Early Candlelight

Introduction

Introduction HIS romantic tale of early Fort Snelling has won a Tlasting place in the hearts of Minnesota readers. First published in 1929, it was reprinted twenty years later in connection with Minnesota’s Territorial Centennial. Since 1949 the restoration of Old Fort Snelling by the Minnesota Historical Society has brought extensive research into the history of the fort and its environs in the 1820sand 1830s. Even in the light of much new information, however, this book holds its own. Early Candlelight is good historical fiction. It is the kind of work that throws open a window on the past and inspires more than a few readersto go on to a lifelong study of history . Such books are neither common nor easy to write. If the background of time and place is to be more than a thin, one-dimensionalstageset, authors must be saturated in the subject. They must know how people lived, ate, dressed, spoke, and traveled and also how they viewed themselves and the world. Maud Hart Lovelace did her research well. It was a labor of love. Born in Mankato, Minnesota, on April 25, 1892, she lived most of her life in Minnesota and was already familiar with its history when she decided to write a book about early Fort Snelling. “When I was ready to begin work on the novel,” she recalled, “my husband and I left our home at Lake Minnetonka and moved into a hotel in St. Introduction THIS romantic tale of early Fon Snelling has won a lasting place in the hearts of Minnesota readers. First published in 1929, it was reprinted twenty years later in connection with Minnesota's Territorial Centennial. Since 1949 the restoration of Old Fort Snelling by the Minnesota Historical Society has brought extensive research into the history of the fort and its environs in the 1820S and 1830s. Even in the light of much new information, however, this book holds its own. Early Candlelight is good historical fiction. It is the kind ofwork that throws open a window on the past and inspires more than a few readers to go on to a lifelong study ofhistory . Such books are neither common nor easy to write. If the background of time and place is to be more than a thin, one-dimensional stage set, authors must be saturated in the subject. They must know how people lived, ate, dressed, spoke, and traveled and also how they viewed themselves and the world. Maud Hart Lovelace did her research well. It was a labor of love. Born in Mankato, Minnesota, on April 25, 1892, she lived most of her life in Minnesota and was already familiar with its history when she decided to write a book about early Fort Snelling. "When I was ready to begin work on the novel," she recalled, "my husband and I left our home at Lake Minnetonka and moved into a hotel in St. ix Introduction THIS romantic tale of early Fort Snelling has won a lasting place in the hearts of Minnesota readers. First published in 1929, it was reprinted twenty years later in connection with Minnesota's Territorial Centennial. Since 1949 the restoration of Old Fort Snelling by the Minnesota Historical Society has brought extensive research into the history of the fort and its environs in the 1820S and 1830s. Even in the light of much new information, however, this book holds its own. Early Candlelight is good historical fiction. It is the kind of work that throws open a window on the past and inspires more than a few readers to go on to a lifelong study ofhistory . Such books are neither common nor easy to write. If the background of time and place is to be more than a thin, one-dimensional stage set, authors must be saturated in the subject. They must know how people lived, ate, dressed, spoke, and traveled and also how they viewed themselves and the world. Maud Hart Lovelace did her research well. It was a labor of love. Born in Mankato, Minnesota, on April 25, 1892, she lived most of her life in Minnesota and was already familiar with its history when she decided to write a book about early Fort Snelling. "When I was ready to begin work on the novel," she recalled, "my husband and I left our home at Lake Minnetonka and moved into a hotel in St. X INTRODUCTION Paul for the winter. During that winter I worked every day at the...