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The Children's Blizzard
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  • Published: 17 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780399182303
  • Imprint: Bantam Dell
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $50.00

The Children's Blizzard

A Novel

Formats & editions
Paperback
17 May 2022
EBook
12 Jan 2021
Audiobook
12 Jan 2021
Paperback
14 Feb 2023
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren.

“A nail-biter . . . poignant, powerful, perfect.” —Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network

The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a punishing cold spell. It was warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota Territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats—leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard blew in without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: Keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn’t get lost in the storm?

Based on actual oral histories of survivors, this gripping novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers—one becomes a hero of the storm and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It’s also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It was Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured northern European immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed them to settle territories into states, and they didn’t care what lies they told these families to get them there—or whose land it originally was.

At its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents’ choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground, and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today—because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.
  • Published: 17 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780399182303
  • Imprint: Bantam Dell
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $50.00
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About the author

Melanie Benjamin

Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard, Mistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator's Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have Been. Benjamin lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she is at work on her next historical novel.
portrait photo of Melanie Benjamin

Also by Melanie Benjamin

Mistress of the Ritz
The Swans of Fifth Avenue
The Aviator's Wife
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb
The Windsor Affair
California Golden
Reckless Hearts (Short Story)
See all

Praise for The Children's Blizzard

  • "In this piercingly detailed drama, riveting in its action and psychology, Benjamin reveals the grim aspects of homesteading, from brutal deprivations to violent racism toward Native Americans and African Americans, while orchestrating, with grace and resonance, transformative moral awakenings and sustaining love." Booklist (starred)
  • "[A] sprawling, well-told story . . . Benjamin achieves a balance of grand drama and devastatingly intimate moments." Publishers Weekly
  • "Melanie Benjamin never fails to create compelling, unforgettable characters and place them against the backdrop of startling history." Lisa Wingate
  • "[An] atmospheric novel, as relentlessly paced as a thriller . . . As you get to know these immigrant characters . . . you'll learn about how race and class shaped their destinies--and . . . understand something important about the tenacity of the human spirit and our capacity for both unkindness and grace." Christina Baker Kline
  • "Beautiful and haunting, a story of ordinary people forced to face the most extraordinary of moments." Allison Pataki

  • "In this piercingly detailed drama, riveting in its action and psychology, Benjamin reveals the grim aspects of homesteading, from brutal deprivations to violent racism toward Native Americans and African Americans, while orchestrating, with grace and resonance, transformative moral awakenings and sustaining love." Booklist (starred)
  • "[A] sprawling, well-told story . . . Benjamin achieves a balance of grand drama and devastatingly intimate moments." Publishers Weekly
  • "Melanie Benjamin never fails to create compelling, unforgettable characters and place them against the backdrop of startling history." Lisa Wingate
  • "[An] atmospheric novel, as relentlessly paced as a thriller . . . As you get to know these immigrant characters . . . you'll learn about how race and class shaped their destinies--and . . . understand something important about the tenacity of the human spirit and our capacity for both unkindness and grace." Christina Baker Kline
  • "Beautiful and haunting, a story of ordinary people forced to face the most extraordinary of moments." Allison Pataki