Foxfire (novel)

Last updated
Foxfire
Foxfire (novel) book cover.jpg
Author Anya Seton
LanguageEnglish
GenreWestern
Published1951 (Houghton Mifflin)
Pages346
OCLC 12626782

Foxfire is a 1951 novel by Anya Seton. It was published by Houghton Mifflin. It was adapted as the 1955 film Foxfire starring Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, and Dan Duryea.

Contents

Plot

In 1933, Amanda Lawrence is a socialite living in New York City. Her father died several years ago, leaving Amanda unable to finish studying at university. Then she meets a partly-Apache mining engineer named Jonathan Dartland, who is returning home after working in South Africa. Amanda and Jonathan fall in love and get married. They move to Lodestone, Arizona, where Jonathan (known as "Dart") works in the Shamrock Mine as mine foreman. [1] [2]

Though madly in love with Dart, Amanda despises living in poverty and often feels bored and lonely, as the other women in town shun her for living lavishly. At work, Dart faces troubles of his own, as he and the mine superintendent often have different views. Amanda's family back home recommend she divorce Dart and marry her wealthy ex-boyfriend. Throughout all these troubles, Amanda finds a friend in Hugh, a drunken doctor. [1] [2]

As Amanda and Dart's marriage begins to strain, Amanda hears an Apache legend of an Indian village discovered by two priests. In the village, the priests found a cave with a wall of gold in the back. The priests went mad after their discovery and one was killed by Indians; the other died shortly after. The village - and thus the gold mine - was lost, though Dart's father created a map to find it. [1] [2]

Hoping that finding the mine and collecting the gold inside will make her and Dart enough money to leave Lodestone and fix the cracks in their marriage, Amanda explains her idea to Dart. However, Dart believes that the story is simply a legend. It is not until Dart loses his job after the death of a fellow miner is blamed on him that he, Amanda, and Hugh set out to find the mine. A marvelous adventure ensues, during which Amanda and Dart both learn that there is a treasure more valuable than anything else: love. [1] [2]

Background

Seton was known for the large amounts of research that went into her novels. [3] As a child, she spent much time on her father's Arizona ranch. [4]

Reception

Foxfire was a New York Times bestseller, peaking at #6. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

The Washington Post called it a "workmanlike piece of story-telling that expertly integrates romance with color and suspense, a combination hard to beat for popularity." [13]

Elizabeth Watts of The Boston Globe wrote that Foxfire was better than Seton's previous novel, The Turquoise . [14] Mary Bosworth Hobbs of The Birmingham News said it matched Seton's previous works and was possibly superior in maturity of theme. [15]

Film adaption

The novel was adapted into a film directed by Joseph Pevney starring Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, and Dan Duryea. It released in 1955. [16]

Related Research Articles

The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. Since October 12, 1931, The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly. In the 21st century, it has evolved into multiple lists, grouped by genre and format, including fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, paperback and electronic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anya Seton</span> American author of historical fiction (1904-1990)

Anya Seton, born Ann Seton, was an American author of historical fiction, or as she preferred they be called, "biographical novels".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Caldwell</span> American novelist (1900–1985)

Janet Miriam Caldwell was a British-born American novelist and prolific author of popular fiction under the pen names Taylor Caldwell, Marcus Holland and Max Reiner. She was also known by a variation of her married name, J. Miriam Reback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drizzt Do'Urden</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.

<i>Green Darkness</i> 1972 novel by Anya Seton

Green Darkness is a 1972 novel by Anya Seton. It spent six months on The New York Times Best Seller list and became her most popular novel.

A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties. An author may also be referred to as a bestseller if their work often appears in a list. Well-known bestseller lists in the U.S. are published by Publishers Weekly, USA Today, The New York Times, and IndieBound. The New York Times tracks book sales from national and independent bookstores, as well as sales from major internet retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raina Telgemeier</span> American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer

Raina Telgemeier is an American cartoonist. Her works include the autobiographical webcomic Smile, which was published as a full-color middle grade graphic novel in February 2010, and the follow-up Sisters and the fiction graphic novel Drama, all of which have been on The New York Times Best Seller lists. She has also written and illustrated the graphic novels Ghosts and Guts as well as four graphic novels adapted from The Baby-Sitters Club stories by Ann M. Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Scottoline</span> American writer

Lisa Scottoline is an American author of legal thrillers.

North and South is a 1980s trilogy of best-selling novels by John Jakes which take place before, during, and after the American Civil War. The saga tells the story of the enduring friendship between Orry Main of South Carolina and George Hazard of Pennsylvania, who become best friends while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point but later find themselves and their families on opposite sides of the war. The slave-owning Mains are rural gentleman planters while the big-city Hazards live by manufacturing and industry, their differences reflecting the real divisions between North and South which ultimately led to war.

Gregg Olsen is a New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of nonfiction books and novels, most of which are crime-related. The subjects of his true crime books include convicted child rapist and school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, product tampering killer Stella Nickell, fasting specialist Linda Burfield Hazzard, and former Amishman and convicted murderer Eli Stutzman.

<i>The Cat Who Came for Christmas</i> 1987 book by Cleveland Amory

The Cat Who Came for Christmas is the first book in a trilogy written by Cleveland Amory, an American author who wrote extensively about animal rights. Amory recounts his rescue and adoption of Polar Bear, a cat he featured in two future books. It was first published by Little, Brown and Company in 1987 and then in paperback by Penguin Books in 1988.

<i>Jewels</i> (novel) 1992 novel by Danielle Steel

Jewels is a 1992 historical romance novel by Danielle Steel. In the novel, 75-five-year-old Sarah, Duchess of Whitfield, looks back on her long and eventful life. It is Steel's 30th novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Kate</span> American writer (born 1981)

Lauren Kate is an American author of adult and young adult fiction. Thus far she has published thirteen novels and one novella. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages, have sold more than eleven million copies worldwide, and have spent combined months on the New York Times Best Seller list.

<i>Foxfire</i> (1955 film) American drama romance by Joseph Pevney

Foxfire is a 1955 American drama romance western film released by Universal-International, directed by Joseph Pevney, and starring Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, and Dan Duryea. The movie was loosely based on a best-selling 1950 novel by Anya Seton.

<i>The Racketeer</i> (novel) John Grisham novel

The Racketeer is a legal thriller novel written by John Grisham that was released on October 23, 2012 by Doubleday with an initial printing of 1.5 million copies. It was one of the best selling books of 2012 and spent several weeks atop various best seller lists.

Kerrelyn Sparks American novelist

Kerrelyn Sparks is an American author of paranormal romance novels, best known for the Love at Stake series, currently comprising 17 novels. Each title in the Love at Stake series has become a USA Today bestseller, and she reached New York Times Best Seller list with The Undead Next Door, the fourth in the series. Her books are currently published under Avon Books.

Soft Focus is a contemporary romance written by Jayne Ann Krentz. It was released in hardcover by Putnam on January 3, 2000, and reached number 12 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

<i>Devil Water</i> 1962 historical fiction novel by Anya Seton

Devil Water is a 1962 historical fiction novel by Anya Seton.

<i>The Mistletoe and Sword</i> 1955 novel by Anya Seton

The Mistletoe and Sword: A Story of Roman Britain is a 1955 young adult novel of historical fiction by Anya Seton.

<i>The Viscount Who Loved Me</i> 2000 historical romance novel by Julia Quinn

The Viscount Who Loved Me is a 2000 historical romance novel written by Julia Quinn, first published by Avon. It is the second novel of Quinn's Bridgerton series set in Regency England and tells the story of Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton, the eldest Bridgerton sibling. It is a #1 New York Times Best Seller.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kessler, Jane. "Foxfire". Historical Novel Society.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Foxfire". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  3. Elwood, Irene (1951-01-07). "Futile Gold Hunt Brings Better Love" . Los Angeles Times. p. D5. Retrieved 2020-05-27 via Proquest.
  4. Hansen, Harry (1951-02-04). "Anya Seton Finds the West as Wild and Rugged as Ever" . Chicago Daily Tribune. p. H9. Retrieved 2020-05-27 via Proquest.
  5. "The New York Times Best Seller List: January 21, 1951" (PDF).
  6. "The New York Times Best Seller List: January 28, 1951" (PDF).
  7. "The New York Times Best Seller List: February 4, 1951" (PDF).
  8. "The New York Times Best Seller List: February 11, 1951" (PDF).
  9. "The New York Times Best Seller List: February 18, 1951" (PDF).
  10. "The New York Times Best Seller List: February 25, 1951" (PDF).
  11. "The New York Times Bestseller List: March 4, 1951" (PDF).
  12. "The New York Times Bestseller List: March 11, 1951" (PDF).
  13. "Lost Lode: Foxfire. By Anya Seton" . The Washington Post. 1951-01-14. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-05-27 via Proquest.
  14. Watts, Elizabeth W. (1950-12-31). "Love in a Board Shack". The Boston Globe. p. 39. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  15. Hobbs, Mary Bosworth (1950-12-31). "May Be a Trifle Better!". The Birmingham News. p. 45. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  16. "Foxfire (1955)". IMDb .