Title: Stillwater
Author: Nicole Helget
Author: Nicole Helget
Publication Information: Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, hardcover, 2014, ISBN 0547898207
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 19th century Minnesota
Plot:
Clement and Angel are twins left at a small orphanage in the frontier town of
Stillwater, Minnesota. Angel, adopted
by a wealthy local couple, is the victim of Munchausen by proxy
syndrome, while
her brother, Clement, left cruelly behind at the orphanage, is cared for by the
headmistress nun and an elderly Indian, Big Waters. Stillwater Home for Orphans is also an
important stop on the Underground Railroad, and even as a child Clement becomes
involved in the transport of this precious commodity – human lives. Davis, the son of one unfortunate runaway
slave, is taken in by the kindhearted women in Stillwater’s brothel, The Red
Swan (their antics provide some humorous relief to the dark depiction of
frontier life). As the three children
grow up, their lives remain connected although Angel’s marriage causes heartbreak
to Davis, causing him to enlist with Clement in the Stillwater Guard of the
First Minnesota (shades of Emily Webster’s grandfather!). Depiction of life in the Union Army makes
even the turmoil of Stillwater seem like a picnic.
