Are You Reading The Duchess of Idaho?

Here is a huge thank you to those of you who purchased The Duchess of Idaho, a time-travel love story set on the Oregon Trail. The Duchess of Idaho was #6 on the Time Travel Romance chart on Amazon and #4 on the Amazon Hot New Release chart in Time Travel Romance, which was unexpected but much appreciated.

Learning About History is a Good Reason to Write Historical Fiction

One of the reasons I love writing historical fiction is because I get to learn about the various era of history I’m writing about. Of course, I would make my life a lot easier if I would concentrate on just one historical period, but what fun is that?

Yes, I make more work for myself because I have to research a whole new era for each book I write, but I love the challenge of incorporating each new era into my fiction. And quite frankly, I’m a history nerd who loves learning new things.

I tend to choose historical eras for my fiction that I know nothing about. I’ve had to learn about Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials, Biblical Jerusalem, the American women’s suffrage movement, and most recently I had to learn about life on the Oregon Trail in order to write The Duchess of Idaho.

What Was Life Like on the Oregon Trail?

The 2000-mile journey west was treacherous, grueling, and so, so dangerous. Travelers didn’t know what they would face from day to day. Yes, there were lighter moments. There was song and dance and sometimes something to celebrate like a birth or a wedding. Lasting friendships were made. Learning about the Oregon Trail was difficult because there was so much devastation along the way, but it reminded me of the resilience of the human spirit, a lesson we’re in dire need of today. 

Important Books About the Oregon Trail

Many books were indispensable in helping me bring this fascinating era in American history to life. One of my main goals while writing historical fiction is bringing history to life in a way that readers become interested in learning more. Hopefully, the readers are interested enough that they will then seek out nonfiction accounts.

Here are some of the books that helped me bring the Oregon Trail to life.

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck

I’ve mentioned The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck before because I love it so much. It’s a wonderful account of how Buck and his brother follow the Oregon Trail in a white-covered wagon in modern-day America. The book is filled with interesting tidbits about the trail itself, but it’s also about family and how strangers can become instant friends.

The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman

The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman is a classic account of his time spent traveling west in the 1840s when he was 23. Many of his experiences are the same as those who traveled the Oregon Trail itself. Parkman was particularly obsessed with killing buffalo, as were many of the men traveling west.

However, beware. This book was written in the 19th century and it reads like it was written in the 19th century. Not long into the book I began thinking, okay, we don’t talk about people that way anymore. If you’re sensitive to the insensitivities that some have had toward those who were different than themselves, you may want to skip this one. If you can do as I did and hold your nose when Parkman describes Native Americans and others, you can find some insightful information about traveling the plains and the pioneering spirit.

All About American Pioneer Cooking

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I missed my calling in this life–I should have been a food historian. This book is a wonderful look at pioneer recipes. While the food wasn’t fancy on the trail and the recipes were simple, the meals were hearty enough to see travelers across 2000 miles.

Threads of the Past: Stories of Pioneer Women and their Quilts by Lanie Tiffenback

If you’ve read The Duchess of Idaho then you know that quilting has a role to play in the story. It’s a small role that will grow larger with the next book in the Grace trilogy, The Princess of Painted Skies. I love learning about the culture of the societies I write about, and quilting was an important part of women’s culture during the pioneer and homesteading movement.

Seeing the Elephant: Voices From the Oregon Trail by Joyce Badgley Hunsaker

One of the cool things about studying the Oregon Trail is the sheer amount of primary sources from the era, mainly in the form of diaries and journals from women who traveled the trail. Yes, some men kept journals too, but primarily it was the women who documented the perilous trek.

Seeing the Elephant: Voices From the Oregon Trail is a look at some of those voices. In fact, there are numerous compilations of journals and diaries from the era. Many are worth a look.

Daily Life in a Covered Wagon by Paul Erickson

I’ve also made no secret of the fact that I love children’s books when I’m researching a historical era. If you’re inspired by photographs and pictures as I am, children’s books are a great way to discover some important information. Nearly everything I learned about the white-covered prairie schooners came from Daily Life in a Covered Wagon by Paul Erickson.

This is just a short list. There are other books that helped me bring the Oregon Trail to life, including Covered Wagon Women: Diaries and Letters From the Western Trail Volumes 1-5 by Kenneth L. Holmes et al, Pioneer Women: The Lives of Women on the Frontier by Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith, and The Pioneers by David McCullough, which isn’t specifically about the Oregon Trail but gives a wonderful insight into the pioneering spirit.

In case you’re wondering, I did play the Oregon Trail video game. For research purposes, of course.