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Of Dreams and Nightmares
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Plot Summary of Of Dreams and Nightmares
"Of Dreams and Nightmares is a historical romance set in the mid 1800's. Martha McGuire's arranged marriage to widower Jebediah Whittaker turns her pampered, aristocratic life into her worst nightmare. She is taken by immigrant ship across the Atlantic to the Americas. Her every waking moment is filled with thoughts of escape but to no avail. In the colonies she discovers that she is to travel the vast wilderness in a wagon train. In a foreign land, accompanied by strangers, the young woman discovers just what a monster she is married to. Her relationship with Jebediah's three sons is almost non-existent. The family settles in Wyoming where the loneliness and the cruelty almost drive her mad. She prays that someone will rescue her.

Meanwhile back in England, her father has discovered that he was tricked by the wily Jebediah and hires Martha's childhood friend, Austin Wells to find and rescue her. Through a strange twist of fate, accompanying Austin on his journey is Jebediah's brother, Jeremy. After the dramatic rescue, we find Martha and Jebediah's three sons in St. Louis in the mid 1800's. She is filled with confusion and fear. Can she raise the three boys on her own. How will they survive? Finally fate steps in and she opens a dress shop. Using her past experience with British designers, Martha throws herself into her business. Her life takes a drastic turn for the better as she discovers her strengths and conquers her weaknesses. We watch Martha flourish from innocent pampered teenager to mature, responsible businesswoman. "

Shirley Roe, Resident Scholar




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Review Analysis of Of Dreams and Nightmares
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 19th century
Poverty, surviving Yes
Kind of living: - general poverty story
Family, struggle with Yes
Struggle with: - Husband
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Exploring into the wild Yes
kind of story - colonizing/settling in new area

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - homemaker
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - thief/con artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
United States Yes
Prairie? Yes
Small town? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore
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The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
Gap Creek by Richard K. Morgan
The Warden by Anthony Trollope


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