Emancipated slave, Mary Fields, perseveres to transform the lives of nuns, Indians, homesteaders, and in the process, her own. With courageous determination, this pioneer fights for her rights and wins.
“Under McConnell’s hand, the atmosphere, frontier challenges and landscapes come to life. Mary Fields, a true historical figure, is dramatized in novel format- a delight for readers who look for accurate historical facts, hard-hitting drama and realistic scenes powered by a feisty protagonist whose values and concerns are part of the social changes sweeping the nation.”
Midwest Book Review
Award-Winning Literary Nonfiction
1885. Emancipated slave, Mary Fields, receives news of her friend’s impending death. She rushes to the Montana wilderness and finds Mother Mary Amadeus lying on frozen earth in a broken-down cabin. Certain that the cloister of frostbit Ursuline nuns and their Indian girl pupils will not survive without assistance, she stays.
She builds a hennery, makes repairs to quarters, cares for stock and treks into the mountains to provide food. Brushes with death do not deter her. Mary drives a horse and wagon through perilous terrain and improves the lives of missionaries, homesteaders and Indians and, in the process, her own.
After weathering wolf attacks, wagon crashes and conspiracies by scoundrels, politicians and the state’s first Catholic bishop, Mary Fields creates another daring plan. An avid patriot, she is determined to register for the vote. Will she pay with her life, or celebrate a personal triumph?
MCCONNELL’S RESEARCH enabled USPS to verify Mary Fields as the first African American woman star route mail carrier in the U.S. A chronicle of Fields’ life in Montana from 1885 until her death in 1914, the narrative examines women rights, bootleg politics, Montana’s turn-of-the-century transition from territory to state and its scandalous 1914 woman suffrage election.
“Those sensitive to prejudice should be warned- expressions and interactions that would be considered prejudicial today are precisely portrayed- this approach represents a breath of fresh air.”
Diane Donovan, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
A giveaway for Deliverance Mary Fields is now up on Goodreads. The book is also available on Amazon. Learn more about the book and the author on Miantae Metcalf McConnell’s website.