SOME AWARDS & REVIEWS 

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Our judges called the writing strong and eloquent, with a style of language and detail to place the reader right there in that early 19th-century community along with the characters, bringing the feel of their daily lives in town and on the farm clearly to mind. Richly textured, deeply immersive, well-constructed, a novel both to inform and delight.

                                                                                             ~ Independent Publishers of New England

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed this well-researched and atmospheric novel, the well-rounded characters of which surprise the reader in various ways, and its rich portrayal of a time and place that is neglected in both American history and historical fiction. Having never heard of a pauper auction, I was intrigued to learn more about the custom, both through the story and in the informative author’s note. We also learn more about the art of cider-making—and the art of concealing a homicide. As a character reflects, “Humans were complicated.”I enjoyed this well-researched and atmospheric novel, the well-rounded characters of which surprise the reader in various ways, and its rich portrayal of a time and place that is neglected in both American history and historical fiction. Having never heard of a pauper auction, I was intrigued to learn more about the custom, both through the story and in the informative author’s note. We also learn more about the art of cider-making—and the art of concealing a homicide. As a character reflects, “Humans were complicated.”

                                                                                                      ~ Susan Higginbotham

                                                                                                          Author of  John Brown's Women,

                                                                                                          The First Lady and the Rebel, and Hanging Mary

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Read Pauper Auction for the history of small town New Hampshire at the beginning of the 1800s. Or read it for the compelling story of Margery Turner, a heart-broken young widow who must navigate the patriarchal society of her times. The cards are stacked heavily and (to our modern way of thinking) unfairly against her.     Mary Kronenwetter writes with a clear-eyed precision that deftly and gracefully shapes a story that is both true to its era and relevant here and now. Human nature doesn’t change. Prejudice persists. As does hate. As does cruelty. This is a remarkable novel — historically detailed, full of heart, and shocking in the brutality it reveals. Yet there is courage, too. And kindness. And ascendancy.
                                                                                   ~ Rebecca Rule
                                                                                   Author of Moved and Seconded and The Best Revenge
                                                                                   Host of PBS series New Hampshire Authors & Our Hometown     


     

  

 

     As a storyteller, I truly appreciate the narrative Mary Kronenwetter has created, interweaving the stories of her main characters within the setting of a small town in New Hampshire during the early years of the United States as a new Nation. This novel is not a traditional history or a traditional love story, yet it subtly provides rich cultural and historical details while also probing the many faces in which love manifested itself and families formed - all while providing rich cultural details that allow the reader to experience life in rural New Hampshire in 1805.       
     While Pauper Auction starkly reveals the ways in which New England towns of that time addressed the needs of the destitute within their communities, it also spotlights less often heard stories - those so often hidden stories of women, children, and those with alternative gender lifestyles. Additionally, Pauper Auction rejects the notion that there were no Abenaki, the Indigenous people of New Hampshire, actually living in New Hampshire after the American revolution by including an Abenaki character in an essential supporting role.  All in all, Pauper Auction is a refreshingly honest, richly detailed, compelling story.  Once I began reading, I couldn't put the book aside until I reached the last page!  Kudos for a compelling novel! 
                                                                                    ~Anne Jennison
                                                                                    Northeast Woodlands Traditional Native American Storyteller
                                                                                    and Historian of both European and Abenaki Heritage

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Kronenwetter’s impressive debut follows the uncompromising lives of a destitute widow, a disabled child, and a  Native American stonemason. In 1805 in the fictional town of Thorneboro, New Hampshire, the local blacksmith’s widow, 27-year-old Margery Turner, waits to be auctioned to the lowest bidder in exchange for subsidized labor. As the town’s moderator explains, “It is our civic and Christian responsibility to provide for the care of our town’s unfortunates.” Charitable farmer Samuell Wheeler is the winner, at one dollar a week. Samuell also takes in 10-year-old club-footed Agnes, who was abandoned by her widowed father. Margery works on the farm, aids Agnes and Samuell’s rheumatoid-stricken mother Hannah, and learns how to make Hannah’s elaborate bed rugs. When Joseph, an Abenaki stonemason, joins them, he brings friendship and wisdom, especially after tragedy strikes. With portentous forecasts from the Farmer’s Almanac in the chapter headings (“uncertain,” “settled,” “foul”), Kronenwetter’s domestic narrative paints a convincing day-to-day picture of early America, immersing readers into the stark realities of farm life and meeting halls. Fans of historical fiction ought to take a look.