Love is a Wild Assault
Nov 2, 2005
Reviewed by: Lolly
Elithe Hamilton Kirkland.
ISBN 0-940672-58-8
Shearer Publishing, 1984
Ever since Idgie began this Book Review section, I’ve wanted to write a review of this book, but I’ve hesitated and approached the task with caution because it is an extraordinary book, deserving of a worthy review, and I hope that is what this proves to be. This book ranks among the top three on my list of most favorite books. While this place of honor is shared with a couple of other books that I greedily (and perhaps shyly) keep only to myself, “Wild Assault” is one I proudly claim and even try to promote. I’ve given it as gifts to friends, family members, and libraries. I buy a copy of it whenever I find myself in the bookstore with a few extra bucks. You could say I believe in it. But enough with my rambling. You want to know what the book is about, don’t you?
The local bookstore shelves it in the “Books About Texas” section. For the most part, it takes place in Texas during its days as a Republic. But it’s the story of Harriet, a brave and beautiful young woman who lived an extraordinary life and became a legend among the Caddo Lake region of East Texas. The book’s flap jacket calls it a biographical novel, for Kirkland weaves the true historical account of “The Bravest Woman in the Republic of Texas” with a delightful story of Harriet’s spirited granddaughter, Tricky, who must learn to brave her own frontier, drawing upon the courage which is her birthright and the wisdom found among the handwritten pages sewn between the seams of the thick golden brocade cloth of her grandmother’s feather mattress.
Kirkland’s skillful creation recounts Harriet’s story as it begins in Nashville with marriage to a charming gambler who risks everything as he moves his young family to the wilds of Texas during its fight for freedom from Mexico. Harriet’s journey to legendhood will take her from the Gulf Coast of Texas to beautiful Caddo Lake, encountering wild animals, Indians, fur traders, and outlaws. She’ll eventually have several husbands and more children than you can imagine! But anyone who knows East Texas or wants to know East Texas will be captivated by this book. And anyone who enjoys a rich story, superbly written, will fall in love with “Love Is A Wild Assault.”
