Gretchen mentions three surprises:(1) Endless Sky by Kathryn Lynn Davis is a romance novel, set in the Badlands of North Dakota. It's a western in that there's a subplot involving a half-breed Indian and there are plenty of scenes involving gunslingers, fires, and roping cattle, but it is also definitely a romance.
(2) It's based on truth, as there actually is a town of Medora, North Dakota. Here's a link to the historic city of Medora.
(3) It's a Banned Book. Gretchen said, "Truthfully, I fell off my chair at this one. Apparently when these two books were published [this book follows another], the town of Medora was celebrating its centennial. The publisher reached out and suggested that they factor the books into the celebration. That suited the town fathers fine until they realized that the books didn't make the Marquis into a saint. He was French, rich, and an explorer (all true) and yet the people of Medora were shocked that the Marquis could have been unfaithful to his wife. So they cancelled the celebration and banned the book from their library, thus ensuring that this little romance novel would automatically become a best seller."
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Bonnie's NOTE: If any of you read this, let me know and we'll post your review on my Banned Books blog. Gretchen, would you be willing to cross-post your review to the Banned Books site? It's an excellent review.
