I hadn’t expected a show called Hell on Wheels to be full of romance, but it does bring some familiar character types readers of gritty western historical romance will easily recognize: There’s an embittered Confederate veteran, out for revenge on the Yankees who killed his wife and child, the refined British widow who adapts to the raw and untamed frontier while proving her true mettle, a former slave who may be doing more than business with the working girl who will forever bear the mark of her Indian captivity, and a preacher’s daughter who has tender feelings for a young Native man torn between two worlds. All while the railway charges through the untamed land, changing the lives of all it touches forever.
This is the sort of western that works best for me—raw and dangerous. Bad things can happen to good people, and the rough land becomes home to the adventurous and the desperate, those wanting to start a new way of life, and those wanting to be rid of one that no longer suits them.
The characters who populate such stories can come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with a diverse array of stories to tell. From classic authors such as Shirl Henke or Alexis Harrington to new voices like Kaki Warner, writers of the western historical know that the right characters in the right setting can make an unforgettable impression.
Since the release of Night Song in 1994, Beverly Jenkins has brought readers Buffalo Soldiers, female doctors, train robbers, and lawmen as well as a fascinating look at the freed slaves who formed their own communities, leaving their unique mark on the western frontier.
Francine Rivers’s classic Redeeming Love, available in both inspirational and general market editions, retells a Biblical tale in a vivid western setting. Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows only hatred and pain until Michael Hosea confronts her with a love that will not be turned away.
In Heart of the West, Penelope Williamson created an enduring classic. Cultured eastern heroine Clementine Kennicutt marries and leaves all she’s ever known to move west with one man, falls in love with his brother, and takes over a decade to finally reach her happy ending, but oh what a ride. Clementine and her love struggle to do the right thing, and readers feel every aching longing with them, in beautifully exquisite detail, their ending worth every trial along the way. The supporting cast includes women with their own struggles in this new land; a Chinese mail order bride, a survivor of Indian captivity and a former prostitute turned saloon owner, to name a few. Quite possibly my favorite western ever.
If I had to name a queen of the western historical, I would place that crown firmly on the head of Maggie Osborne. Her western historicals with heroines who are often as hardscrabble—or more so—than the heroes, resonate with the beauty and struggle of a pivotal time in American history. The Best Man provides three romances in the tale of sisters Alex, Les and Freddy, each wounded in her own way, each determined to work a two thousand head cattle drive and prove herself ‘the best man’ to inherit their father’s business. Silver Lining brings to life the iconic character of Louise “Low” Down, a far from feminine prospector who wants only one reward for nursing an entire camp through a harrowing case of smallpox; a baby. So repulsive is Low Down that the prospectors have to draw lots to see who must do the deed, yet by the end of the story, she’s a woman to admire.
While there are months yet to new Hell on Wheels episodes, romances like these deliver all of the passion, peril, and panorama with none of the commercial breaks. Sounds like a good deal to me.
Anna C. Bowling considers writing historical romance the best way to travel through time and make the voices in her head pay rent. She welcomes visitors to her blog, Typing With Wet Nails and to follow her at Twitter.
