élégie

by Eva Seyler

Oregon, 1913: A young lady from Minnesota must give up her dreams of a career in music after her grandmother dies. With no money of her own, she responds to an advertisement for a bride from a farmer in Oregon.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2023

About the author

Eva was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She left that humidity pit at the age of three and spent the next twenty-one years in California, Idaho, Kentucky, and Washington before ending up in Oregon, where she now lives on a homestead in the western foothills with her husband and five children, two of whom are human.

Eva cannot remember a time when she couldn’t read, and has spent her life devouring books. In her early childhood years, she read and re-read The Boxcar Children, The Trumpet of the Swan, anything by Johanna Spyri or A A Milne, and any issues of National Geographic with illustrated articles about mummified, skeletonised, and otherwise no-longer-viable people.

As a teenager she was a huge fan of Louisa May Alcott and Jane Eyre.

As an adult she enjoys primarily historical fiction (adult or YA) and nonfiction on a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, history, disaster, survival, dead people, and the reasons people become dead. Audiobooks are her jam, and the era of World War One is her historical pet.

Eva began writing stories when very young and wrote almost constantly until she was 25, after which she took a years-long break before coming back to pursue her old dream of becoming a published author for real. She loves crafting historical fiction that brings humanity to real times and events that otherwise might seem impersonal and distant, and making doodles to go with them.

When Eva is not writing, she is teaching her human children, eating chocolate, cooking or baking, wasting time on Twitter, and making weird shrieky noises every time she sees her non-human children. Also enjoys driving in snow when opportunity arises, because snow is the bomb.

https://linktr.ee/theevaseyler

Reviews

[Karen Heenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An odd and lovely little story, written in verse, about a little-noticed character from the author's The Summer I Found Home. It explains that character's near-shadow persona while also giving a vivid sense of time and place.

[Alanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Points for it being short. The main characters are developed enough, but I have to say nothing was particularly compelling about anyone. Minus stars because of the mother’s almost instant willingness to take the abuse at the end instead of find a way out of the situation. That part unfortunately felt very real at least, even if all of Sam’s doings did not. I know there are plenty of people who really would make this decision, but it didn’t make a good end to the story and didn’t give me a lot of faith in any character’s future. Louise is painted as a perpetual survivor, but it would have been a better story if she’d gotten to be anything else too.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The long poem tells the story of a woman’s life, from her plans to study at Julliard to becoming a mail order bride, experiencing love and loss. I enjoyed it and wished it were longer.

[Laurie Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story!

[Fayelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stopped breathing a few times in anticipation.

There were literal tears.

My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

And my stomach is still in turmoil.

My heart and mind are so turbulent. And I absolutely loved it. Probably because I know what comes next. (I've read the "sequel")

Well done.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully told. Sucks you in. And then drops off abruptly with too many unanswered questions.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this one blindly, expecting something as peaceful as the cover itself. Boy, was I wrong! There is a point in this story I got what I was expecting, and I was full on smiles with how sweet he husband was and how their lives were looking up. Then BAM! Such a twist that left me with my mouth hanging open, and it only got worse from there. Each time I thought surely things would improve, it only got worse for the FMC. I finished this one feeling so heartbroken for her, even with the hopeful ending we're left with. This story is quick, but it will tug at your heart strings and make you want more.

[Raoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent read. This short novel would be even greater with some more character development and dialogue between the second wife and her in-laws and maybe provide a little more historical of Oregon in this era. With more details it might even make a good movie.

[Jacque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good audio production. Started as a good short story with great characters and a building love story. But then it took a turn involving several rounds of death, abuse, and captivity. Very depressing ending.

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and compelling vignette. A favorite narrator.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story until I DIDN'T!! Horrible ending.

[FreckledFae · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the hell? This doesn’t say it’s part of a series, but it’s clearly a cliffhanger. It’s also depressing AF.

[Jacklyn Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was depressing. I was intrigued by the storyline well enough but the narrator almost made me fall asleep several times. I actually cried. Also why is everyone named Martha?!??

[Lindy Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and gorgeous

[Eva Seyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite pieces I've written. Jayne Entwistle did such a glorious job with translating it to audio. For anyone who's concerned with its shortness or abrupt end, please remember that although it's a standalone, it will be much enhanced by reading in conjunction with books 1 and 2 of the George and Louise trilogy (The Summer I Found Home and Shadows from the Sky).

[Colleen Maclennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read about how life circumstances can change in an instance.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars