Early Candlelight

by Maud Hart Lovelace, Rhoda R. Gilman (Introduction)

This historical novel set at Old Fort Snelling in the 1830s is a rich and romantic re-creation of the early settlement period in Minnesota's history. Maud Hart Lovelace's careful research into the documents of the Minnesota Historical Society, combined with her knowledge of the actual setting, enabled her to write a story that conveys a sense of time and place both accurate and compelling for young adults as well as general readers.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Historical, Book Club

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Maud Hart Lovelace was born on April 25, 1892, in Mankato, Minnesota. She was the middle of three children born to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart. Her sister, Kathleen, was three years older, and her other sister, Helen, was six years younger. “That dear family" was the model for the fictional Ray family.

Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankato’s center business district. The street, Center Street, dead-ended at one of the town’s many hills. When Maud was a few months old, the Hart family moved two blocks up the street to 333 Center.

Shortly before Maud’s fifth birthday a “large merry Irish family" moved into the house directly across the street. Among its many children was a girl Maud’s age, Frances, nicknamed Bick, who was to be Maud’s best friend and the model for Tacy Kelly.

Tib’s character was based on another playmate, Marjorie (Midge) Gerlach, who lived nearby in a large house designed by her architect father. Maud, Bick, and Midge became lifelong friends. Maud once stated that the three couldn’t have been closer if they’d been sisters.

Reviews

[Christina Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Historical fiction set in and around Minnesota's Fort Snelling in the 1820s. Lively characters, compelling storylines, history worked in without beating the reader over the head, and a satisfying romance. Works for me.

I've been rereading Lovelace's children's books (also 5-star caliber), prior to visiting MN, so I'm delighted and not surprised to discover she can spin a wonderful adult novel as well.

If you liked Mrs. Mike, you'll probably enjoy Early Candlelight!

(Note: if you have uber-sensitive political-correctness antennae, you better deduct a star right off the top.)

[Kaye Salter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I worked at Fort Snelling... This book is terrible due to it's horrible historical inaccuracies and the fact that it is one of the dullest books I have ever picked up. Do not bother.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why my mind kept making this comparison, since it's been years since I've watched the movie, but I kept thinking about "Legends of the Fall" while reading this book. As far as memory serves, aspects seemed pretty similar. Tragic. Complicated relationships. Not really the ending I was looking for. It's probably told cleaner though (less swear words, scenes etc. than the movie; though this is an assumption since I watched an edited version through ClearPlay).

So if tragic romance, where he's adoring her, but she's married, and lovely little single girl doesn't get noticed until the end, is your kind of thing, you might like this book. It's slightly more redemptive at the end ... but I wasn't entirely convinced that he truly changed as Lovelace didn't think it necessary to clue the reader in to if/ or what change took place. It just ended with the "happy ending."

Also, as Lovelace was a huge fan of her home State, there is a lot of description and detail about the landscape and times of the pioneer days in Minnesota and Wisconsin areas.

Cleanliness: a man falls in love with a married woman. There is drinking and smoking and one character is a drunk. It mentions that many trappers sleep around with Indian girls. A man sleeps with someone's betrothed (it's unclear whether he forced her or she agreed) - not detailed. A girl commits suicide. A couple of d*mns and a few blasphemies.

**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!

So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precious and gorgeous. Lovelace has always, it seems, nailed setting and plot and characters. I loved the DuGays and the little settlement and the snapshot into this bit of American history. I will never forgive her for skipping the romantic climax— she left out half of the proposal, the wedding, and Delia settling into the big house— but I did adore how Delia scolded and left Jasper after their winter together. I didn’t see that coming, and Mountjoy helped it along a lot too. I loved Delia’s brothers and her resourcefulness. Thanks to the internet and Mama, my copy signed! 🥲 and not only signed but was a thank you gift from Maud to people who showed her around the area where she set the book!!! 🥹🥹🥹

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a slow starter, but once it got going, wow! Fantastic historical fiction from Maud Hart Lovelace, dealing with an incredibly complex era in Minnesota's history and using a diverse array of characters and perspectives. There were some truly heart-breaking moments, but the ending was overall happy. I learned so much about Fort Snelling and lots of historical sites I have been to as a Minnesotan. Really impressed with this one.

[Angie]

I’m struggling to rate this one—I like Lovelace’s writing, even though this is clearly an earlier work, I enjoy historical fiction, and I see much value in reading books that were written in a different era. I realize the politically correct view is to criticize the past; I think that is a narrow view and prefer to read history in context, recognize that we cannot fully put ourselves in our ancestors’ shoes, and learn from their strengths as well as their mistakes.

Back to this book. I’m not a romantic and I had a hard time accepting the probability of a character like Jasper Page carrying a candle for a married woman through most of the book and then suddenly deciding that he loves a much younger woman (in spite of her lower social status). I found Dee and her family very likable, sympathetic characters, and I felt that Lovelace did a good job of balancing the collision of three very different worlds—soldier, trader, and native—in light of the research that would have been available to her as she wrote. I also enjoyed her descriptions of the setting, especially having read this during a winter season similar to the one that trapped Dee on M’sieu Page’s island.

[Libby Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one made me miss Minnesota. A very different feel from her Betsy-Tacy books, but Maud Hart Lovelace gives a great picture of life near Fort Snelling in the 1830s. Her description of the landscape and way of life is wonderful and, as always, I enjoy her gentle story telling based on historical events.

[T.J. Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Well, I enjoyed this classic historical fiction novel immensely. Firstly, I love frontier and pioneer stories. Secondly, it is written by Maud Hart Lovelace, the author of the Betsy-Tacy books, which are some of my ultimate comfort reads. While "Early Candlelight" is quite different from Betsy-Tacy in tone and topic, it has Lovelace's signature attention to character and ability to fully evoke a setting. And thirdly, it was about a fascinating period of American history that I was not at all familiar with - the settling of Minnesota in the 1830s, specifically around the area of Fort Snelling, where Canadian traders and Native Americans and early American settlers and soldiers all mingle and work together. The writing was crisp, the characters were believable, and the setting was interesting and educational, a triumvirate of qualities I look for in a good book.

Description (from Goodreads):

This historical novel set at Old Fort Snelling in the 1830s is a rich and romantic re-creation of the early settlement period in Minnesota's history. Maud Hart Lovelace's careful research into the documents of the Minnesota Historical Society, combined with her knowledge of the actual setting, enabled her to write a story that conveys a sense of time and place both accurate and compelling for young adults as well as general readers.

"Early Candlelight" is not as cozy as Betsy-Tacy. Some serious topics are described with honesty, like marital infidelity, suicide, bloody skirmishes between different Native American tribes, and more. Delia's family is blended, with her three older brothers being illegitimate and mixed-blood - "bois brulee" in the local lingo. (Aside: I loved the DuGay family - the fiddle-playing father, the large confident mother, the brood of little boys named after American heroes.) The book doesn't pander; it felt candid and authentic to me. Yet it was still a relatively low-stress read; the plot advancement is calm and measured, and there is a sweet romance. But I felt that the romance was secondary to the exploration of the historic period, which was fine with me. The marriage was certainly rushed at the end.

The tone, attention to detail, and deft use of dialect all reminded me of some of my favorite recent historical fiction books that I discovered: "The Awakening Land" trilogy by Conrad Richter. Both Lovelace and Richter's books feel vibrant, immediate, and intimate. And competent, hardworking, mother-sister Dee DuGay felt similar in many ways to Sayward Luckett.

Overall, I thought "Early Candlelight" was charming, engaging, and full of heart. And it makes me want to reread Betsy-Tacy.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maud Hart Lovelace’s Early Candlelight is the story of “Merry old Denis! Honest capable Tess…he didn’t know a more faithful man than Hypolite; and Amable was a good voyageur…At the thought of Narcisse, the smile in his eyes died down for a moment. But there were some younger boys coming up–George Washington, Lafayette…grinning, freckle-faced youngsters…Daniel Boones and Napoleon Bonapartes…the DuGay daughter…a girl of such character–and downright beauty…Dee. It’s a sweet name…And it begins so many words that fit you–de-licious, de-lightful, de-fiant” and her infatuation with M’sieu Page.

“Several days a week at early candlelight he came to tea at the Boles’” where “the ladies of the garrison study French…every Tuesday and Friday at early candlelight…Dee twisted her arms about her knees in great content. She loved this hour of early candlelight.” However, “It seemed to Dee that the world darkened less because the sun at last sank behind the bluffs, than because of the forebodings in their hearts.”

“Where [the nation] had paused it had put up this fort, as one puts a slip of paper in a book to keep the place.” “This is a white man’s world, and the Indian’s place in it is sad. There are not many white men brave enough to want to share it with them.” M’sieu Page… “Everybody loves him. The Indians and the half breeds and the squatters and the soldiers. They don’t know that his kindness to them comes from a belief that he is better than they. It was so clever and brave of him to be born Jasper Page…It was as if he recognized in his own splendid strength an obligation to help those less well armored for life…It was going up so high which made him fall so far.”

Yet “even a treeless prairie holds June on a jade plate…Death and birth and love, wielding an invisible needle on an invisible thread, drew them together…It is thus that legends start.” Maud Hart Lovelace’s Early Candlelight is timeless!

[JulieAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the style of this book. Someone with less patience would not make it through and that is a shame as one can enjoy a good linger in descriptive narrative. I didn’t care much for the forward by Rhonda Gilman. Her tone was of condescension and as though the people living in the 1990s know so much more and fails to mention the adage that hindsight is 20/20 . But do the people of the 1990s know how to survive in the Minnesota wild like these people did? I wonder how much more enlightened people really are and how much it’s actually just the good luck that they are the ones alive and writing; whereas, the author is no longer there to defend themselves or their era. I prefer the lyrics sang by Elvis - walk a mile in my shoes before you criticize and abuse walk a mile in my shoes.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was…disappointing. I read it because I’ve heard rave reviews of this author’s other books (Betsy-Tacy series). Having not read those books yet, I can’t speak to the difference between this book and her others, however, the meandering story, perfect protagonist, and lackluster hero left me frustrated to no end. I don’t have enough knowledge to reflect on the authenticity of the book’s description of the history of the time (Indian-US relations in the west near Ft. Snelling), however, I certainly know that were I to be treated by my husband-to-be the way she was, I would have serious reservations. I guess what I mean is that if this is supposed to be a sweet, romantic book, it leaves a lot to be desired and takes far too long to reach a conclusion. 😏

Okay, I’m done!

[Sarah Seele · Rating 3 out of 5]

my feelings are of confusion as to how i feel, because on the one hand lovelace writes beautifully & deftly, and the characters are sharply drawn & utterly captivating (particularly the heroine), and the history...but on the other hand what was that plot. and the emotional unfaithfulness?? and a scene felt like it was missing from the end from m'sieu page's pov.

but dee is a gorgeous character

and lovelace knows how to make you Feel the Feelings, for sure. (in a natural, i feel this way because it's so real, not manipulative or wallowing, way.)

and voyageurs! you must know i can't resist voyageurs.

[Anne Twiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

It helps to know a little early Minnesota History before tackling this romance/historical fiction, but even this knowledge is not enough to make Early Candlelight enjoyable. Written in the 1920’s about the 1830’s, it is hard to read in 2018 without cringing at the racism and sexism. Granted, Lovelace draws on first person sources and describes real historical figures, but it doesn’t feel realistic an any meaningful way. Time would be better spent reading the author’s Betsy-Tacy series.

[Owlchick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Lovelace's way with words. You feel the changing seasons in your souls as you read about them.

While I give this 5 stars, there are some bits that I wish she had expanded upon, particularly the change in relationship between Jasper and Dee. It's addressed so slightly that it's easy to overlook. And, given the way she dips into various characters' minds, she could easily have gone into Jasper's while he transitioned from passion for Mrs. Boles to a more measured love for Dee.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has probably been on my to-read list the longest 😂 I distinctly remember buying a copy at the gift shop when my 5th grade class took a field trip to Fort Snelling, and it’s still on my bookshelf at my parents’ house. I think I started to read it, but never finished it. But I should have! The descriptions of the area are beautiful and accurate. It’s such a nice little chunk of Minnesota history, and I loved recognizing the familiar names and places.

[Shirley Klooster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the eighth printing of the 1929 version. Interesting history of the Northern Minnesota area. Thanks to these pioneers we have a St. Paul, MN! The author shows the dynamics and the drama between the French, the Canadians, the Indians, the soldiers, the government,the fur traders, and the missionaries.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reminds me of Zane Grey's Betty Zane quite a lot...however fictionalized either book is, if the same things were basically happening in the Minnesota frontier in the 1830s that was happening in the Ohio frontier in the 1790s, interesting.

[Bryan Ericson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a clever story, set against the backdrop of 1830s Minnesota. I enjoyed the story, the flowery prose was a bit hard to follow at times.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* for well-written historical fiction with an excellent sense of place - but one I wouldn't read again, as it was honestly a rather sad story.

[CairoErica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the Minnesota setting, which is why I read it.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My adoration of Maud Hart Lovelace began late in life…as in a year ago when I discovered her juvenile writings (The Betsy-Tacy Series) through numerous book blogs. Our mother daughter book club devoured her first four books in rapid fashion.
After such an introduction, I’ve been eager to explore her other writings. Before Christmas I purchased her recently re-released copies of Carney’s House Party and Winona’s Pony Cart, Emily of Deep Valley, and Early Candlelight.
I’ve been keen on reading nostalgic old fashioned books as of late, so I picked up Early Candlelight last week.
Ms. Lovelace explores life on the Minnesota frontier at the turn of the 19th century. Her characters range from those families who reside within the walls of Fort Snelling, fur traders, local Indian tribes, Canadian settlers and voyageurs.
Deedee Dugay’s French descent family lives on the surrounding lands of Fort Snelling. A large, boisterous family, Deedee is the only girl in the company of many brothers. They have a harmonious relationship with the Indian tribes and with all their neighbors. The only ones they come into conflict with are the military leaders at the Fort who feel their trading of alcohol with the local tribes is creating tension that could escalate to violence, so they force her family to relocate, thus disturbing their family harmony.
Jasper Page is a well respected fur trader, who lives elegantly among the locals and enlists the Dugay sons to be a part of his many expeditions. Thus, Deedee becomes acquainted with Monsieur Page, and develops a lifelong love of him, in spite of his elite social class.
Ms. Lovelace develops a tremendous story of these frontiersmen and women. Her descriptions of Fort life– the parties they planned at the arrival of steamboats and the clothing that they wore – were amazing. Her attention to detail when describing the fashions of the time made me wonder if she had dreams of becoming a clothes designer in addition to a writer!
As she developed the relationship between Deedee and Mr. Page, I was ready to anoint this book the truly American Pride and Prejudice: strong willed, lower class beauty, falls for esteemed handsome gentleman landowner. Their word play and interaction was enticing and longing. Would they or wouldn’t they end up together.
Then, just when I thought Ms. Lovelace’s story telling couldn’t exceed itself – she ended the story. Flatly. Disappointingly.
So, I loved her writing – I loved the story – I loved the characters that she created – I loved her meticulous descriptions into early Minnesota frontier life – I just was so let down by the ending.
I’m still a huge fan, and can’t wait to read the other books I have, I just wish this one would have met my expectations.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do agree that this started slowly, and it took me a bit of time to figure out who the important characters were going to be. Once it got going, though, I did enjoy it quite a lot. I came to like the character of Delia very much and I thought MHL was able, by the end of the book, to really get inside her and describe her emotions very well. Some of the other characters were less well developed and I have to say that I didn't find Jasper Page all that wonderful, but at least he appreciated Delia :-)

I also loved Maud's descriptions of the landscape and the changing seasons. Some of her similes (she did like to toss those in!) were lovely.

It was also an interesting look at the early settling of Minnesota--it was a part of history that I didn't know much about. Of course, as the introduction (which is very good) points out, its depiction of the native peoples would be considered quite one-sided and almost offensive today--"squaws," childlike "Indians," etc. But that's a reaction based on what we've learned between Maud's time and our own. If anything, it makes me want to go on to read more about the interactions between the Native Americans and the settlers to get a more accurate perspective.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't believe Maud Hart Lovelace's Early Candlelight could be published today. It was better than her first book, but not as good as the books she later wrote for children. The story was good, even if a bit confusing, and I found myself relating to a major character. I had to go back and reread the first chapter when I was about haIf way through the book to clarify who some others were. I was bothered by all the warpaint and "braves" and "squaws" language. I'm sure she didn't intend to sound racist, but that kind of language helps explain why nobody reads the book anymore. I think all the geographical references would make more sense to someone who lives in Minnesota. I don't like to have my reading interrupted by frequent trips to the map to understand what's going on in the story. The book itself would hold more appeal for someone who lives (or used to live) in Minnesota. I did recognize the locale of one critical scene as the place where the author's beloved home town would eventually be built, but that was only because I had visited it a month before for a convention of M.H.L. aficionados, which is where, as it happens, I learned of the existence of this book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one where I really wish we could do half stars, as I'd have preferred to give it 3.5. Once I got about 25 pages into the book, it really took off for me, and I was very much drawn in. It especially grabbed me as we headed to the end of Book I and into Book II. But then... then came the ending, and I found it just anticlimactic. SPOILER ALERT!! I think I read in someone else's review [Melissa's, perhaps?:] that we didn't NEED to see how the relationship betw Jasper Page and Dee actually came to that moment where they knew they would be together, or else that we didn't need to see the actual wedding. Well, for me, I'm afraid I did need to see it. At least a LITTLE of it anyway. For me, it was a let-down, not getting that reward at the end. Well-written in most spots... moments of Betsy-Tacy turn-of-phrases occasionally, to make me smile... ultimately not quite up to her Betsy-Tacy standard, though.

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find the author of the Betsy-Tacy books here except for occasional glimpses in descriptive passages. The writing was choppy and difficult to read, as if she was trying to hard to impress the reader with her skill as a writer. I struggled to follow her and if it was any other author but MHL I would not have bothered to finish the book. The character names were atrocious and I grudgingly accept it's because they are real names, but it made it awkward. Names like those take more than a few days to become natural sounding. 2+ stars.


When I finished I was glad I read it. It had a satisfactory, if not predictable ending but unfortunately by then I didn't like the hero!

[Susann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this, but I don't see myself ever re-reading it. The beginning was a little slow and Narcisse gave me a pain. Or maybe I should say that the DuGays' reaction to Narcisse gave me a pain. I'm glad that they could support him through his bipolar episodes, but couldn't one of them lose their temper with him just once?

I enjoyed the romantic scenes and wouldn't mind spending a winter with Jasper, but thought the proposal scene was a little too cute. It reminded me of Maud's early short stories with their satisfying but pat endings. All that said, it's always fun to find the essence of Maud in her non-BT writings and I certainly learned a lot about the place and period.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite my love of history, I've never been one for sweeping, old-school historical romances. But the Maud connection put it on my to-read list.
Glad the focus was more on the people surrounding Fort Snelling than Fort life itself, and having visited Fort Snelling last summer, I was able to picture the landscape. None of the characters really captured by attention, but something pulled me along.
Definitely not one of the better of the genre--and it really paled in comparison to All This and Heaven Too (I would place both books in the same general genre). There were glimpses of the Maud to come, which I enjoyed, but you could tell this was written early in her career.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a pure, beautiful story. Maud Hart Lovelace has a gift for painting with words. She can capture the essence of a moment with incredible simplicity and bring the reader into the world of the character with deceptively effortless prose.

I grew up reading the Betsy-Tacy books. Early Candlelight is different - it seemed to me to be a bit more focused on the actual historical events surrounding Fort Snelling. I had trouble getting into the book at first and was confused by the many characters, but it was totally worth trudging through a few chapters to get to the good stuff!

It's a sweet, interesting story. By the time I was halfway through, I couldn't put it down! 10/10 recommend!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books ever. It would make a great movie: visually stunning scenery, many attractive young men and young women in love and a female protaganist an audience can't help but adore. It is "Pride and Prejudice" meets "Last of the Mohicans" with enough rich historical details woven into it to make you feel like your are really learning something. I also love this book because it is written by one of my favorite authors, Maude Hart Lovelace. This book made me proud of my American heritage and the work I do as a woman.

[Linda Hayakawa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a completely different story from Lovelace's usual offerings. It's historical fiction set at Old Fort Snelling in Minnesota in the 1830s. Originally written in 1929, the feel is different from modern day hist. fict. - a bit more romantic and innocent perhaps. But it is a vivid and compelling portrayal of life on the river - French fur traders, Native Americans, danger and uncertainty in a beautiful, wild, land. I recommend it to anyone interested in this time period in the United States.