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MARIKE'S WORLD
Catherine M. Rae
St. Martin's, Jul 2000, $21.95, 186 pp.
ISBN: 0312261993
In 1776 New York, teenage Marike Dykeman knows she loves Philip Bogardus. However, the Revolutionary War interrupts their plans to marry when Philip joins Washington's insurgent troops. Unbeknownst to Philip when he dashed off to fight the British is that Marike is carrying his child. Desperate to avoid the disgrace and ostracizing by her strict family and community, Marike claims two assailants raped her during the Trinity Church fire.

Her parents send Marike to live with her uncle on his upstate farm at least until the child is born. When Philip returns, he and Marike marry. Although she loves her spouse, the anticipated idyllic lifestyle struggles to be born because the world remains a terrible place to live and some of her relatives (blood and law) behave more like serpents than loved ones.

MARIKE'S WORLD is an exciting historical fiction work that sub-genre fans will enjoy for its detailed tidbits of an exhilarating but frightening time in American history. Although the plot hits an occasional traffic jam with its overabundance of Revolutionary War era information, the stimulating story line powerfully works when Catherine M. Rae focuses on Marike and her varying relationships. The energy of MARIKE'S WORLD will send the audience seeking other works from Ms. Rae.

Harriet Klausner


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