Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The author of the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries applies her talents to romance and danger in this entertaining tale of a young American woman's unexpected adventures in Africa during the early years of WW I. Raised in a circus by her widowed mother (the headless woman) and fortune-telling Grams, who teaches her to juggle and pick pockets, Caressa Horvath is sent to a Boston finishing school, which she leaves after she is caught lifting the wallet of world traveler Jacob Bowman. Capturing his heart, she marries him shortly before they embark for Tripoli, where they assemble a caravan and set off into the Sahara. They are attacked by fierce nomad Tuareg bandits, who kill everyone except Caressa because they fear her wooden finger puppets, made by Grams. A credible series of mishaps, trials and moments of courage keep Caressa alive as she and Bakuli, a captured Zambian youth, escape into the desert. Eventually they are taken as slaves; after helping Bakuli run away to freedom, Caressa is bought by a man who turns out to be a Scottish adventurer--and the love of her life. Encompassing betrayal, treachery, sorrow, heroism and ultimately reunion, Caressa's first-person story, begun in 1980 in order to inform her granddaughter of her background, offers sheer reading pleasure. (June)
Library Journal
Born into a carnival family at the turn of the 20th century, 16-year-old Caressa Horvath finds her life taking a dramatic turn when she attempts to rob Jacob Bowman, a rich, eccentric anthropologist 20 years her senior. Nothing daunted by their unconventional introduction, he marries her, and they travel to Tripoli to explore the Sahara Desert. Nomadic Tuaregs attack their caravan but spare Caressa's life, launching her three-year adventure in the desert, where she befriends a young boy named Bakuli, gets sold into slavery, and eventually meets her great love, a wandering Scotsman named Jared MacKay. Gilman, noted for her Mrs. Pollifax mysteries, takes a slightly different direction here, producing a lively, satisfying novel of adventure, danger, and romance. A good choice for most popular fiction collections.-- Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Kirkus Reviews
In another departure (Incident at Badamya, 1989, etc.) from the author's Mrs. Pollifax mystery series, an exotic background again takes a leading role—this time, a role shared by 16-year-old Caressa Horvath. The time is pre-WW I, and Caressa—a budding beauty, daughter of a struggling carnival family, expert juggler, and pickpocket—has been sent with hard-saved money to a private school in Boston, to satisfy the mother who's determined to make a lady of her. Ever impoverished, Caressa makes an ill-judged attempt at theft that introduces her to wealthy linguist-anthropologist Jacob Bowman. He marries her, and soon after they leave on an exploratory mission to Africa—first to Tripoli, then across the Sahara. The expedition, through hostile Tuareg country, ends in disaster; but it's only a beginning for Caressa, taken captive, who will spend the next harrowing years fighting to survive enemies and the desert; finding friends; finding love—only to discover betrayal on her return to civilization. As her chronicle unfolds from the vantage of great old age, the reader will experience a land and an era brought to teeming life; share Caressa's highs and lows; and exult with her when the last laugh is hers. Gilman's best—and a tribute to the artful power of simple, old-fashioned storytelling in the hands of a master.
From the Publisher
Gilman’s best . . . A tribute to the artful power of simple, old-fashioned storytelling in the hands of a master.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A real corker . . . Filled with romance, action, adventure and drama . . . This is a completely romantic novel that never slows in its mad rush to a poignant and delicate conclusion. Gilman’s words soar with the energy of a bomb and yet impact with the delicacy of a handful of goose down. A throwback to the days when authors wrote to tell a tale, Caravan deserves a wide audience.”—Ocala Star-Banner
“Excellent . . . exciting . . . This is a romantic novel of a special kind—one that tells of exotic places and evokes interest that lingers like a remembered fragrance. . . . The background is rich in description and the sensual overtones are acceptable for readers of all ages.”—The News (Southbridge, MA)
“Exciting, dramatic . . . An old-fashioned novel of danger, mystery, and intrigue—a romance-adventure story colorfully told by a skillful writer.”—Ormond Beach Observer
