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Carrie Welton
Eighteen-year-old Carrie Welton is restless, unhappy, and ill-suited to the conventions of nineteenth-century New England. Using her charm and a cunning scheme, she escapes the shadow of a cruel father and wanders into a thrilling series of high-wire adventures. Her travels take her all over the country, putting her in the path of Bohemian painters, poets, singers, social crusaders, opium eaters, violent gang members, and a group of female mountain climbers.
But Carrie’s demons return to haunt her, bringing her to the edge of sanity and leading to a fateful expedition onto Longs Peak in Colorado. That’s not the end, though. Carrie, being Carrie, sends an astonishing letter back from the grave and thus engineers her final escape—forever into your heart.
But Carrie’s demons return to haunt her, bringing her to the edge of sanity and leading to a fateful expedition onto Longs Peak in Colorado. That’s not the end, though. Carrie, being Carrie, sends an astonishing letter back from the grave and thus engineers her final escape—forever into your heart.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
235 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2016
1 person is currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Charles Monagan
10 books11 followers"First They Kill You," a medical memoir, is Charles Monagan's latest book (2025). In highly readable form, it recounts his extended battle with two blood cancers and the drama of the eventual cure through stem-cell replacement. His novels include "The Easter Confession," called "a superior whodunit" in a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and "Carrie Welton," which won across-the-board praise as a historical novel set in 1860s Connecticut, New York City, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and Boston.
Monagan was born in Connecticut himself and has spent all of his working life there, first as a newspaper reporter and then for many years as Editor of Connecticut Magazine. Along the way, he published several humor books as well as two editions of the nonfiction "Connecticut Icons."
Monagan was born in Connecticut himself and has spent all of his working life there, first as a newspaper reporter and then for many years as Editor of Connecticut Magazine. Along the way, he published several humor books as well as two editions of the nonfiction "Connecticut Icons."
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 11, 2016
Carrie comes from a rough home life where she feels unloved and unwanted. She breaks free and makes her way to New York. After years away and a small taste of freedom, she finds her way back home. While there she leads a solitary life and after her death she leaves behind a secret that finally sets her free forever.
This book was long and slow reading, but at the same time it was captivating. This book painted a colorful story of this time period and told a very sad tale of a young woman pained by her existence. It really made me feel for her and her many horrors she faced.
Overall this book was written well, told a captivating story, and kept me reading late into the night....Stormi
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This book was long and slow reading, but at the same time it was captivating. This book painted a colorful story of this time period and told a very sad tale of a young woman pained by her existence. It really made me feel for her and her many horrors she faced.
Overall this book was written well, told a captivating story, and kept me reading late into the night....Stormi
http://www.boundlessbookreviews.com
https://www.facebook.com/BBReviews
August 10, 2016
What sets Carrie Welton apart is the rarely used first person omniscient narrative. Rarely do you see a novel in which the title character not being the speaker. The same narrative model was used in Jack London's The Sea-Wolf and Nabokov's Lolita. The heroine of Charles Monagan's novel, Caroline Welton, becomes the object of fascination to Frederick Kingsbury, a dutiful family man with an equally dutiful and sympathetic wife. The Kingsburys become personally invested in the emotional and social well-being of the troubled girl next door, championing her independence and artistic growth.
Tolstoy claims that "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." While there are many variables that contribute to each family's dysfunction, and there are many creative ways people can sabotage their home lives, but, leaning on my personal experience, dysfunctional families have certain "key ingredients" in common. I've seen enough dysfunctional New England families. I've seen enough tyrannical fathers who make occasional cameo appearances just to stomp their feet a few times and bark. I've seen enough oblivious wives who seek validation by throwing lavish parties. And I've seen enough lonely children who bond with animals and neighbors than they do with their own parents.
Monagan paints a vivid picture of social anxiety and PTSD before those conditions were explored and labeled. His speaker, Kingsbury, maintains an outlook that is consistent with his era. There are references to the key Civil War battles, the draft riots in New York City, the Bohemian art scene. It's such a daunting task to keep the 21st century author and the 19the century speaker separate. There are so many opportunities for slip-ups and inadvertent anachronisms, and Monagan manages to avoid them all. The most impressive feat, however, is the exquisite, unobtrusive transition from first person limited to first person omniscient. At some point the reader realizes that Kingsbury describes events that did not happen before his very eyes. In the first half of the novel, he is in close physical proximity to his protegee. He pays painstaking attention to her body language, her smile, her features. After Carrie moves away, he continues to chronicle her adventures from afar, imagining what her daily life might have been. He feels her from a distance. At the same time, Kingsbury's fascination is refreshingly chaste. He does not devolve into a dirty old man who becomes obsessed with the vulnerable girl next door. I admit to having feared that the story line would head in the Lolita direction, but thankfully, it did not.
Apart from being a top-notch authentic historical novel, Carrie Welton is a commendable exercise in unorthodox narrative.
Tolstoy claims that "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." While there are many variables that contribute to each family's dysfunction, and there are many creative ways people can sabotage their home lives, but, leaning on my personal experience, dysfunctional families have certain "key ingredients" in common. I've seen enough dysfunctional New England families. I've seen enough tyrannical fathers who make occasional cameo appearances just to stomp their feet a few times and bark. I've seen enough oblivious wives who seek validation by throwing lavish parties. And I've seen enough lonely children who bond with animals and neighbors than they do with their own parents.
Monagan paints a vivid picture of social anxiety and PTSD before those conditions were explored and labeled. His speaker, Kingsbury, maintains an outlook that is consistent with his era. There are references to the key Civil War battles, the draft riots in New York City, the Bohemian art scene. It's such a daunting task to keep the 21st century author and the 19the century speaker separate. There are so many opportunities for slip-ups and inadvertent anachronisms, and Monagan manages to avoid them all. The most impressive feat, however, is the exquisite, unobtrusive transition from first person limited to first person omniscient. At some point the reader realizes that Kingsbury describes events that did not happen before his very eyes. In the first half of the novel, he is in close physical proximity to his protegee. He pays painstaking attention to her body language, her smile, her features. After Carrie moves away, he continues to chronicle her adventures from afar, imagining what her daily life might have been. He feels her from a distance. At the same time, Kingsbury's fascination is refreshingly chaste. He does not devolve into a dirty old man who becomes obsessed with the vulnerable girl next door. I admit to having feared that the story line would head in the Lolita direction, but thankfully, it did not.
Apart from being a top-notch authentic historical novel, Carrie Welton is a commendable exercise in unorthodox narrative.
May 16, 2016
An interesting book which captured an age when women were thought to be inferior and unable to think for themselves. Carrie Welton is a modern woman in the nineteenth-century. Trapped from birth in a family which only wanted a son, Carrie is ignored and worse by a cruel father, whilst her mother watches on, seemingly devoid of feeling towards her daughter.
Carrie then travels and defies convention by having adventures and success, but is dogged forever by a deep depression and fear.
Told through the eyes of a happily married man and neighbour, Carrie Welton is a captivating read.
Carrie then travels and defies convention by having adventures and success, but is dogged forever by a deep depression and fear.
Told through the eyes of a happily married man and neighbour, Carrie Welton is a captivating read.
May 27, 2016
Giveaway win
This is a really interesting book, it contains a lot of detailed information & required a lot of attention to read. I really enjoyed the way Carrie Welton characters was described & the feelings this story invokes & even though the details in the story are fiction that there was a Carrie Welton & the events of her life were as accurate as possible.
I was hooked into this story very early on in the book & really found it compelling. it is definitely worth reading.
This is a really interesting book, it contains a lot of detailed information & required a lot of attention to read. I really enjoyed the way Carrie Welton characters was described & the feelings this story invokes & even though the details in the story are fiction that there was a Carrie Welton & the events of her life were as accurate as possible.
I was hooked into this story very early on in the book & really found it compelling. it is definitely worth reading.
July 13, 2020
Read this entire review here: CARRIE WELTON BOOK REVIEW – A HISTORICAL FICTION NOVEL WITH A FASCINATING FEMALE PROTAGONIST
Review by Amber Topping
Overall Rating = 4.5
(I received a free copy of Carrie Welton from the author Charles Monagan to write an honest review on The Silver Petticoat Review. All opinions are my own.)
Carrie Welton is a historical fiction novel that explores the life of a real woman who lived in the 19th century. Throughout her short life, she was a huge animal advocate (donating a great portion of her money to the ASPCA), an artist who studied with the Hudson River School painters, an adventurer, and more. While the novel is fictional, author Charles Monagan weaves in real events with real people in a way that makes the story feel true – even though it’s really more of a fill in the blank of Carrie’s life rather than historical fact.
The story begins with a distressed 18-year-old Carrie (due to her abusive father), as told from the perspective of Frederick Kingsbury, a local family man, in the rarely used first person omniscient narrative. Frederick and his wife quickly take an interest in Carrie, and from there we follow her fascinating but tragic life. And all of the story structures around a painting of her that now hangs in the Mattatuck Museum in her hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut.
Carrie Welton is this person from history you’ve likely never heard of but after reading the novel will want to know her – all the while knowing you never really will be able to. Perhaps that’s the beauty of the book and it’s strange narration techniques. Just as you feel you’re beginning to understand Carrie, the writer switches perspective and again puts her at a safe distance from the audience. As if Carrie will never fully be able to escape the painting that leaves her “audience” captivated. She’s a mysterious portrait. One I’m glad I “saw.”
Besides Carrie, the other characters also intrigue thanks to the writing talent of Monagan. I was especially interested, however, in the real people that made cameo like appearances in the story as they crossed paths with Carrie. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself googling some of the mesmerizing people Carrie meets! A few of which could have novels or movies about them as well.
On top of the characterization and unusual narration, Monagan’s writing ability in general impresses. He knows how to weave a good story and has a talent for the historical fiction genre. In all, Carrie Welton is a fantastic novel and one that deserves to be read by a larger audience. If only to immortalize this amazing woman.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
While Carrie Welton begins a bit slow, the story and characterization draw you in. Not to mention Charles Monagan’s talent as a writer. He embodies an old-fashioned quality not often found in books today.
Read this entire review and others (especially if you love old-fashioned chivalrous romance) at: THE SILVER PETTICOAT REVIEW
Review by Amber Topping
Overall Rating = 4.5
(I received a free copy of Carrie Welton from the author Charles Monagan to write an honest review on The Silver Petticoat Review. All opinions are my own.)
Carrie Welton is a historical fiction novel that explores the life of a real woman who lived in the 19th century. Throughout her short life, she was a huge animal advocate (donating a great portion of her money to the ASPCA), an artist who studied with the Hudson River School painters, an adventurer, and more. While the novel is fictional, author Charles Monagan weaves in real events with real people in a way that makes the story feel true – even though it’s really more of a fill in the blank of Carrie’s life rather than historical fact.
The story begins with a distressed 18-year-old Carrie (due to her abusive father), as told from the perspective of Frederick Kingsbury, a local family man, in the rarely used first person omniscient narrative. Frederick and his wife quickly take an interest in Carrie, and from there we follow her fascinating but tragic life. And all of the story structures around a painting of her that now hangs in the Mattatuck Museum in her hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut.
Carrie Welton is this person from history you’ve likely never heard of but after reading the novel will want to know her – all the while knowing you never really will be able to. Perhaps that’s the beauty of the book and it’s strange narration techniques. Just as you feel you’re beginning to understand Carrie, the writer switches perspective and again puts her at a safe distance from the audience. As if Carrie will never fully be able to escape the painting that leaves her “audience” captivated. She’s a mysterious portrait. One I’m glad I “saw.”
Besides Carrie, the other characters also intrigue thanks to the writing talent of Monagan. I was especially interested, however, in the real people that made cameo like appearances in the story as they crossed paths with Carrie. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself googling some of the mesmerizing people Carrie meets! A few of which could have novels or movies about them as well.
On top of the characterization and unusual narration, Monagan’s writing ability in general impresses. He knows how to weave a good story and has a talent for the historical fiction genre. In all, Carrie Welton is a fantastic novel and one that deserves to be read by a larger audience. If only to immortalize this amazing woman.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
While Carrie Welton begins a bit slow, the story and characterization draw you in. Not to mention Charles Monagan’s talent as a writer. He embodies an old-fashioned quality not often found in books today.
Read this entire review and others (especially if you love old-fashioned chivalrous romance) at: THE SILVER PETTICOAT REVIEW
January 4, 2021
Having grown up in Waterbury, I was intrigued by this story. It was interesting to read how Waterbury used to be and all the factories that helped it grow. Many of my family members worked for Scovill's in the 1900s. Although most of the story was fiction, it was neat to read about the person who inspired the horse fountain on the Green, which is something that catches your eye anytime you are downtown.
July 22, 2018
Very interesting to add to your historical fiction. Looking forward to searching out the Carrie's house which still exists.
June 26, 2016
Carrie Welton's story transports the reader to the late 1800s where an emotionally abused daughter has no rights, no recourse and no voice. It is therefore only through her own wit and strength of character that she is able to break away from the oppressive society in which she is raised, to live a life filled with art, travel, and experiences of both beauty and depravity. I love that this novel, true to life, is full of unexpected twists and turns, never settling into the predictable. As an independent woman with few encumbrances, Carrie makes her way in the world on her own terms, seeking meaning and connection. Though she does find her life's purpose in charitable pursuits, she often distances herself from the friends who are her greatest advocates. The most tragic character is Carrie's mother, who assists her in leaving rather than intervening on Carrie's behalf. This author writes beautifully, drawing you slowly and surely into his tale. Highly recommended!
January 27, 2019
Another great read for a Waterbury native! Googling all the places and people mentioned now
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews