Prophet Annie: Being the Recently Discovered Memoir of Annie Pinkerton Boone Newcastle Dearborn, Prophet and Seer

by Ellen Recknor

Recknor, Ellen

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

551 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

Ellen was a bright child, with a love of animals, art, and reading. These passions led to a lifetime of having pets in her life (horses, dogs, cats, and even an exotic turtle), drawing and painting professionally, and writing dozens of books under her own name and myriad pen names.

Ellen graduated from Urbandale High School in 1969, and went on to attend the School of the Associated Arts in St. Paul, MN and Drake University. She then made Scottsdale, AZ her home for many years. Her paintings of animals, especially Arabian horses, were sold in Scottsdale galleries. She eventually explored writing, and found that her life long interest in the Old West prepared her to write Western fiction. In 1998 she won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for Best Paperback Original, for "Leaving Missouri." Another book, "Me and the Boys," has been made into a script, which has made the rounds in Hollywood.

Reviews

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative, Spur Award-winning western about Annie Pinkerton Boone Newcastle's wedding night and the years that follow. Annie's elderly husband drops dead in bed (a marriage arranged by her late mother back in Iowa). He does not leave her completely, though; his soul takes up residence in Annie's body. This situation earns her a reputation as a seer. Soon she leaves the Arizona mansion her husband left her to find a career on the carnival circuit. Neither can foresee the bandits she will encounter or the one she will fall for. A clever idea with a heroine who is easy to root for, this book is an excellent picaresque tale of love, success and freedom.

[Christine P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for people who like adventure, travel, tough female heroines, humour, and a western setting. Great introduction to western genre for people who don't think they like Westerns. Not your traditional western book though, so people who want gunfights and lone rangers may not appreciate it. Strong sexual content at times, but I enjoyed it.

The book ends on a very romantic note. I am not sure that romance readers would enjoy waiting as long as it takes for the romance to kick in, and it is a bit unexpected when it does. Still, it ends on a sweet note.

Character: I cannot fathom how anyone who enjoys character would not enjoy strong-willed and eccentric Annie. I really enjoyed Annie and all the antics she gets into and wished there was another book about her. How she responds to these situations is always as sassy and quick witted as I would like to be. Her ragtag assortments of secondary characters were just as good: lewd Jonas Newcastle, under-appreciated culinary genius Sam Two Trees, and pet cheetah Nebakanezer (to name a few).

Story: Bizarre and unexpected, the oddest things end up happening to Annie who is along for the wild ride. First her husband dies, then inhabits her body, she becomes a famous mystic, tours with a circus, gets kidnapped by cowboy bandits, and is rescued by a hunk. It is a wild ride through all of her experiences.

Setting: Wild West- Arizona territory in 1890’s and then travels all over the states. Setting is a big part of the novel and this places it firmly in the Western genre.

Language: Memorable for it is western slang and accents which peppers all of the dialogue. Not particularly hard to read, but has a diverse vocabulary which excited me.

[Arlene Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people think of westerns as the realm of men -- Ellen Recknor and Annie grab the reins and prove it is just as much the domain of women! Annie is married to an old geezer who dies -- but then his ghost inhabits poor Annie's body. Suddenly Annie can see the future, talk about the afterlife and deliver messages from the dead. She becomes an overnight sensation and of course falls to the attention of one P.T. Barnum.

There is humor, a love story, adventure, outlaws, daring rescues -- and overall there is Annie, trying to make sense of this life, the afterlife, and the future!

SLIGHT SPOILER:
The scene where Annie stands up and performs "Roxanne" (yes, the Police song) is one of the most hilarious things I've ever read. I can't hear that song without thinking of this book.