The Wings of Morning
Karen Harper, Author Dutton Books $20 (384p) ISBN 978-0-525-93614-5
Well researched, meticulously detailed and written in agile prose, Harper's second historical novel (after Circle of Gold ) is set in three colorful locations in the 1850s. She first evokes life on the Scottish Island of St. Kilda, where young widow Abigail MacQueen is further bereaved when her infant son dies of a mysterious illness that kills many other newborns in her village. Determined to find the cause of the disease, Abigail leaves her small community to do further investigation in England. She weds American sea captain Morgan West, but tragedy strikes again when he dies in the Civil War. Abigail then finds refuge in the house Morgan had built on Sanibel Island, Fla., where she works to protect both the bird population and fleeing slaves. Harper's multi-plotted adventure/romance is richly textured, and her depiction of the St. Kilda islanders' cottage industry occupations (dye making, feather gathering, fabric weaving) is colorful and informative. While the narrative is initially somewhat off-putting because of the Scottish dialect, the marriage of authentic background material--especially the facts about the actual epidemic of infant deaths-- and the varied settings will keep readers engrossed. (June)
Details
Reviewed on: 05/31/1993
Release date: 06/01/1993
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 238 pages - 9780387245058
Hardcover - 90 pages - 9780309531795
Paperback - 103 pages - 9783540245117
Paperback - 146 pages - 9781578393374
Paperback - 224 pages - 9780415230100
Hardcover - 890 pages - 9780421859609
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Paperback - 112 pages - 9780595333318
Hardcover - 1958 pages - 9781402033872
Paperback - 140 pages - 9780595334711
Compact Disc - 6 pages - 9780739321058
Hardcover - 132 pages - 9788474969689
Hardcover - 363 pages - 9781402034022
Hardcover - 335 pages - 9780691124070
Paperback - 168 pages - 9780759946736
Library Binding - 128 pages - 9780737732214