Author: Kathleen Grissom

The New York Times bestselling author of "The Kitchen House" and "Glory Over Everything" discusses her latest novel "Crow Mary." Tea and cookies will be served.

About the Book:  

In 1872, 16-year-old Goes First, a Crow Native woman, marries Abe Farwell, a white fur trader. He gives her the name Mary, and they set off on the long trip to his trading post in Saskatchewan, Canada. Along the way, she finds a fast friend in a Métis named Jeannie; makes a lifelong enemy in a wolfer named Stiller; and despite learning a dark secret of Farwell’s past, falls in love with her husband.

The winter trading season passes peacefully. Then, on the eve of their return to Montana, a group of drunken whiskey traders slaughters 40 Nakota—despite Farwell’s efforts to stop them. Mary, hiding from the hail of bullets, sees the murderers, including Stiller, take five Nakota women back to their fort. She begs Farwell to save them, and when he refuses, Mary takes two guns, creeps into the fort, and saves the women from certain death. Thus, she sets off a whirlwind of colliding cultures that brings out the worst and best in the cast of unforgettable characters and pushes the love between Farwell and Crow Mary to the breaking point.

Inspired by the real life of Crow Mary, an Indigenous woman in 19th-century North America, this novel sweeps across decades, showcasing the beauty of the natural world, while probing the intimacies of a marriage and one woman’s heart.

About the Author: 

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Kathleen Grissom is now happily rooted in south-side Virginia. She is the New York Times bestselling author of "The Kitchen House," "Glory Over Everything" and "Crow Mary." Learn more at KathleenGrissom.com.

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