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I Want to Die in My Boots: A Novel
"A captivating, untold portrait of Belle Jane, a larger than life woman who led a gang of cattle thieves in Saskatchewan in the 1920s — defying social conventions and living a life full of rebellion." —CBC Books
A debut novel by an exciting new voice in Canadian literature, I Want to Die in My Boots weaves fact and fiction to tell the true-ish story of horse thief Belle Jane.
I Want to Die in My Boots is the untold story of Belle Jane, the woman who ran one of Canada’s largest cattle thieving rings in the 1920s, who brilliantly broke every taboo, took the names of five different husbands, and nearly followed the tragic end of her great hero, the outlaw queen Belle Starr.
Dark and daring, meticulously researched and mostly true, I Want to Die in My Boots is a lyrical, unconventional literary novel that gives voice to the unheard in a long-forgotten world. After leaving Montana for a third husband and the ranch she’d always wanted, Belle settles in Saskatchewan, before spending her final years in Penticton, reading tarot cards for strangers.
Written a century after her arrest, this fictional tribute to Belle Jane, an unsung hero in Canada’s west, is inventive yet thoughtful, a work of Prairie literary fiction that takes an edgy twist to history. I Want to Die in My Boots will appeal to readers of Annie Proulx, Sheila Watson, Robert Kroetsch, and Maggie O’Farrell, and to viewers of Yellowstone and The Power of the Dog.
A debut novel by an exciting new voice in Canadian literature, I Want to Die in My Boots weaves fact and fiction to tell the true-ish story of horse thief Belle Jane.
I Want to Die in My Boots is the untold story of Belle Jane, the woman who ran one of Canada’s largest cattle thieving rings in the 1920s, who brilliantly broke every taboo, took the names of five different husbands, and nearly followed the tragic end of her great hero, the outlaw queen Belle Starr.
Dark and daring, meticulously researched and mostly true, I Want to Die in My Boots is a lyrical, unconventional literary novel that gives voice to the unheard in a long-forgotten world. After leaving Montana for a third husband and the ranch she’d always wanted, Belle settles in Saskatchewan, before spending her final years in Penticton, reading tarot cards for strangers.
Written a century after her arrest, this fictional tribute to Belle Jane, an unsung hero in Canada’s west, is inventive yet thoughtful, a work of Prairie literary fiction that takes an edgy twist to history. I Want to Die in My Boots will appeal to readers of Annie Proulx, Sheila Watson, Robert Kroetsch, and Maggie O’Farrell, and to viewers of Yellowstone and The Power of the Dog.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2025
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114 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 21, 2025
When I first finished this book, I was going to start the review with thank god, that's over! It's been a couple of days, so I've calmed down a bit, but this is a book that I would have happily not read. I didn't hate it, so I didn't give it one star, but I did find that there was a ton of padding in the book.
It felt like this book could have been a novella. Or maybe even a longer magazine article. It seemed like Appleton did a ton of research, and was loath to discard anything. So we learn who the first person was who was photographed giving the finger (Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn). Is that important to the story? Not at all, but it's in there. She shoves a lot of little historical facts that really don't matter one whit. Does it make the book richer in its historical detail? No. It just serves almost as a sidebar fact, but without any context.
Appleton spends a lot of time describing scenes, describing characters that are barely in the book. She writes from the perspective of the protagonist, Belle Jane, but she writes in this weird, kind of sideways voice, so you never just know what happened, you kind of have to intuit it from what she says. And one point, I thought she had a daughter, but then I realized that she didn't. I think I figured someone drowned at one point, but I was not positive. There's some information given about bones and skins that are found, but she doesn't come out and state the relevance. I don't know if you're supposed to go in with a certain knowledge of cattle-rustling and branding or not.
Belle Jean finds out about the outlaw, Belle Starr early one, and keeps thinking back on her. Belle Starr's career as an outlaw seemed much more exciting than Belle Jean's - Belle Jean was involved in cattle rustling, but seemed to be mainly trying to improve on the methods her husband and his confederate were already doing.
I want to say something good about this book because I've been pretty negative so far. I like that Appleton did the research and pulled Belle Jean out of the obscurity of history. I just wish she'd found a better way of presenting her story.
It felt like this book could have been a novella. Or maybe even a longer magazine article. It seemed like Appleton did a ton of research, and was loath to discard anything. So we learn who the first person was who was photographed giving the finger (Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn). Is that important to the story? Not at all, but it's in there. She shoves a lot of little historical facts that really don't matter one whit. Does it make the book richer in its historical detail? No. It just serves almost as a sidebar fact, but without any context.
Appleton spends a lot of time describing scenes, describing characters that are barely in the book. She writes from the perspective of the protagonist, Belle Jane, but she writes in this weird, kind of sideways voice, so you never just know what happened, you kind of have to intuit it from what she says. And one point, I thought she had a daughter, but then I realized that she didn't. I think I figured someone drowned at one point, but I was not positive. There's some information given about bones and skins that are found, but she doesn't come out and state the relevance. I don't know if you're supposed to go in with a certain knowledge of cattle-rustling and branding or not.
Belle Jean finds out about the outlaw, Belle Starr early one, and keeps thinking back on her. Belle Starr's career as an outlaw seemed much more exciting than Belle Jean's - Belle Jean was involved in cattle rustling, but seemed to be mainly trying to improve on the methods her husband and his confederate were already doing.
I want to say something good about this book because I've been pretty negative so far. I like that Appleton did the research and pulled Belle Jean out of the obscurity of history. I just wish she'd found a better way of presenting her story.
February 23, 2025
OK ... to start with, I had no idea who Belle Jane was, hence my interest. This for me, was not an area of history or geographical area that had been on my reading radar - so I was interested and intrigued by this woman.
Rustling cattle used to be a “hanging offence,” at least in the eyes of locals. Although the connection between the legal definition of rustling and hanging never really existed, many “rustlers” met their end on a rope on makeshift gallows at the hands of vigilantes.
Quite frankly, with the lack of anything appearing in a google search, I could not begin to discern if this fictional account was anywhere near close to the real history of Belle Jane. And after reading, I came away none the wiser. The end felt decidedly rushed using a dual timeline narrative to clarify the fate of Belle Jane.
This one was not really for me.
Two stars for taking on an unknown historical female character.
Rustling cattle used to be a “hanging offence,” at least in the eyes of locals. Although the connection between the legal definition of rustling and hanging never really existed, many “rustlers” met their end on a rope on makeshift gallows at the hands of vigilantes.
Quite frankly, with the lack of anything appearing in a google search, I could not begin to discern if this fictional account was anywhere near close to the real history of Belle Jane. And after reading, I came away none the wiser. The end felt decidedly rushed using a dual timeline narrative to clarify the fate of Belle Jane.
This one was not really for me.
Two stars for taking on an unknown historical female character.
Read
March 16, 2025I see why the publisher recommends this to readers of Annie Proulx, and Sheila Watson… or Maggie O’Farrell.
The writing here is quite lovely and I appreciate the historical context, and the blend of fact and fiction.
Sadly though it’s just not capturing my attention the way it should be. I’ve had this open on my iPad for over a week now, and I’ve still only read about a third of it. It just isn’t calling me the way it should be - it’s not commanding me to finish it.
I’ve stuck with it because it is a debut and because of the writers it’s likened to - all favourites of mine - but the time has come to move on.
Apologies to the author - I think this is a ‘me’ thing… and perhaps I’ll have another go at it at a later date when I’m not so “distracted” by events in my life.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
DNF
The writing here is quite lovely and I appreciate the historical context, and the blend of fact and fiction.
Sadly though it’s just not capturing my attention the way it should be. I’ve had this open on my iPad for over a week now, and I’ve still only read about a third of it. It just isn’t calling me the way it should be - it’s not commanding me to finish it.
I’ve stuck with it because it is a debut and because of the writers it’s likened to - all favourites of mine - but the time has come to move on.
Apologies to the author - I think this is a ‘me’ thing… and perhaps I’ll have another go at it at a later date when I’m not so “distracted” by events in my life.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
DNF
August 10, 2025
it’s possible that this title was just so good that the book could never live up to it. interesting and clearly very well researched, but I found the writing style pretty difficult to follow. I can usually be charitable towards confusing writing as I respect stylistic choices and am no genius, but this wasn’t clicking for me. I think I would prefer a more loosely “inspired by” version of this story that had more outlaw shenanigans, or at least more direct accounts of them. like don’t obscure the fun parts from me……. lethbridge and great falls mentioned tho so hell yeah I guess
July 1, 2025
I read this book because my family has roots in the Maple Creek area, and some cousins are still ranchers in the area.
I walked away from the book wondering what it was I was supposed to know or feel. The writing voice is flat, Making it hard to relate to Belle. she's not likeable, which is fine, but things just seem to happen around her. she wants agency, but I'm not convinced that she actually takes it.
I walked away from the book wondering what it was I was supposed to know or feel. The writing voice is flat, Making it hard to relate to Belle. she's not likeable, which is fine, but things just seem to happen around her. she wants agency, but I'm not convinced that she actually takes it.
September 15, 2025
The basic story is of an incredible pioneer woman. The author has used Belle Jane's thoughts to narrate most of the story,which is not always easy to follow. I liked the descriptions of the Southern Saskatchewan landscape and the details of how difficult it was to survive the weather, the thieves, and the interdependant society. I like that it is based on an actual woman cattle and horse rustler, who had 5 husbands and ended up in the penitentiary, and who insisted on living life fully.
July 16, 2025
I wanted to love this book so much more. Natalies first book was incredible. She is my aunt’s niece, so there is a family connection. But I found this novel to be sort of scattered. Hard to keep up with. Her writing style is creative and wonderful but this book just wasn’t what I expected. I praise her hard work and knowledge and hope she continues to write more books!
October 5, 2025
Interesting historical fiction, taking place primarily in the NW "dry" vs coastal states, in ranching & farming county. I read an e-book version & spent time over several days to read it. I think a novel approach to the topic & key people. Ok for a debut novel, although I found that the story/writing lagged in places. Will be interesting to find out what her next novel will feature.
July 3, 2025
Historical local fiction about a woman named Belle Jane , in the late 1800’s lo 1960’s . She we t by several names and was also involved in horse and cattle theft, rebranding and then they were sold across the boarder into Montana from Saskatchewan. She had a interesting life.
June 2, 2025
The prose of this novel was somewhat disorienting, but at the same time, I actually mostly enjoyed the challenge.
June 25, 2025
very interesting, especially if you live in the area of where is spoken about!
July 31, 2025
Gosh that was a tough read. There were some beautiful lines sprinkled in though.
December 31, 2025
REVIEW FORTHCOMING IN THE MALAHAT REVIEW
October 29, 2025
If you enjoy reading gorgeous prose, filled with delightful imagery and startling metaphors, this book is for you. One of my main reasons for liking the book was the setting, the spectacular southern prairies of Saskatchewan. I was hoping to learn more about this real life woman cattle rustler, whose exploits have gone largely unrecorded, but rustling wasn't really the focus. I enjoyed all the historical details and the writing was stellar.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews