Dancing at the Rascal Fair

Doig, Ivan

ISBN 10: 0689117647 / ISBN 13: 9780689117640

Published by Atheneum, 1987

About this Item

First edition, first impression. No inscriptions or markings. Light tan to page block. Unclipped dust jacket, gentle rubbing to spine top and corners, slight fading to spine (all titling remaining clear). Inside flaps and verso of dust jacket lightly sun-toned to the top edges. Quarter red cloth and orange paper boards with gilt titling, bright and fine, to the spine and upper board. Clean and sharp. 405pp.

Seller Inventory # 1640

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dancing at the Rascal Fair
• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689117647
• ISBN 13: 9780689117640
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good +
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

From a Scottish port, nineteen-year-olds Angus McCaskill and Rob Barclay embark on a new life in America as homesteaders in Montana, in this novel of the uncertainties of friendship and love

Reviews

Montana's rugged Two Medicine country, memorably evoked in the author's nonfiction memoir This House of Sky and the novel English Creek, once again shapes personalities and destinies in his new work. In 1889, two young Scotsmen, Rob Barclay and Angus McCaskill (grandfather of the narrator of English Creek, arrive in Montana, where for 30 years they struggle to find personal happiness and wrest a living from this demanding land. After losing the woman he loves, Angus marries Rob's sister Adair; their difficult relationship creates conflict, and then a bitter breach, between the two men. But if the thorny individualism of Rob and Angus results in lives that are never easy, they are rich in incident and growth, beautifully described in Doig's strong, savory prose. America's frontier history comes vividly to life in this absorbing saga filled with memorable characters. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The settlement of Montana between 1890 and 1919 is recounted through the quiet but compelling life of Angus McCaskill, a young Scotsman who travels with his friend Rob Barclay to Montana's Two Medicine Country to homestead. Doig writes fervently of the voyage from Scotland and the lean first years, as the two share the work and hardship of establishing claims and building up flocks of sheep. He tells of their separate marriages, the severing of their friendship, and the final resolution of their conflict through death. Doig successfully recaptures the violence of the Montana elements and the staunch heritage of the Scottish settlers which served so well in his earlier novel English Creek and faithfully represents the struggle for survival on the frontier as he continues the McCaskills' story. Highly recommended. Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.