Rob Potter (left), onetime secretary of the navy of the Texas Republic and later a senator in the Republic’s congress, isn’t the main character of this novel with a bodice-ripper title. Harriet Potter is, but there’s no picture of her that I can find on the Web. Nor is the book a bodice-ripper, really, but a real adventure story of a resourceful and brave 19th century woman, only a part of which concerns Potter. Well, a large part. The reviewers at the novel’s Amazon site make it plain that this is a true woman’s book, which many women seem to pass on to their daughters.
This reviewer does likewise. But I think most men would enjoy it, even if some of the male characters are pretty despicable. The most interesting part is that Harriet and Rob were real, and most, if not all of the novel (certainly not all of the dialogue) is based on Harriet’s reporting of her life–in a lengthy, unpublished memoir that came to the attention of the Texas Historical Commission many years ago. The novel was originally published in 1959, but it’s a very contemporary read and one of the most memorable books I’ve encountered. Get a copy. You won’t be disappointed.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 