BA in English, Oberlin College, Ohio, 1984. No one was surprised that I went there; I was made for such a progressive, liberal place. Here again, are the same problems as in Burning Bright: pacing horribly off, misfocused plotting, odd and dissatisfying plot twists, and characters you like, but could pass in the street and not recognise due to how 'average Joe' or just nice they are.

Their youngest child Robert is wandering through Gold Rush California. Restless and haunted by the broken family he left behind, he has made his way alone across the country. In the redwood and giant sequoia groves he finds some solace, collecting seeds for a naturalist who sells plants from the new world to the gardeners of England. But you can run only so far, even in America, and when Robert's past makes an unexpected appearance he must decide whether to strike out again or stake his own claim to a home at last. Chevalier is a master at foregrounding the small, dramatic stories of overlooked people from the past.” Before writing, was a reference book editor, working on encyclopedias about writers. (Yup, still nerdy.) Learned how to research and how to make sentences better. Eventually I wanted to fix my own sentences rather than others’, so I quit and did the MA. Yes, this is a grim tale but amid the doom and gloom there is the tiniest glimmer of hope – a sense that those sequoia seedlings might take root and begin anew.The search for happiness, the complex entanglements of family life, and people’s reactions to trying circumstances: these themes are familiar and universal. What makes Chevalier’s eighth novel distinctive is how she links them to the mid-19 th century world of trees and the care she takes with her realistic characters. It also moves beautifully between different styles and viewpoints, and the plot offers many surprises. Robert is the youngest in the Goodenough family and this story really belongs to him. We get his travelogue through letters he writes home to his family. Once Robert settles in with an English botanist, his story unfolds in regular chapters. While Robert isn't always a completely engaging character, his story is interesting and the people with which he surrounds himself is equally of importance. A very depressing story in the beginning, historically interesting for the second part, but much time spent on apples and seeds. More time spent on the historical than in fleshing out the characters, or so I felt. Molly, who appears in the second half of the novel brings a welcome and refreshing, even uplifting boost to this novel. Not until them last part did we get a better understanding of Robert and it was this part of the book I enjoyed the most. So a mixed reaction from me, loved the writing, the story was interesting but I felt it was a little disconnected. Definitely worth reading though. As always appreciated the author's note which lets the reader know what was factual and what was fiction. Audiobook Notes: This is one of my favorite audiobooks because the narrators are SPOT ON. Mark Bramhall, Hillary Huber, Kirby Heyborne, and Cassandra Morris just nailed their parts beautifully. Shout out to Hillary Huber for making Sadie Goodenough sound so hateful and angry and pathetic! I 100% recommend listening to this one because it is so darn good. A well written tale about people with courage, including strong women who make the best of what life offers.”

After Robert does not hear from his family for 17 years, he finally gives up trying to communicate with them. Everything about this communication is foreign to us in an age where technology minimizes great distances. Discuss the real costs of leaving your family in the era this book is set. Would you be able to make this kind of choice? I am a huge fan of Tracy Chevalier and have read all of her previous novels, I've been very excited about this one since I heard about it late last year. MA in creative writing, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, 1994. There’s a lot of debate about whether or not you can be taught to write. Why doesn’t anyone ask that of professional singers, painters, dancers? That year forced me to write all the time and take it seriously. With impeccable research and flawless prose, Chevalier perfectly conjures the grandeur of the pristine Wild West Robertencounters, the bawdiness of the period, and the commanding needs of the everyday adventurers ­— male and female — who were bold enough or foolish enough to be drawn to the unknown. She crafts for us an excellent experience.”

Excellently researched…brings to life a seminal chapter in American history…A compelling look at what was lost and gained in westward expansion.” October 1962 in Washington, DC. Youngest of 3 children. Father was a photographer for The Washington Post. My thanks to Penguin Viking and Net Galley for providing a digital copy of this novel for review purposes. -

This book was another example of that. Up until almost two thirds of the way through I was wondering what the point was. That's not to say I wasn't enjoying the book, as I was happy to follow the two generations of the Goodenough family and the apples they grow which provide the central theme, but I was often wondering where the story was going, who was meant to be the protagonist etc.... We start with the family and their efforts to settle in this swamp, and then we travel with young Robert, the eldest son as he travels westward, working different jobs until he meets Hobbs and find employment with him collecting seeds and comes. We don't know why he left his family and won't until the third part of the book.However, there's a situation yet to come involving Robert's sometimes-lover Molly, and his long-lost sister. More tragedy waits in the offing. Discuss the transformation of Robert & Molly’s relationship. At what point does it deepen? Would you have gambled on Robert as Molly does? Did Robert make the right choice in leaving the family? What might have become of the Goodenoughs if he had not left? How might Martha’s life be different? What do you think would have happened to him? Summary of At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier by Instaread is an excellent analysis of this novel about a dysfunctional family in America of the 1830s and 40s, the time of Manifest Destiny and America’s march to the Pacific. An excellent overview of the history and culture of the country told through the experiences of one family. Their youngest child Robert is wandering through Gold Rush California. Restless and haunted by the broken family he left behind, he has made his way alone across the country. In the redwood and giant sequoia groves he finds some solace, collecting seeds for a naturalist who sells plants from the new world to the gardeners of England. But you can run only so far, even in America, and when Robert s past makes an unexpected appearance he must decide whether to strike out again or stake his own claim to a home at last.

Robert runs away, generally westward, and winds up in California where he meets William Lobb, a plant collector who sends seeds and seedlings to England. Robert soon becomes William's right hand. Meanwhile, Robert also reconnects with a former lover, Molly Jones. Martha's life continues to be harsh. She is raped by a neighbor and later by her own brother, who fathers the child she is carrying when she learns that Robert is in California. She reaches Robert just as Molly announces that she is also carrying a child, and that it is likely Robert's. Sadie’s mistakes and aggressions are the ones that propel the plot in the first half of the book. What did you think about her character? Discuss the ways the author makes Sadie’s behavior more understandable or sympathetic. In what ways is James responsible for the family’s strife? What would this novel be like without Sadie?Many readers did not like the Goodenough parents - James and Sadie. I found them and their story to be the most interesting thing about the novel! Perhaps because they are quite like a lot of people I grew up around. Plain, detail-obsessed men with little time for people or family, and dissatisfied, hard women out for vicious, petty revenge wherever they can get it. Where their story literally ends is where I've seen a good handful of marriages metaphorically end. Fifteen years later, the youngest Goodenough, Robert, is wandering through Gold Rush California. Restless and haunted by the broken family he left behind, he has made his way alone across the country. In the redwood and giant sequoia groves he finds some solace, collecting seeds for a naturalist who sells plants from the New World to the gardeners of England. But you can run only so far, even in America, and when Robert’s past makes an unexpected appearance he must decide whether to strike out again or stake his own claim to a home at last. Writer Tracy Chevalier spins fiction from history. Her best-selling novel Girl with a Pearl Earring was set in the 17 th-century studio of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer; 2010's Remarkable Creatures focused on 19 th-century English fossil hunters; and 2005's The Lady and the Unicorn told the stories of medieval tapestry weavers. Now, Chevalier's latest book looks at a pioneer family trying to scrape out a life in the swamps of Ohio.