A Distant Dawn

Westward Dreams #4

by Jane Peart

Following the death of their parents, twenty-four-year-old Sunniva Lyndall and her younger brother, Tracy, leave the comforts and safety of their Ohio Valley home to travel west to California, With excitement, determination, and the money they received from the sale of the family farm, they head for Missouri and the wagon train that will take them west. But Sunny and her brother quickly learn the ways of the West the hard way when a con-man swindles them out of their money. Without means to buy supplies, California seems out of the question. But being stuck in Missouri is not what Sunny had planned for their future. Employment with the Pony Express seems to be the only available option. With Tracy as express rider and Sunny as station manager, it looks like they will soon earn enough to resume their journey. But unplanned adventure in the saddle of the Express awaits Sunny with the greatest challenge of her young life. Will her strong spirit be enough to see her through -- or is the happiness that California promised a dream that will never be fulfilled?

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 1995

About the author

Jane Johnson Peart of Asheville, North Carolina, Humboldt and Marin counties, California, and in recent years, Hawaii, passed away in 2007. She was the author of more than 60 works of suspense, historical fiction and romance, which touched the hearts and minds of thousands of readers whose correspondence she treasured. She wrote for the secular and Christian market, and is best known for the Brides of Montclair series.

Reviews

[Mary Shreffler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sonny, lost her mother when she was little and she helped her father raise Tracy. When Sonny was 17 her father remarried and left Sonny with her brother, another child and neglecting stepmother. When Sonny was 22 she and Tracy set out for California but being greenhorns they were swindled out of their money and remained in independence. Tracy worked as a pony Express man and Sonny managed the station.

[Paula-O · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book #4 of the Westward Dreams by Jane Peart, It can be read as a story on its own, it is the story of a sister much older then her brother and it is hard for her to see him grow up and not need her guidance so much. They sold all their belongings and headed west wanting take a wagon train trip to california. they were gullible and lost most of their monies and was forced to stay in Independence, a place near where they would have started their wagon train trip. They met many people here and both grew up a little more. Sunny was a very angry young woman trough most of the book and it took her a long time to learn to curb her tongue.

[Lynnda Ell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Distant Dawn is the first book I've read by author Jane Pert. I can see why she was so successful. She took the typical story of a young woman who sold everything to go to California but got swindoled before she got past Missouri and turned it into a lively tale of courage, hard work, and discovered love. I highly recommend it.

[April Suter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunny and her brother, Tracy, leave their home in Ohio Valley to head west to a new beginning. But in Missouri they fall victim to a con and their plans are postponed. Sunny tries to make the best decisions for her and her brother, but sometimes they are just not easy. A few men appear and she needs to pick the right one. Will she find the right one to take her to California?
233 pages

[Fay Risner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read about a woman's life on the frontier during the pony express days. A Christian romance that could have gone of of two ways. I guessed at the ending to almost the end.