Thad Carhart is a person between countries and cultures. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, living in Paris. These opportunities and challenges in his own life seem to have led to his interest in the life of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau (son of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau).
Plot Summary: The story starts with Baptiste's birth and gives us an overview of his travel with Sacagawea on her expedition with Lewis & Clark and their Corps of Discovery from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean. We are introduced to his parents' lives lived among different cultures in the American West -- from the Shoshone culture of his mother's childhood, the Mandan culture of her adulthood, and his father's French trapper culture to the newly-developing American frontier culture.
After the expedition, Baptiste grows up in St. Louis, under the supervision of General Clark, and begins following in his father's footsteps as a trapper and guide among the local Indian tribes and lands. While he spends summers with the Mandan tribe, Baptiste is never really part of their community. He is also never truly part of the white man's culture in the town St. Louis is becoming.
When he is about 18, he meets Paul Wilhelm, a duke from the kingdom of Wurttemburg (part of present-day Germany). Paul hires Baptiste as a guide and is so pleased with his knowledge of the local cultures and wildlife that he asks Baptiste to accompany him back to Europe to help as a reference for the book he is writing about North America and to organize the items Paul is bringing back to start a museum of the Americas.
The bulk of the novel takes place during the years that Baptiste spends in Europe, comparing his experiences and skills from the New World with the European culture of the 1820s.
My Reaction: I knew some about Sacagawea and the Lewis & Clark expedition from school, including the fact that she had a baby with her during the trip. I have to admit, I'd never really thought about what life would be like in the midst of all that change for that child. Baptiste's meeting with Paul in 1823 and his trip to Europe between 1824 and 1829 are historically documented. What led to that meeting, and what happened during that trip, are the story (based on American and European history) Thad creates for his readers.
I loved the detailed descriptions of life in the American West juxtaposed with the European castles and sophistication. I was even more interested in trying to understand the power structures and political strains of both the St. Louis culture and the very formal Wurttemburg society.
Bottom Line: Usually when I read historical fiction, it's romances that are heavy on the fiction with a smattering of history. This novel is still fun to read, but heavier on the history, and respectful of the actual lives Thad is trying to describe. Definitely lots to think about.
(Thank you to FSB Associates for my review copy of this book.)
I just finished reading Steamed by Katie MacAlister.
