Rainy Lake House

"Catton's riveting story is exquisitely written and well-researched. A must-read for anyone interested in frontier history."

"Catton has produced a remarkable work of narrative nonfiction. ‘Rainy Lake House’ deserves a place on any history buff’s bookshelf alongside other excellent examples of frontier history narratives, including 'Undaunted Courage' (Stephen E. Ambrose), 'Astoria' (Peter Stark), 'Boone' (Robert Morgan) and 'Blood and Thunder' (Hampton Sides)."

"... well written... Recommended"

"It is refreshing to come across a historical monograph written with such a clear commitment to the craft of storytelling... a narrative that transcends mere biography to reveal the complex and fractured world of the northern borderland during the turbulent years of the fur trade monopolies and U.S. expansion... this is a well-researched piece of scholarship that is also a true pleasure to read. Catton's aim here is not to argue small points of historiographic debate, but to offer a glimpse at the tumultuous nature of the fur trade "from its various colliding vantage points" through the compelling accounts of three individuals (p. 7). In this, he succeeds masterfully."

"Catton's nuanced consideration of the cultural history of these events is enlightening."

"This narrative focuses on three men from vastly different backgrounds and serves as a vehicle for exploring the rigors of the fur trade and the impending decline of Britain's fur-trading empire... Catton's writing style is lyrical and transcendent."

"Thick description of the fascinating world of the Great Lakes and northern plains is the great strength of this book... Catton's tight focus on three protagonists lets him vividly illustrate the dynamics of fur trade society, the reorganization of the trade, and the rise of Anglo-American racism."

"A journey into the complicated environment of the North American interior in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Written with clarity and energy, this book tells its story through the remarkable device of a triple biography."

"Catton makes me think that there must be a gene for historical writing. In this marvelously crafted book, he uses a quarrel over the custody of children in the early nineteenth century to reveal the fraying of the hybrid Indian/white world of the lands neighboring the Great Lakes. This is a deeply human story of a nineteenth-century world that was in the midst of great change. A compelling, surprising, and dramatic account that reads like historical fiction."