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Sweet Betsy from Pike is a historical novel based on the ballad of the same name, which has been one of the most popular American folksongs for the past 150 years.
It's 1849. Betsy is eighteen, a minister's daughter, and pregnant. To escape the shame, she and her lover, Ike, run away and join a wagon train headed for the California gold fields. They end up in Hangtown (now Placerville). Along the trail and in the mining camp Betsy outgrows Ike and becomes a strong, independent woman, capable of shaping her own destiny.
The gold rush. This is the way it was. There was very little of "rush" about it; it took months to cross what is now the western half of the United States. Along the way there were hardships and adventures aplenty. Dozens of travel diaries were read to make the account of the journey and the description of Hangtown as authentic as possible.
Comic epic poem in prose. Sam calls the book a "comic epic poem in prose" because there are some funny passages in it and it has a happy ending, and because going on a wagon train across the plains and mountains was an epic journey.
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What readers write.
"It's a great read! With attention to history and with a folklorist's wink, Sackett has created characters who endure beyond the page. ... the story would make a great film, mythic and poignant." -- Dr. Don Eulert, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, CA
"Sweet Betsy from Pike is a novel I liked very much as it enabled me to visualize American life many decades ago, and it exposed the strength of woman." -- Dr. Thanapol Chadchaidee, Bangkok, Thailand
"I like the idea of having Betsy evolve into a self-reliant independent woman, while Ike just stays the love-struck romantic lout he always was." -- Dr. Jan Harold Brunvand, Professor Emeritus, Uniersity of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
"Sweet Betsy from Pike is so well researched and written that you are transported along with Betsy on the wagon train to the California gold rush camp. I loved this book!" -- Joanne Sinclair, Canton Public Library, Canton, OK
"I finished the book last night and really enjoyed it. History can teach us the 'big picture' about things, but it is only novels that can let us know the 'people' side. I will recommend the book to others." -- Kent L. Goodwin, Overland Park, KS
"I enjoyed Betsy tremendously. I found it absolutely delightful! It was good old American history (and definitely a great story!) I loved all of it!" -- Jean Ashworth, Oklahoma City, OK
"Thought the book interesting and well written and reminded me a bit of Lamour's Sackett books in the excellent descriptions of the terrain, etc. The reader could almost feel the heat, sand, cold, . . . etc., as it was described." -- Joyce Vernor, Lake Jackson, TX
"I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the poem-to-novel concept and thought the author was clever in re-imagining it into fiction." -- Larry Heffel, Lenexa, KS
"I enjoyed Sweet Betsy from Pike very much. Betsy and Ike certainly come alive as real characters." -- Dr. Darrell Munsell, professor emeritus of history, West Texas A&M University
"Folklorist Sam Sackett illuminates the classic American frontier ballad "Sweet Betsy from Pike," fleshing out the story of Betsy and Ike in this remakable novel of love and adventure, including travel from Pike County in Missouri to Hangtown in California and life in a mining town. It is a heartwarming story about a sweet, innocent, caring, and dependent girl maturing into a strong, independent, caring, and resourceful woman. Each chapter, headed with a verse from the ballad, provides a detailed account of Betsy's experiences which are summarized in the verse. An interesting sidelight is Ike's fascination with Sir Walter Scott's novels, with Ike comparing himself to Scott's characters as he faces various challenges. The geography and history ring true, including encounters with several historic characers, providing an authentic and readable story of frontier life during the California gold rush. It is a sweet novel." -- Dr. Leo E. Oliva, author of Soldiers on the Santa Fe Trail
"Loved it! Read it to Mom, . . . and she enjoyed it much, as well." -- Phyllis Karr, Barnes, WI
"A wonderful story of the brave people who jumped into a wagon and started out for places they had never seen or expected to see. Pick this one up, you won't be sorry." -- Mary Lignor, Feathered Quill Book Reviews
Read the First Chapter
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