Matchless: A Western Story

By Jane Candia Coleman

Book Overview

A Spur Award-winning AuthorA Western Heritage Award-winning AuthorMatchless is a passionate, compelling, and magnificently authentic human drama based on the diary of Augusta Tabor, wife of Horace Tabor, the Colorado silver king. This is Augusta's story of their struggles until Horace struck it rich and she was renounced as an embarrassment by a man who had or could buy anything.Jane Candia Coleman was born and raised near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing, but felt she had nothing to write about. She abandoned the East for the West, where her creativity truly came into its own. She has won two Spur Awards for short stories from Western Writers of America as well as three Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for her contributions to Western fiction. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her author husband, G. G. Boyer.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786238038
• ISBN13: 9780786238033
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Five Star (ME)
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Colorado History at its best

Jane Candia Coleman has done a superb job of telling the story of Colorado's most famous love triangle throught the eyes of Augusta Tabor, the jilted wife of H.A.W. Tabor and his love interest, the infamous Baby Doe. Jane knows her stuff, and has incorporated as much truth as research allows into this fascinating tale of the pioneer days in Leadville and Denver. Well done, and an interesting and entertaining historical read.

Moving story of the pioneer woman's strength

This novel was exquisite and laden with emotion. The characters were so well-developed and so real! i found myself laughing, crying and furious right along with the characters. I picked it up and couldn't put it down! Any avid reader of Western fiction needs to read this book.

Fascinating and haunting

I would not normally pick up a Western novel, so I wasn't expecting to really enjoy this book. Boy was I wrong! This book tells an absolutely fascinating story about a pioneer woman and her husband who participate in the gold and silver rush. They travel from Maine, through Kansas, and end up in Colorado. The character development is top notch, although I did feel that the author displayed quite a bit of bias toward the heroine, and an equal bias against her husband...but that is worth overlooking in the greater scheme of the book. I think the husband would have told the story differently, but then again this book is from the perspective of the wife! I didn't realize the book was based on true events and real people until I finished it, and now I am haunted by their story and their lives. It is inspiring, because of the heroine's independence and hard working attitude, and thought-provoking, because of the personal costs to the main characters. Even though the events took place well over 100 years ago I thought the characters still have a lot of relevance to life today.