St Agnes' Stand

by Thomas Eidson

July 1858: Nat Swanson, a bullet in his leg and bone-weary, flees across the New Mexico desert from a vengeful posse. Back in west Texas, he killed a man over a woman whose name he never knew, and now he’s on the run to California, his only hope for a new life the ranch deed in his pocket.

In a dry riverbed, Nat spots two overturned wagons surrounded by Apaches. The only sign of a survivor is his quick glimpse of an old woman’s face–a face that forces a stark decision. Nat can ride on and save himself, or stay and try to save the stranded and doomed party. Sister St. Agnes, huddled between the wagons with her fellow nuns and the orphans in their care, somehow knows that God will answer her prayers and send a savior to deliver them from evil.

As death shadows the dusty arroyo, the forsaken canyon becomes a place of destiny where a courageous nun and an embattled man confront their fates together.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Adventure, 19th Century, Literature

201 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

🐎 A wrecked wagon. Nuns stranded with their group of orphans. Apache on the hunt to drive intruders off their land. Burning desert heat.

Nat is on the run from the law. He could turn aside and try and rescue the battered group before it’s too late. But he has his own skin to save. There is nothing he can do. Nothing.

🐎A powerful western by Thomas Eidson. That does not say enough since it is far more than a straightforward western. It is a novel ablaze with survival, integrity and sacrifice.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

An 83-yeaer old student of mine recommended this as an 'extraordinary' book. He is a life-long fan of the American Western. I don't read Westerns. Well, I haven't until this year and this one has reminded me that one should certainly not judge a book by its cover. This is a great story, expertly told with vibrant three dimensional characters and set in a vivid and harsh landscape. Eidson wrote this at fifty, and his maturity shows in the crisp, spare prose. Not a word is wasted as he propels the reader along this bleak but ultimately redeeming journey. Great use of multiple points of view and a completely different take on the 'wild west'. Read it, even (especially) if you don't like westerns.

[Kaite Stover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorite westerns of all time.

And not a cowboy in sight.

Nuns. Orphans. Wolf-dog. Indian ghost lovers.Injured outlaw with a heart-of-gold. Poker playing Sister.

Do you need more? Okay, have this. Cinematic descriptions (why is this book not a movie?), colorful relatable characters, plot as fast as the shoot out at the OK Corral.

Lean prose. Not one wasted word.

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing like a good Western!

[Hebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I absolutely loved this.

Some thoughts:

The first two pages were kind of clunky - especially with the physical description of the protagonist. I felt it would have been better to weave that information into those first pages instead of hitting us with one chunky paragraph.

Also I think the depiction of the Apache was a little one-note and stereotypical. I would have liked more explanation as to why they were being so violent and brutal rather than just "that's what they do". I know this book was written in 1994 but still, it's a lazy depiction. While reading, the storytelling and setting felt to me very reminiscent of the film 'The Missing.' It's only upon further research that I've just discovered that the film is in fact an adaptation of Eidson's The Last Ride which is the sequel to St Agnes' Stand. So I can guess roughly that Eidson's depiction of the Apache does not improve in the next novel. It feels kind of wrong that I find myself willing to ignore this because I enjoyed St Agnes' Stand so much.

But honestly? This was a great book. Legitimately had me crying at one point which is no small feat for a novel that took only a few days to read (I hadn't had weeks of bonding with the characters). The plot was slow but that's kind of the point - this is a novel built on suspense. And it will keep surprising you right to the very end.

[Tamara Curtin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as part of a book exchange and am so thankful that I did! A thrilling story, which reads much faster than the time it depicts passing. At the same time a tear jerker and a thriller, with a bare and stark style that mirrors the desert setting.

A great read, highly entertaining and a much needed tale of a man who does the right thing in spite of who he thinks he is. The character of Sister St Agnes is a wily, twisting woman, with more grit and humor than one would imagine from a nun penned in by a murderous war party. Even the interactions among the villains are deep and dense.

[Kathryn Spurgeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much that, after I read it, I sought out other books by Eidson. He is an awesome writer. The story unfolds like a fan, spreading out to encompass the theme in a big way. The book digs deep into one of man's greatest struggles in the face of danger - take care of himself or help others. Well done. Great author. Each of his books are excellent.

[Karon Buxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the reason book sellers are so IMPORTANT i was recommended this book by a lovely chap in Mr B’s book emporium in Bath , never heard of Thomas Edison (omg WHY? WHAT?) not only is this one of the best stories Iv ever ever read but the writing ✍️ my goodness it’s done by a true author a person with a real gift , I’m sad to say it makes some ( not all) new releases seem truly awful , have standards in the publishing world dropped especially with romatasy genre just to get the next one out and cash in ? I have seen the film missing with cate blancett and didn’t realise it was the same author, I’m also sad 😞 to say some of his books are now out of print WHAT!!!WHY?? I’m ordering his whole back catalogue but will have to do So on that wonderful website world of books . Anyway if you like lonesome dove (not read it yet ) this apparently is better !! Yellowstone sagas on the tv , in fact the book reminded alittle of a mule for sister Sarah with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine (made before I was born I would add 🤣) even if you don’t like historical fiction of that time and place I urge you to read this wonderful short book and why not it’s only 180 odd pages , I’m just sorry life got in the way and I couldn’t devour it all in one sitting !

[Dhanaraj Rajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to know this book purely by accident.

The title - St. Agnes - arrested my attention as I was searching for books on Catholic Saints. Then I looked at the description of the novel. It said something about the nuns. Again the curiosity was fed generously be that detail.

Three nuns along with some seven orphaned children trapped in the grand canyon and there are Apaches who wait to hunt them down. These nuns, especially the superior looks for a miracle - A Man sent from God to save them - and she fervently prays for it. Then comes a fleeing outlaw. He sets out to save them.

Will he save them?
Is the outlaw really the Chosen One sent by God to protect the Nuns and the Children?
Will the faith of the Sisters be rewarded?

An interesting stream of questions. And they are answered in an interesting manner in this fast paced novel which is built around the tension - whether the nuns and the children would be killed or not?

Read it.

It is a great entertainer.
If you are spiritual and religious (like me) you will also find that the novel is also layered with meanings dealing with Faith (of both the nuns and the Native Indians; the Faith of the Native Indians in their Ancient Ones is remarkably woven with the plot); Individual's, read sinner's, redemption by an redemptive act; and God's Providence in the extreme situation.

By the way, one of the sister's name in the novel is Sr. St. Agnes.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read terrifically by Rob Campbell. Somehow the calm monotone reflects the vast landscape in which the drama plays out. Big landscape and sky, small cast of characters in the empty wastes, and the slow turning of day into night and back again over 5 days.

[Michelle Diener · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that stays with you. A Western, but unlike any I've ever read before. A thoroughly engrossing read.

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. It rightfully deserves to sit on my "to be read again" shelf. It's a fast-moving Western narrative set in beautifully harsh desert landscapes. The plot is full of shoot outs and narrow escapes and yet also surprising moments of grace, sacrifice, and friendship. The story explores difficult themes about faith in the midst of tragedy and God's providential control over the details of life.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More violent and gory than I liked, but I guess it's appropriate for the genre.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A gorgeous book. The writing is brilliantly clear and luminous. It's a sad and ultimately uplifting story. I think I will have to read it again sometime soon to fully appreciate it.

[Rachel Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual, gripping, read it in one go

[Dawn B]

2 of 4 readers digest

[Luke Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to know this books by my uncle as it was one of my nans favourite. Proper page turner, bizarrely good, thoroughly enjoyed.

[Dem · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Christy Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't an average ‘Western'to be honest not a genre that’s ever really appealed to me, but St Agnes' Stand is written in a dark minimalistic fashion that I really love. The bleak style really adds to the desolation of this survival story whilst the character dialogue still manages to be deep and complex with multiple character views building on the stories narrative. The tale is atmospheric, grim with the tightly written prose richly evoking the texture of the wasteland desert environment it’s set in. Despite from the on set being a tale of a lone drifter outcast on the fringes of society, as the book goes on it also manages to sideline a lot of the typical ‘cowboys & Indians’ clichés.

I think it’s a real shame that Thomas Eidson isn’t better known as I really think he deserves to his stark realistic writing style reminds me of the much more well-know Cormac McCarthy whilst being reminiscent of American classics like Hemingway, S Steinbeck and Faulkner


Simply put it’s a beautifully crafted but poignant novel that I would highly recommended.

[Beverley Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bleak tale of faith and redemption, this isn't really a traditional 'Western' but a study in maintaining belief when faced with horror and suffering and all hope appears to be gone.

It debunks some of the myths about the 'heroic' ideals of the old west and the 'pioneer' spirit and the motivations that caused white settlers to travel into strange lands that didn't belong to them.

Atmospheric and grim, it doesn't shy away from describing the atrocities committed on the hapless settlers or the privations they suffer but ultimately I found it a little too unrelenting and stark to be 'enjoyable' in the traditional sense.

[severyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could live with it, could live without it.

I think I picked this up when I was working in a bookshop and I'd recommended something to a customer who recommended something in return. I *think* the book I recommended was Spalding Gray's 'Swimming to Cambodia'.

On balance, the customer got the better of the exchange.

[Sean Gainford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have Faith!

Hard Core Nat Swanson, with a sensitive and sympathetic side, kicks some Apache ass. Though strong willed 76-year-old Sister Agnes has to make sure he stays on the righteous path to victory.

Atmospheric, cool writing, violent, with some very moving moments. A good, entertaining book.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good western morality tale about the intersecting lives of a cowboy on the run from a killing and a nun who has rescued 10 children but is trapped in the desert mountains. Their paths cross, through fate or prayer, and their efforts to save the children and each other make for a well told story.

[Jessica O'Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read westerns, but I was given a copy of this book and others by Eidson. Really impressed by how I was hooked. Couldn't put the book down. Found the writing unbelievable. Suspenseful story, interesting characters, detailed descriptions that put you right there with Swanson. Will continue to read more from this author.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, beautifully written and austere but at the same time packed with feeling.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book club choice

[Mike Futcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'm going to tell you about a miracle." (pg. 186)

At its core, St. Agnes' Stand is a straightforward classic western. Its characters operate on that simple, honest morality of the frontier - where you do what feels right, what allows you to retain respect for yourself, and where respect is more important than admiration. The main character, Nat Swanson, is the embodiment of this: the classic Western hero, who "didn't look for trouble... but [who] never looked away, either" (pg. 79). He helps Sister Agnes and her group because of his simple code of morality. He could flee easily from the Apache siege, but chooses to help because his conscience would not allow otherwise: "he could leave them, but he could never escape them" (pg. 62).

The other characters also have this morality, even the white men who pursue Nat after he killed one of their friends in a fair fight: "They weren't cold-blooded killers. They were simply men who stood up for friendship" (pg. 185). If there is one mis-step by the author, it is that the Apaches' morality is not as coherent. They commit some reprehensible depravities in the course of the novel, but by the end I get the feeling Eidson wants us to respect their meeting with Swanson's group as reconciliation, as a clash between two codes of morality which are not all that different in the end. It does not convince and is perhaps the only weakness in the novel.

Indeed, the novel itself is a great piece of storytelling. The pacing is good and the language is clean and bracing, so that I read the entire book in one sitting without once feeling bored or fatigued. Some of the plot pivots seem improbable, such as the outstretched arms of the nun on page 86 and the stormy waves on page 166, and Swanson has that Hollywood-movie-trope tendency to keep fighting and shrug off even a broken arm, a bullet in the leg, etc. But the events never make the reader scoff and they don't veer into deus ex machina territory, although it does occasionally teeter on the edge. Eidson leaves it ambiguous about the hidden power behind the course of events; one may see God's hand in the group's 'miracle' of deliverance, but His hand never moves clumsily or obviously, and one can enjoy the novel whilst swatting It away (as I chose to do). Overall, the story is a classic throwback western when men were men and the world was black and white, not shades of gray. It makes for a quick, pleasing and refreshing story which I would recommend.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

St Agnes’ Stand is set in New Mexico, and is a classic story of the American West. Although I would classify this as a Western, it is not an average Western and deals with good triumphing over evil, faith and religion, struggle; both spiritually and physically, hope and finally redemption.
Nat Swanson is a stereotypical western hero, on the run from a mob of Texas cowboys. He has killed a man in a fair fight, but the man’s friends believe he was shot in the back and set out to string Swanson up for murder. Having taken a bullet in his leg, he is slow to evade his pursuers and with the posse closing in, his chances of survival look slim. Trying desperately to get to sanctuary in California, he comes upon two freight wagons besieged by Apaches, and, against his better judgment, stops to help. He kills one of the Indians, buying time for whoever survives behind the wagons. Thinking he's done his good deed, he continues his flight. One of those trapped, however, is 76-year-old Sister Agnes, who prays to God for a man to deliver her, her fellow nuns and the seven orphans they are transporting.
Sister Agnes is convinced that Nat Swanson has been sent by God to rescue them. Swanson is equally convinced that the best they can hope for is not to be taken alive. And for five gruesome days in the blazing heat and dust, faith fights with humanity for the simple right to exist. The novel switches between the viewpoints of Swanson, Sister St Agnes and Locan.

Everyone in the group agreed that this is not the normal sort of novel that they would read, but the general consensus was that everyone enjoyed it. Questions were raised about the plausibility of some of the actions of the hero, how he managed to climb up the side of a mountain with a broken arm and bullet wounds. Additionally, how a team of horses would have gotten away from the Apache without being heard. Some felt that the level of description of some of the torture inflicted by the Apache’s was too graphic and felt unnecessary. A book which surprised most by how much they actually enjoyed reading it.

[Philip Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short Western that was entertaining enough but won't linger long in my memory. Our cowboy protagonist to steps in to rescue three nuns and some orphans from the Apaches, with the help of his trusty canine companion - "Dog". It starts well enough, spare prose well-suited to the desert terrain, a mean ornery anti-hero (Nate Swanson) who only looks out for himself and sure ain't no hero...yeah, right (think Han Solo on horseback).

Unfortunately, it didn't quite grip me, largely down to our hero's miraculous ability to bypass the besieging Apaches at will (despite a leg wound, broken arm and sunstroke). Even the nuns and children wander in & out without being caught. Otherwise the plot is satisfactory enough, albeit with a heavy dollop of schmaltz. My last Western was the prequel to 'Lonesome Dove', so perhaps my standards were too high. It was fine just didn't quite live up to the hype for this pilgrim.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cowboy riding west for a fresh start comes across wagons being attacked by red indians. He could ride on or be foolhardy & try to help.

Not for a long time have I felt so invested in a novel’s characters as I did with this small well-drawn cast, willing Nat, the nuns & the children on.

Edison brings the harsh terrain & story to life. He appalled me with descriptions of shocking torture & made me cry more than once, wringing my emotions. Great characterisations of both the westerners & their tormentors. And a novel that in its few pages shows the worst of being human, but also huge-heartedly the power of the human spirit (oh, and the bond between man & dog).

I couldn’t guess the outcome, and read throughout with equal measures of hope and dread.