Seventrees

by Janice Young Brooks

A FAMILY OF WOMEN -- THEIR DREAMS AND THEIR DESTINIES
Maggie - Raised among the stern Amish of Pennsylvania, she defied her world to marry the man she loved, and followed him West only to discover it was her strength that they both needed in order to survive.

Schooner - Love turned to tragedy for her as her husband vanished in the Civil War and she gave herself to an upper-class Englishman whom she could neither trust nor resist.

Victoria - She grew up dreaming of foreign places and the aristocratic heritage of her vanished father. But when she went to England to claim her legacy, her dream turned into a nightmare of temptation and seduction.

Three strong-minded women in a stirring epic saga that sweeps from Pennsylvania to Kansas to England -- and lights up three tempestuous generations of American life.

Genres: Historical Fiction

499 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 6, 1981

About the author

Aka Janet Brooks, Amanda Singer, Jill Churchill

Together with Jean Brooks-Janowiak wrote as Valerie Vayle.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie Halleck, an orphan, has a hard childhood. Initially raised in her earlier years by her aunt and uncle, she is later farmed out to her grandmother’s strict Amish home but given very little information about her family history. In fact, communication of any kind is almost absent throughout Maggie’s childhood. She later finds a connection with her grandmother, when Maggie becomes interested in healing with herbs. Although her grandmother never does give Maggie the affection she needs and craves, she does will to Maggie her special book of medical tips and herbal folklore.

When Maggie marries, her husband Gerald decides he is going to travel West to discover his dream of selling goods for profit. Along the way they stop at a small trading post and Indian mission in what later becomes the state of Kansas. This is ultimately where Maggie finds her home and where she ‘fits in’. Maggie and Gerald found the community later named “Seventrees”.

“In a sudden jolt of recognition, she realized something about herself. She had always known she was out of place, a misfit, among her Germantown neighbors and certainly among the Schmids’ Amish friends, and she had assumed that it meant there was something wrong with her. Now she knew for certain what she had suspected – that she had just been in the wrong place. On the frontier, bluntness, a sensible, attitude, and a lack of interest in the ‘frills’ of life were not liabilities, they were assets. These people, like her, were tough... out here, if you had a problem, you just solved it- you didn’t call in a lawyer or a minister or a seamstress, you took care of it yourself. And when the long day’s work was done, you danced – whether you knew how or not didn’t matter.”

This novel follows Maggie’s story through the uprising of slavery and state’s rights during the time of history when Kansas is designated “bloody Kansas”. Maggie’s daughter Schooner picks up the story in this novel during the Civil War, and her granddaughter Victoria ends the novel.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I love frontier history and always admired the resilience of the pioneers. I really ‘connected’ with Maggie; she was a character who became so real to me, and I empathized and agonized in turn over her life situations. Her strength of character did not seem to follow in her children, at least as evidently, and I wondered about that. Did the author purposely make Maggie a heroine and not try to filter down her obvious strong personality to her children?

However some of the history as portrayed, I took issue with. For example, one of the characters in “Seventrees” describes the “Jayhawkers” as simply the Union soldiers, and “Bushwackers” the Confederates. Not true! History tells us that these folks were actually renegade ex-soldiers, looting and burning on each side.

As Maggie grows, marries, has children, and becomes an adept businesswoman, we see her also instrumental in her community as a founder and mover in society. With such little input in her childhood from any mature, reasonable adult, it amazes me to see Maggie's character in this book. She ignores her ‘uppity’ and snobby cousin’s wife Fritzi, but then Maggie offers her help when the town is flooded. I love it when I see a character who is able to surmount wrongs and come to the aid of the person that wronged them!

Romance seems to be a hit or miss in this novel. Some of the characters marry less than wisely and reap the consequences of their choices. There is a love triangle and some frank 'bedroom'scenes, but nothing overly or explicitly graphic (especially compared to what we see in today’s literature). Maggie herself makes a foolish choice that leads to a lifetime consequence, but she never tries to escape responsibility. “Seventrees” illustrates the fact of real life situations, the faulty decisions that we are all prone to, and the consequences that affect our everyday lives.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story of three generations of women during the 1800's settling the community of Seventrees, outside of Kansas City. It covers the Civil War period including Quantrill's raid on Lawrence..a heart wrenching account that is based in fact. I think this is Janice Young Brooks best novel. I couldn't put it down!

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like pioneer tales and strong women worth hunting down.

http://misfitandmom.wordpress.com/201...

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was a very good one. It's been a while since I've read a family legacy/family saga story that I forgot how engrossing they can be. The downside to the book, for me, was that the first part, Maggie's story was the best part. I liked the built-up and a lot of the characters, and then I liked the second part with Schooner, but found myself caring less of the plot and the characters. By the time Victoria comes around I actually didn't care how it would end. I give the story a 3 star rating, but I feel the story dwindles to the ending, which is unsurprising and unrewarding, at least for me.

[Zoann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one surprised me. I thought it would be overly melodramatic and trite, but instead found it to be a realistic (with a few unrealistic plot twists) local history. The book was recommended to me by my step-mother-in-law, who knows the author personally. I could clearly visualize the area as the author described it (and as it existed 160 years ago) and the story made the history real to me. More enjoyable than expected.

[Nelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seventrees one of my best reads... Read it 6 times.
Lost my book currently looking to purchase another copy... It's one of those books that you can't keep down. Maggie was an inspiration to me 👏👏❤️❤️❤️

[Vikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. It is one of my all-time favorite books! It is about how the Kansas City/Lawrence area may have been settled between 1816- 1880. It is the story of Maggie, her daughter Schooner and her daughter Victoria. We learn about Quantrill"s raid. This book made me understand the Civil War in Kansas much better than I had. I loved this book!

[Mary Peoples]

I like historical novels which are at least partially based on facts. This one is a real page turner,


Still reading and enjoying......just getting ready to enter the Civil War stage.

Finished this quite some time ago and have passed it on to others who tell me they really enjoy (enjoyed) reading it.

[Malia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing new author! I really enjoyed this book, I liked how it was about a woman overcoming odds stacked against her (her family, childhood, etc.) and came out on top through her own determination. Pretty fast read.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

a historical fiction from the wagon train an opening of the west. A good read. genterations followed

[Cindy Entrican koessler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best historical fiction ever, first book I read of this genre!

[Mary Naylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to read a fictionalized account of the Shawnee Mission area, this is a great book. It is written by a local author, who writes mysteries under the name of Jill Churchill.

[and_she_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. I would have liked to know more about the lives of both Schooner and Victoria. More time was spent on Maggie's story.

[Vicki Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written by a local author and is historical to the area I grew up in (she also writes under the name of Jill Churchill and several other names too)