The Hearts of Horses: A Novel

In the winter of 1917, nineteen-year-old Martha Lessen saddles her horses and heads for a remote county in eastern Oregon, looking for work “gentling” wild horses. She finds employment with the rancher George Bliss, whose regular ranch hands are overseas fighting World War I. George glimpses, beneath Martha’s showy rodeo garb, a shy but strong-willed girl with a serious knowledge of horses.

So begins the irresistible tale of a young woman determined to claim her place in a man’s world. Over the course of several long, hard winter months, many of the townsfolk witness Martha talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair—and getting miraculous, almost immediate results. It’s with this gift that she earns their respect, and a chance to make herself a home.