Lead Review (The Harvey Girl)
- Book: The Harvey Girl
- Location: United States (USA)
- Author: Dana Stabenow
The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow, novel set in 1890 USA – New Mexico Territories, Mississippi, Chicago (1890)
The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow features a strong female character – Clare Wright – and is a crime novel in a historical setting of post-Civil-War America. Clare Wright is a private eye, working for the famous Pinkertons detective agency, when she is tasked to work for Mr Fred Harvey. He wants to investigate the train hold-ups and robberies that are plaguing the ATSF railroad route in New Mexico Territory in the 1890s. Harvey owns and runs the eponymous Harvey Houses, a kind of hotel-restaurant chain with branches along the developing rail network. Clare is effectively an orphan, highly educated and brilliant at what she does. She also has a determined character and a mind of her own. She skilfully blends into her surroundings, using disguise and stealth to investigate on behalf of the agency’s clients.
The storyline takes Clare from her initial investigation in Mississippi, which she wraps up swiftly, to the wild west territories beyond the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico Territories. In her adopted role/disguise as a trained Harvey’s employee, she gets to know the hotel’s customers and other characters in the growing frontier town, with the aim of identifying those responsible for the robberies and murder of the train conductor. Her demure persona conceals a woman who is prepared to defend herself and take great risks to catch the culprit or culprits. Clare makes friends among the staff, earns the admiration of the menfolk and eventually the respect of her client. But she has to work out who she can trust and fend off unwanted male attention while conducting her clandestine investigations.
Stabenow’s descriptions contrast the developing township of Montaña Rossa with the ageless mountain and desert scenery surrounding the Rio Grande. There are delightfully detailed accounts of the natural world, as well as the architecture ranging from the adobe housing of the indigenous people to the grand (but somewhat tasteless) mansion of the local tycoon, Mr Gowan. The cast of characters contrasts the strictly regulated female staff of the Harvey House with the male entrepreneurs, cowboys, miners and lawless gunslingers.
The book ends in a suspenseful cliff-hanger, perfectly setting the key characters up for a sequel. One of my favourite parts of the book is the Acknowledgements chapter, where Stabenow explains her extensive research and the significance of several of the real-life characters who appear in the novel, such as Mark Twain. This book is recommended as an easy and enjoyable read and a fascinating insight into an important part of the history of the developing regions that became part of the United States of America.
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