The Diary of Mattie Spenser
Written by Sandra Dallas
Narrated by Celeste Ciulla
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
Sandra Dallas
SANDRA DALLAS, dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley in Vogue Magazine, is the author of over a dozen novels, including Little Souls and Where Coyotes Howl, many translated into a dozen languages and optioned for films. Six-time winner of the Willa Award and four-time winner of the Spur Award, Dallas was a Business Week reporter for 35 years, and began writing fiction in 1990. She has two daughters and lives with her husband in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado.
More audiobooks from Sandra Dallas
The Persian Pickle Club Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Coyotes Howl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Midwife Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tallgrass: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5True Sisters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice's Tulips Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Quilt for Christmas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Westering Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New Mercies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fallen Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiter Than Snow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Patchwork Bride Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Buster Midnight's Cafe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chili Queen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bride's House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Diary of Mattie Spenser
Related audiobooks
The Bride's House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiter Than Snow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Westering Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fallen Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chili Queen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Quilt for Christmas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Glovemaker: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Buster Midnight's Cafe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Calico Palace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice's Tulips Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Women of the Copper Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prayers for Sale: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Patchwork Bride Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jubilee Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Light in the Wilderness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Education of Dixie Dupree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Road from Gap Creek Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Celia Garth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cotillion Brigade: A Novel of the Civil War and the Most Famous Female Militia in American History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Deep Summer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic of Ordinary Days: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Little Hopes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Light of Northern Fires: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road to Bittersweet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaskan Wilderness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New Mercies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Historical Fiction For You
Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hang the Moon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alice Network: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Apothecary: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Lost Names Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weyward: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5That Bonesetter Woman: the new feelgood novel from the author of The Smallest Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragon Teeth: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Yellow Wife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Neon Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5West with Giraffes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reformatory: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clan of the Cave Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The River We Remember: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5News of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crooked House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Tent - 20th Anniversary Edition: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Diary of Mattie Spenser
33 ratings15 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really enjoyed this book. it was my first Sandra Dallas book and liked it so much I decided I wanted to read more books by her.
4.5 - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This novel is organized as a story told as a series of journal entries, all framed by a modern setting. As the journal of an early pioneer to the Colorado Territory, this story is charming and heartbreaking and hard. Men and women suffered greatly as they attempted to wrest a living from the prairie. On top of the difficulties of setting, Mattie has to suffer the more universal difficulties of betrayal and humiliation. Still, there is redemption in this novel, bought at a high price. Wonderful book.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This was a very slow going book for me. The only chapters that were interesting were the last two chapters. The characters were very shallow and not very likable.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the kind of book I particularly enjoy. It has a strong female character and is set in the American West. Mattie grows from a young bride to a wise woman. There are so many tragedies in this story but perhaps that was the reality for the time and place. The supporting cast is well developed and memorable. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have recommended this one to numerous people in the past 3 years. This is based on a real diary written by a young bride who left her home in Iowa to help her new husband settle in Colorado territory. Real life adventures, challenges, blessings and heartaches. A woman's story with a woman's perspective.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A young woman who is newly married describes through her diary the wagon train trip she makes to settle in the west during the mid 1800's.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A young woman from Iowa makes a hasty marriage and travels to Colorado in a covered wagon in 1865. She records her difficult life with a gentle but authoritarian husband. Several years and many heartaches later, she makes the decision to stick it out with him because she sees no alternative for a woman of her time. But she is a strong woman, and she will not be lorded over forever. Very good -- and engrossing one night read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing and Infuriating...This is terrific story told from the perspective of a young pioneer bride settling in Colorado territory. I call this amazing since it IS amazing that people could survive and thrive under such hardships, harsh weather, Indian attacks, and above all the isolation. It is infuriating because not only does Mattie have to overcome the elements... her worst enemies are her 'friends'. It is no secret that humans are and have been throughout history, bigoted, racist, & misogynistic. Mattie deals with these issues, and rises above...5 stars; highly recommended
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed this book right from the beginning and the ending was really satisfying to read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting historical read but not very uplifting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Told in the form of diary entries, this is the story of Mattie Spenser, who finds herself marrying the most eligible bachelor in Ft. Madison, Iowa and then heading west into the Colorado territory with him. Mattie's diary accurately describes the hardships as well as the joys of homesteading on the western prairies and the camaraderie of a disparate group of neighbors. As Their first year of homesteading comes to an end, Mattie & Luke decide to celebrate with a week in Denver and it is there that Mattie discovers the sad truth of her husband's real object of affection. In learning to deal with this sad fact of life, she then finds love in a most unexpected corner.Told with honesty, warmth and humor, this book was a heartwarming read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Liked the character of Mattie very much, she was spunky and tough, yet really just wanted someone to love her. Life for these early settler was unbelievably hard, the Indians, the lack of resources, but I think mostly it was all the babies dying and the illnesses that had no cure that would have gotten to me the most. They had so little control over anything. Liked that at the end the reader does find out what happened with Mattie and Luke and that Mattie finally seemed to find happiness of a sort.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I totally enjoyed my trip back to 1866 and learning about the life of the pioneer woman that I met through The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas. This book was like reading a series of letters from a close friend. Through her personal journal I learned about travelling across the prairies in a covered wagon, homesteading in a bleak and barren land, living in a sod house and the trials of being cut off from family and friends.The people who ventured away from their secure lives and tackled this adventure were truly a breed apart. From hostile Indians, severe weather conditions, back breaking labour, and assorted dangers they forged a new life and prepared a land for future generations.Written in a straightforward, sincere manner, we are taken into the inner life of this woman and faced with her all the heartbreak she had to endure from learning she had always been second choice in her husband’s heart, to losing her babies, and growing old before her time. Yet even with all this she was able to shine through and forge a good life for herself and her family. I highly recommend The Diary of Mattie Spenser to anyone who has an interest in the westward expansion of America.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I found this book at a Garage Sale for a buck. One of the best dollars I have spent in along time. I was so pleasantly surprised. I think I had been wanting to read a story like this. The Diary of Mattie Spenser follow Mattie as she marries and moves out west. During that time she endures many hardships but always stays strong. I would highly recommend this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I just loved this book! I’m a big fan of stories of the westward movement and this did not disappoint!