Sara Donati's novel Dawn on a Distant Shore picks up soon after the conclusion of her prior book, Into the Wilderness. In the winter of 1794, on the edge of the New York wilderness, Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have settled into the comforts of domestic bliss. Typically, however, adventure seeks these two out. Alone but for her stepdaughter Hannah, Elizabeth gives birth to twins, while Nathaniel and his father Hawkeye are imprisoned in Montreal. Determined to help her men, Elizabeth packs up the children and sets off to free them. Liberty does not bring relief to the Bonner clan, however, as sinister forces conspire to pirate them to Scotland and embroil them in a complex family feud.

History and adventure are slathered on thickly throughout this epic tale. Donati's talent for dialect and detail bring the large cast of characters to life, though the steady pace of dramatic catastrophe is somewhat exhausting. Will our heroes never get a break? Fans of Donati's earlier work will enjoy seeing the familiar characters, but new readers would benefit by reading the books in the series in order. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien


From Publishers Weekly
In her second foray into the genre, Donati's sequel to Into the Wilderness continues the saga of hunter and trapper Nathaniel Bonner and his wife, Elizabeth, a couple living in upper New York State, America's eastern frontier at the end of the 18th century. As established in the first book, Nathaniel is the son of Scottish-born Daniel "Hawkeye" Bonner, who was raised by Mohawks. The drama is as intriguing as a TV miniseries, and in the conventions of the genre, the dialogue can be stilted and heavy-handed: "'I want you, yes,' she hissed. Because she could not lie to him, or herself. 'But I can't, I can't.'" After celebrating the birth of twins, Nathaniel travels to Canada, where his father has been arrested by the British, to aid his escape. They are discovered, however, and Nathaniel, too, is imprisoned as a spy. Concerned that Nathaniel and Hawkeye will hang if convicted, a worried, brave Elizabeth treks through the wilderness to find her husband, taking along their babies and Nathaniel's 10-year-old daughter from his first marriage. Through a series of intrigues and deceptions, the twins are kidnapped and, to retrieve them, the Bonners are forced to sail to Scotland, where the Earl of Carryck, a distant relative, is determined that these long-lost American kin claim the castle that is their birthright. His motives for taking desperate measures to draw the Bonners to Scotland are political as well as personal, as the book's conclusion reveals. But before the pieces fall together, the adventurous couple encounter much adversity (redcoats, privateers and small-minded society types, to name a few) and many interesting people, like poet Robert Burns in a cameo appearance. In fact, there are so many folks passing through the story that Donati (a pseudonym for PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author Rosina Lippi-Green) thoughtfully provides a list of major characters. The likable protagonists, a multitude of amusing secondary characters and exciting escapades make this a compelling read despite the often overblown language and melodramatic plotting. Agent, Jill Grinberg. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
When Elizabeth Bonner, fresh from childbirth, learns that her husband, Nathaniel, and his father are imprisoned in Montreal, she embarks on a voyage to save them with her infant twins, her stepdaughter, freed slave Curiosity Freeman, and Mohawk Indian Runs-from-Bears. Before returning home, she loses and regains her children; sees her husband shot; witnesses piracy, kidnapping, and murder; and sails to Scotland as part of a scheme to save the land of a laird. That all the events occur within only a few months seems incredible. As in the prequel Into the Wilderness (Bantam, 1998), Donati freely borrows elements from other authors, including James Fenimore Cooper. Her complicated plot contains numerous subplots and side issues that eventually tie together. Readers who enjoy a dollop of American history in a "bodice-ripper" will enjoy this book. It's not great literature, but it's fun.-Andrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner don't want to leave their home deep in the Adirondack mountains, but a distant cousin of Nathaniel's will stop at nothing to lure them to the Scottish home of their ancestors. The adventure includes interracial families, piracy on the high seas, murder and civil unrest. Kate Reading draws us into the story without our having been aware of her performance at all. Her thoughtful and consistent characterizations include dialects of Native American, British and Scottish characters, and the last of these is especially thorough and convincing. Her performance of the very elderly and cantankerous pirate Anne Bonnie brings the historical figure to vivid and colorful life. Reading maintains her involvement in the story right through the last tape, making the listener sorry to see it end. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Donati picks up the romantic epic of Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner shortly after the events dramatized in Into the Wilderness in this involving tale. As the second volume begins in 1794, Elizabeth gives birth to twins on the New York frontier, alone except for her young stepdaughter. While the Bonners' married life is still blissful, it is turning out to be too short-lived as word arrives that Nathaniel's father, Hawkeye, is being held in a Canadian prison. Nathaniel rushes to his rescue and then becomes a prisoner himself. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and the babies trek north through the treacherous wilderness waterways during the arduous winter, intent on freeing the Bonner men and their friends. But when they arrive, they discover that the men are already freed. Dontai's vivid re-creation of the danger and chaos of frontier life is a prelude to the novel's most exciting action, which kicks in when the Bonner twins are kidnapped by a man intent on forcing Nathaniel and Buckeye to return to Scotland, where their presence as the heirs of the earl of Carryck is in great demand. A wild race across the sea in a privateer's ship reunites the family only, in yet another reversal, to plunge them into a morass of political intrigue. Donati's skillfully told and captivating romantic historical saga brings a tumultuous era and dashing characters to life in what promises to be a very popular and rewarding series. Diana Tixier Herald

FROM OUR EDITORS

Sara Donati's extraordinary debut novel, Into the Wilderness (a loose retelling from a woman's viewpoint of The Pioneers, James Fenimore Cooper's sequel to The Last of the Mohicans) now has its own sequel. In the first book in the Wilderness series, set in the wilds of the New York frontier in 1792, Englishwoman Elizabeth Middleton met and married Nathaniel Bonner, a white man adopted into the Mohawk tribe. As Dawn on a Distant Shore opens, Elizabeth and Nathaniel's marriage is about to be blessed with twins, but their happy family is soon divided by the news that Nathaniel's father has been imprisoned in Montreal. When Nathaniel attempts a rescue, he, too, is arrested and sentenced to be hanged as an American spy. Elizabeth risks everything to free both men — and, eventually, her efforts bring them to distant Scotland, where a wealthy and titled kinsman offers them a new future in a world they never imagined.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In an icy, untamed world of pristine beauty, a husband and wife are torn apart by fate but reunited forever by a love that can't be broken....

An unforgettable love comes alive in this masterful epic of passion, treachery, and adventure....

Award-winning author Sara Donati's debut novel, Into the Wilderness, was hailed as "one of those rare stories that let you breathe the air of another time" (Diana Gabaldon). Now, in an eloquent blend of fact and fiction, Donati re-creates her beloved characters from Into the Wilderness in an enthralling new tale of romance and adventure.

Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have settled into their life together at the edge of the New-York wilderness in the winter of 1794. But soon after Elizabeth gives birth to healthy twins, Nathaniel learns that his father has been arrested in British Canada. Forced to leave Hidden Wolf Mountain to help his father in Montreal, Nathaniel himself is imprisoned and in danger of being hanged as a spy.

In a desperate bid to save her husband, Elizabeth bundles her infants and sets out through the snowy wilderness and across treacherous waterways on the dangerous trek to Canada. But she soon discovers that freeing her husband will take every ounce of her courage and inventiveness — and will threaten her with the loss of what she loves most: her children.

Torn apart, the Bonners must embark on yet another perilous voyage, this time all the way across the ocean to the heart of Scotland, where a destiny they could never have imagined awaits them....

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In her second foray into the genre, Donati's sequel to Into the Wilderness continues the saga of hunter and trapper Nathaniel Bonner and his wife, Elizabeth, a couple living in upper New York State, America's eastern frontier at the end of the 18th century. As established in the first book, Nathaniel is the son of Scottish-born Daniel "Hawkeye" Bonner, who was raised by Mohawks. The drama is as intriguing as a TV miniseries, and in the conventions of the genre, the dialogue can be stilted and heavy-handed: "`I want you, yes,' she hissed. Because she could not lie to him, or herself. `But I can't, I can't.'" After celebrating the birth of twins, Nathaniel travels to Canada, where his father has been arrested by the British, to aid his escape. They are discovered, however, and Nathaniel, too, is imprisoned as a spy. Concerned that Nathaniel and Hawkeye will hang if convicted, a worried, brave Elizabeth treks through the wilderness to find her husband, taking along their babies and Nathaniel's 10-year-old daughter from his first marriage. Through a series of intrigues and deceptions, the twins are kidnapped and, to retrieve them, the Bonners are forced to sail to Scotland, where the Earl of Carryck, a distant relative, is determined that these long-lost American kin claim the castle that is their birthright. His motives for taking desperate measures to draw the Bonners to Scotland are political as well as personal, as the book's conclusion reveals. But before the pieces fall together, the adventurous couple encounter much adversity (redcoats, privateers and small-minded society types, to name a few) and many interesting people, like poet Robert Burns in a cameo appearance. In fact, there are so many folks passing through the story that Donati (a pseudonym for PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author Rosina Lippi-Green) thoughtfully provides a list of major characters. The likable protagonists, a multitude of amusing secondary characters and exciting escapades make this a compelling read despite the often overblown language and melodramatic plotting. Agent, Jill Grinberg. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

When Elizabeth Bonner, fresh from childbirth, learns that her husband, Nathaniel, and his father are imprisoned in Montreal, she embarks on a voyage to save them with her infant twins, her stepdaughter, freed slave Curiosity Freeman, and Mohawk Indian Runs-from-Bears. Before returning home, she loses and regains her children; sees her husband shot; witnesses piracy, kidnapping, and murder; and sails to Scotland as part of a scheme to save the land of a laird. That all the events occur within only a few months seems incredible. As in the prequel Into the Wilderness (Bantam, 1998), Donati freely borrows elements from other authors, including James Fenimore Cooper. Her complicated plot contains numerous subplots and side issues that eventually tie together. Readers who enjoy a dollop of American history in a "bodice-ripper" will enjoy this book. It's not great literature, but it's fun.--Andrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile