Carolyn Dale’s novel, Sylvie’s Chance, about a young woman forging a life on the 1830s frontiers of Illinois and Texas, is receiving praise from a bevy of readers:
“Official histories have lost many stories about women, and starting with a family genealogy holding only traces of an adventurous young woman in the mid-1800s, Sylvie’s Chance creatively assembles a riveting novel about courage and independence.” – Anna Eblen, Fevers of Unknown Origin; Women Who Speak for Peace
“A young woman struggles for a say in her own future in frontier America. From broad panoramas to enticing domestic details, Sylvie’s Chance offers an unusual view of the 1830s, as bicultural and bilingual Sylvie breaks away from French-colonial life in Illinois to a freer life in Texas only to be confronted with war and the fears, joys, and moral complexities of the struggle for land and livelihood.” — Sarah Brownsberger, poet, essayist and translator.
“Amid beautiful descriptions of a still young United States, in Sylvie’s Chance, Carolyn Dale expertly weaves the tale of adventurer Sylvie Pensoneau, from her youth as an orphan to being a settler, war refugee, journalist, and young mother.
Sylvie’s story represents the bravery and determination of so many women in the 1830s who dared to pursue the chance to create a new life for themselves. An excellent work of historical fiction.” – Penny Page, Not Haunted
“Carolyn Dale has written something really special here – intellectually rigorous historical fiction that defies easy description.
What I find truly fascinating are the tempo, pace, and range of the story, with a cadence that captures the age without being quaint.” – Glen Larum, Waltz Against the Sky. Kirkus Best Indie Debut Novel 2019; Leaving Montana: collected poems and a memoir, A Longtime Gone
Cairn Shadow Press president, Tim Pilgrim, noted that this is the second Dale novel to be embraced immediately and acclaimed widely. Both novels have received five-star ratings on Amazon by readers.
Dale has indicated she will begin giving bookstore readings for each novel after the coronavirus is curtailed and literary establishments again permit such events. In the meantime, readers can find helpful guidance regarding the novels at this site — and can purchase both online at independent bookstores and other online vendors.