Political unrest and upheaval; conspiracy and deception; rival factions vying for power- does this sound familiar? Set in New Mexico in 1846 during the Mexican American War, Loretta Miles Tollefson’s latest book, An Unhappy Country, chronicles all of this and more. Although it is technically historical fiction, many of the characters she writes about are either real people who lived in that time or composites of individuals based on historical records.
The action and intrigue are viewed through the eyes of young Jessie Milbank, an American girl who has come with her father to Santa Fe to open a mercantile. She is idealistic and spirited, which sometimes gets her in trouble as she rushes into situations without understanding all of the potential consequences of her actions. In spite of her naiveté, I found her to be both likeable and admirable.
If this were a pure fiction novel, all the details would be wrapped up and resolved in some sort of a “happy ending” that was pleasing to the reader. Because it is based on real events, that is not the case. In the end, I wished that things had turned out different. There were evil deeds that went unpunished and not everyone found justice. Such is real life. Ms. Tollefson does a great job of bringing to life this compelling story and shining a light on history. If we are so inclined, we could learn some lessons that might help us prevent history from repeating itself. Check out this book, along with other works by Loretta , at https://lorettamilestollefson.com/
