Reviewed for THC ReviewsI first read A Wild Yearning probably more than twenty years ago, so when I picked it up for a reread, I remembered very little about the story. I did seem to recall that I'd enjoyed it, and my reread of it proved that to be quite true. A Wild Yearning is an epic love story that spans about a year and a half from start to finish, but it never felt artificially drawn out or tedious. I love Penelope Williamson's writing style. The characters were very relatable and the plot was engaging. This is a dramatic story with lots of twists and turns that keep the hero and heroine apart for much of the book, yet unlike some other books I've read where this was the case, I always felt the love and emotional connection between them. In fact, the title is quite apt, as the author is very talented at bringing out that deep sense of yearning in both of them until they finally come together once and for all. The other thing Ms. Williamson is extremely good at is drawing the historical setting. I've always had an interest in the Colonial/Early American time period, yet it seems to be a somewhat rare setting for romances. This book not only incorporates this era, but is also very well-researched. The author really brought the setting to life with her vivid descriptions of life in a small settlement in Colonial Maine as well as the environmental details that truly made me feel like I'd been transported to another time and place. The main characters also spend time among the Abenaki Indians, which was equally as engaging. There was absolutely nothing about this book I would have changed, making it an incredibly enjoyable reread for me.Delia is the focal point of the story and a very strong female protagonist. Not that we don't get Ty's or other characters' POVs, but I felt like the book was more about Delia's journey from a grog shop serving girl in Boston to the more respectable woman she longs to be. Ever since her mother died, her father has hit the bottle pretty hard, and he's a mean drunk. He often beats her and steals the money she earns at her job to support his habit. Delia wants nothing more than to escape this life, so when she sees Ty's advertisement for a wife, she thinks it may be the answer to her prayers. She falls in love at first sight with the dashing doctor, only to find out that he placed the ad for another man from the Maine settlement where he lives. Delia and Ty's romance is one fraught with heartache, passion, and danger, but through it all Delia is a trooper. When she first meets Ty, she's very rough around the edges. Everyone, including Ty, thinks she's a fallen woman, but in reality, she had enough pride and backbone to avoid prostituting herself to earn money, a fact which I admired. More than anything, she yearns to be a respectable lady. She doesn't really know the first thing about how to accomplish that, but she's a quick learner when opportunities present themselves. The thing I loved most about Delia is that she has a huge heart with lots of selfless love to give. Perhaps because of her background, she isn't judgmental of others. She tries to see the good in everyone, even when they aren't willing to give her the same chance. She's tough as nails, a real fighter, who always tries to make the best of difficult circumstances. Even when faced with marrying a man she doesn't love and someday possibly watching the man she does love marry someone else, Delia is up to the challenge, prepared to rejoice in his happiness if that time comes. That's why she's definitely earned a spot among my favorite romance heroines.Ty is a stubborn, enigmatic alpha male with a lot of different sides to his personality. He was born into wealth and privilege, but when he was only six, his father was killed in an Indian raid, in which Ty and his mother were taken captive. As a result, he grew up among the Abenaki people with an Indian step-father he revered. He became one of them, but at the age of sixteen, his step-father insisted that he must return to his own people. Although Ty never got along with his grandfather, the man sent him to England where he was highly educated and became a doctor. He brought his knowledge back to the Colonies, where he lives in the small settlement of Merrymeeting, much to his grandfather's chagrin. I love Ty's idealistic nature and how he wants to help people and tries to stand up for the oppressed. From the moment he meets Delia, Ty is deeply attracted to her, but he has no intention of falling in love with her. After experiencing a great deal of loss in his life, he's very reluctant to love anyone. Ty's willingness to turn Delia over to marry another man after the intimacy they'd shared may be a bit hard for some readers to swallow. However, I wasn't overly perturbed by it, because it's obvious that he regrets that decision from the minute the wedding begins. He's jealous and protective, but doesn't realize that he's falling in love with her until much later when it's already too late. He has a hard time living with himself after that, but the deep abiding connection between him and Delia is still there, even as she's trying to make a life with someone else. When it seems like they can finally be together, Ty isn't the least bit shy about showing Delia just how passionately in love with her he is.The secondary characters, of which there are many, are extremely well-drawn. I felt like I got to know each one in spite of some not being on the canvas for very long. The stand-outs include, Nat, the man who Ty brought Delia to marry. He's obviously only taking another wife as a matter of necessity. As a farmer, there's much work to be done on his homestead as well as two little girls for whom to care, but Nat still deeply loves his first wife and probably shouldn't have married again so soon after her death, regardless of the need. At his heart, he's a good man though. Nat's two daughters, Meg and Tildy, were perfectly rendered. Meg is still grieving her mother, and she's the rebellious one who doesn't want a step-mother. Tildy is sweet and inquisitive and seems to love everyone, including Delia. I was also quite taken with Caleb and Elizabeth, the preacher and his wife, who travel with Ty and Delia to Merrymeeting to start a church there. They have something of a secondary romance as they work through some difficulties in their marriage. Caleb is sweet and caring, obviously loving his wife to distraction. Elizabeth is very timid and reluctant to go to a remote wilderness settlement. I loved watching her grow and change, facing the challenges set before her with grace and dignity. Her friendship with the feisty Delia and seeing the passion between Delia and Ty really helped her to come into her own.Overall, A Wild Yearning was an incredibly well-written and engaging story that I hated to see end when I turned the last page. It was a roller-coater ride I was all too happy to take with these characters. The love scenes were quite steamy and sensual for a book written in 1990, which was a plus for me, not just because I like my love scenes hot, but because they were imbued with a deep emotion and passion that I don't always find in my romance reading. I can totally see why this book won the Rita award. It's superb in every way. To the best of my recollection, A Wild Yearning is the only book I've read by Penelope Williamson, but this time around, it most certainly isn't going to be my last. I very much look forward to exploring her backlist soon.
The first book I ever read by Penelope Williamson was The Outsider and, despite the fact that its main protagonist is Amish, I dug it. I really liked that book. It struck an emotional cord with me that managed to overcome my aversion to organized religion. It was a highly emotional novel. Not melodramatic, emotional. A Wild Yearning, however, is more along the lines of melodramatic bodice ripper. This isn't to say I thought it was bad, just that it was like a lot of other melodramatic bodice rippers I've read. It was a bit contrived and heavy-handed at times, and the main protagonist, Delia, chafed my nerves a wee bit. (view spoiler)[I first saw trouble when Delia went ahead and married Nat Parkes even though she was in love with Ty. While some might see this as selfless, it most definitely was not. Her justification for marrying Nat was that that was what she'd been taken there for, there was nothing waiting for her back in Boston, she couldn't get a job in The Maine, and she could never have Ty. So while she was professing to love Ty, she married another man, sacrificing her own happiness for a home and three square a day. I know it wasn't easy for a woman in the 18th century, but really, Delia marrying Nat showed an impressive lack of fortitude. In my eyes, what she did was no different than prostituting herself. She sold herself to a man who didn't love her, whom she didn't love, all for material needs. That made me dislike Delia a great deal, right from the get-go. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about A Wild Yearning (1995)?
Penelope Williamson's historicals do not disappoint. This RITA Award winner is another one I couldn't put down and you won't go wrong getting it.Set in the wilderness of "the Maine" in the 1720's, decades prior to the French and Indian War, it tells of life on the frontier where Indian raids were frequent and the settlers faced great obstacles as they struggled to carve out a life from the rugged land. This is the story of Delia, a beautiful and courageous young girl of 17 who had a loving family in Boston until her mother died and her father became a drunk and began beating her. She worked in a tavern since she was 14, but unlike the other women, she was still a virgin. When she's given the chance to escape her miserable life and become respectable, she takes it and answers the ad placed by Dr. Tyler Savitch for a wife needed for a man in the settlement of Merrymeeting. Tyler lost his wife to sickness and has two little girls to raise. When she meets Ty, Delia instantly begins to fall in love with him, initially believing him to be the man who is seeking a wife. But when she learns it is another man who Ty represents who wants a wife. With few options, she still decides to go just to be near Ty. Ty is an unusual man. When he was 6 his father was killed and his mother and he were taken captive by Indians and raised as a chief's son until he was 16 when he was sent back to live with his grandfather who taught him the white man's ways and sent him to Edinburgh to be educated. He is a tortured soul, divided between two worlds and unsure if he can love, or if he would want to risk the loss loving would mean.Williamson paints a vivid picture of life in the wilderness with rich characters and descriptions of the places and nature. She presents a balanced approach to the Indian-white man issues of the time. I learned much from reading this yet I did not feel instructed. I loved this story and believe you will, too.
—Regan Walker
Penelope Williamson is a master. I've read nearly all of her books and I haven't been disappointed one tiny bit. PW has a wide range of writing talent and she proves it with this book. This one was much more steamier and rougher than her other books. I knew she was talented but she shows us in this book that she can pull off writing page-melting love scenes just as well as she writes everything else. She is truly an amazing storyteller and her books will constantly have you wishing that they would never end. A Wild Yearning is a wonderful tale of love and sacrifice and so much more. Delia and Ty are drawn together from the start and although many things come between them and life is not always easy and carefree, they manage to overcome every obstacle and their love for one another triumphs in the end. Delia is the type of female character that I love to see in the lead role. She is a feisty, spirited girl that gradually grows into a selfless, loving, strong-willed woman. The all-consuming love that Delia and Ty share is exactly the stuff that romance is written for...... If I am never to have you again after this night, this moment, you will remain the wife of my soul. Keeper of my heart.
—Jessa ♥dhanger♥ EvilDarkSide
Although it took a rather long time for Ty to figure out his heart, his love turned out strong and true. This was a lovely, romantic tale with rich Native American/early Maine settlers history. Delia was a very lively and strong heroine who knew her heart almost from the very beginning. She was a good match for Ty; but because he resisted her so hard and so long, they ended up in a pickle of a situation. Ty was a conflicted hero, not knowing in which world he belonged. Both grew up with overwhelming hardships but because of it, they were able to cope with, and survive, the difficult situations they faced.A Wild Yearning was appropriately titled. Emotions poured through the pages and had my heart engaged throughout its entirety. Highly recommended. 4 stars.
—Regina
