As the son of a French fur trapper and the Shoshone woman, Sacajawea, who were the guides for the Lewis and Clark expedition, Charbonneau was a man who lived between two worlds.
Charbonneau was born on the adventure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, born to explore. When he was a boy, Charbonneau was also raised in William Clark’s posh society, educated in Europe, and the welcome guest of kings and brilliant people of the time.
Charbonneau was a cultured man, at ease in the gentile civilization of European courts. And, he loved and knew wild places as few other men did. Which life would he eventually choose?
Although Charbonneau was a man of two dreams, the Western wilderness pulled at his heart always. It was there he finally returned as a 19th century mountain man, trader and explorer. And, throughout his life, he and Clark maintained an extraordinary relationship.
Charbonneau is a moving novel based upon the fundamental conflict in the American West during the first half of the nineteenth century—the clash of values between the white man and the red man.
The half-blood Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau is a figure who embodies that clash. Now, in the great story telling tradition, Win Blevins creates a magnificent set of characters, imaginatively reconstructs events that are beyond historical recovery, and brings Charbonneau and the era in which he lived superbly to life.
This is the epic story of a proud adventurer who lived his dream and created his life in two worlds, that of an Indian man and a white man. From this rich material Win Blevins has spun a story of epic scope and lyrical eloquence.
Reviews
“Beautiful. Blevins brings it all alive.” – The Los Angeles Times