The Homesman: A Novel

by Glendon Swarthout Narrated by Candace Thaxton

Overview

Now a major film directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones and co-starring Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, and John Lithgow, this classic Western novel captures the devastating realities of early frontier life through the eyes of one extraordinary woman.

Now a major motion picture directed by Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s American West. It celebrates the ones we hear nothing of: the brave women whose hearts and minds were broken by a life of bitter hardship. A “homesman” must be found to escort a handful of them back East to a sanitarium. When none of the county's men steps up, the job falls to Mary Bee Cuddy-ex-teacher, spinster, indomitable and resourceful. Brave as she is, Mary Bee knows she cannot succeed alone. The only companion she can find is the low-life claim jumper George Briggs. Thus begins a trek east, against the tide of colonization, against hardship, Indian attacks, ice storms, and loneliness-a timeless classic told in a series of tough, fast-paced adventures.

In an unprecedented sweep, Glendon Swarthout's novel won both the Western Writers of America's Spur Award and the Western Heritage Wrangler Award. A new afterword by the author's son Miles Swarthout tells of his parents Glendon and Kathryn's discovery of and research into the lives of the oft-forgotten frontier women who make The Homesman as moving and believable as it is unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

JUNE 2014 - AudioFile

Candace Thaxton’s firm, unemotional voice reflects the hardships that broke the hearts and minds of the women who were the unsung heroines of America’s western expansion. THE HOMESMAN paints a bleak picture of pioneer life on the Nebraska prairie in the early 1850s. Four wives have come through a harsh winter in a pitiful state. With none of their husbands willing to serve as homesman, that is, to escort the wives back east to their families, Mary Bee Cuddy, spinster homesteader, steps forward and, with the help of an unsavory claim jumper, begins the perilous journey. Thaxton’s delivery is as persistent and unbending as the land and its hardships. Not for the fainthearted, this story will leave listeners with even greater respect for the women who settled the West. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Totally involving from its very first words... a dangerous journey into the soul, an exploration of the relationships of men and women to each other, to their environments and—ultimately most devastatingly—to themselves."

Elmore Leonard

"I tell friends what The Homesman is about and their eyes open wide and they can't wait to read it. And that's just the plot. Swarthout puts you there, in time and place. I love the way he writes."

Associated Press

"No reader should even attempt to guess what happens. Surprise piles upon surprise... Glendon Swarthout has honed writing excellence to a nearly unsurpassable level... A powerful novel... A classic of vivid realism and gripping storytelling."

Kansas City Star

"A finely crafted novel... told with smooth economy... re-creates a seamless and sccurate territorial Nebraska... with character so real the reader resents it when one dies."

Kansas City Star

"A finely crafted novel... told with smooth economy... re-creates a seamless and sccurate territorial Nebraska... with character so real the reader resents it when one dies."

Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Totally involving from its very first words... a dangerous journey into the soul, an exploration of the relationships of men and women to each other, to their environments and—ultimately most devastatingly—to themselves."

Associated Press Staff

"No reader should even attempt to guess what happens. Surprise piles upon surprise... Glendon Swarthout has honed writing excellence to a nearly unsurpassable level... A powerful novel... A classic of vivid realism and gripping storytelling."

JUNE 2014 - AudioFile

Candace Thaxton’s firm, unemotional voice reflects the hardships that broke the hearts and minds of the women who were the unsung heroines of America’s western expansion. THE HOMESMAN paints a bleak picture of pioneer life on the Nebraska prairie in the early 1850s. Four wives have come through a harsh winter in a pitiful state. With none of their husbands willing to serve as homesman, that is, to escort the wives back east to their families, Mary Bee Cuddy, spinster homesteader, steps forward and, with the help of an unsavory claim jumper, begins the perilous journey. Thaxton’s delivery is as persistent and unbending as the land and its hardships. Not for the fainthearted, this story will leave listeners with even greater respect for the women who settled the West. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170682720
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	02/11/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

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