buttons for sure. However, any serious student of this great American tragedy will be impressed with the effort and honor she devotes to being accurate. If the screenplay is the foundation of a feature film, and this novel is based on that screenplay, it is easy to see why September Dawn, the movie, was so tastefully done. As a descendant of one of the perpetrators of this massacre I commend Ms. Schutter for her work.
March 26, 2008
This book will make you MAD! I can't believe this cover-up really happened. I felt like throwing up reading about the details of the massacre toward the end of the book. It was interesting to learn about the History of the Mormon religion but I didn't like how the love story of "Emily" and "Jonathon" kept getting interupted throughout the book. Overall, I thought it was an interesting read. Beware - the truth will make you sick... and really think!!
March 12, 2011
This book was so bad it is hard to even fathom how it was published. Written a third grade reading level, this book is really just fundamentalist christian propaganda that had my rolling my eyes so many times I thought they would fall out of my head. I resent the time I wasted reading it.
January 11, 2008
I wrote this book! Sorry I'm blowing my own horn!
February 5, 2008
I just finished reading and reviewing this for Carole, the author. Findings are below.
_____________________________
After reading the book September Dawn, by Carole Whang Schutter I find myself mystified and horrified by the events in the book. Although a work of fiction, many of the events, people, accounts, meetings, and speeches were based on actual events.
The early Mormon religion and its followers slaughtered innocent women, men, and children, all in the name of God. How misled they were. It is eerily haunting how the events of this account happened on September 11th, 1857: a reminder of another horrific act of terrorism in our beloved country that was to occur 144 years later. I find the act of using God, in any form or religion, to further such brutality as this cowardly. It is not in God’s name to do such things, and it only brings shame to those who choose to do it. I am ashamed to admit, but readily do, that I knew nothing of the Mountain Meadow Massacre before reading this book.
This was a very well written and researched book. I found the plot flowed well, and was not difficult in any form to follow. The characters, every single one, were believable and relatable. The way the author chose to jump from character story telling to the events was a superb decision and only added to the assault on my emotions. The only fault I can find with this book is the terrible and overwhelming sadness it left me with.
Kelly Moran, Author
http://home.wi.rr.com/kellymoran
_____________________________
After reading the book September Dawn, by Carole Whang Schutter I find myself mystified and horrified by the events in the book. Although a work of fiction, many of the events, people, accounts, meetings, and speeches were based on actual events.
The early Mormon religion and its followers slaughtered innocent women, men, and children, all in the name of God. How misled they were. It is eerily haunting how the events of this account happened on September 11th, 1857: a reminder of another horrific act of terrorism in our beloved country that was to occur 144 years later. I find the act of using God, in any form or religion, to further such brutality as this cowardly. It is not in God’s name to do such things, and it only brings shame to those who choose to do it. I am ashamed to admit, but readily do, that I knew nothing of the Mountain Meadow Massacre before reading this book.
This was a very well written and researched book. I found the plot flowed well, and was not difficult in any form to follow. The characters, every single one, were believable and relatable. The way the author chose to jump from character story telling to the events was a superb decision and only added to the assault on my emotions. The only fault I can find with this book is the terrible and overwhelming sadness it left me with.
Kelly Moran, Author
http://home.wi.rr.com/kellymoran
February 18, 2008
The four stars is actually for the movie, which I just saw (17 February, 2008). I'm not sure that I'm actually going to read this book--I'll read Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows (q.v.) first--but I quite impressed by how many of the words (probably precisely the ones that a casual viewer would pick as the most likely to be wild exaggerations) in the movie were taken verbatim from speeches of the period (I know my Mormon history, and I recognized the citations). Sure, there's the obligatory romance thrown in to try to personalize the story (Titanic, anyone?), but the actual historical background of this tragedy--a real-life playing out of the cultural misunderstandings and tragic coincidences portrayed in a science-fiction setting in Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow (q.v.), and Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide (qq.v.)--are gripping enough even without the fictional love story. See the movie and then read Blood of the Prophets!
April 28, 2010
I enjoyed this book. The movie was really good too. Made me realize how crazy religious people use to be! (And still are) :)
February 22, 2012
This book is not complementary to the Mormon church or Brigham Young, and is based on fact according to Wikipedia. The massacre happened. Why would anyone name a university after a mass murderer?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews