Everyone is a Critic: 1923

I’m not much for dramas. But yet, the western flavor I saw in the advertisements for the 1923 saga on Paramount+ drew me in, and I decided to give it a try. And boy, was I glad that I did. This series contains one of the most tragic love stories that I have ever heard in the story of Spencer Dutton and Alex. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Harrison Ford is the big-name star featured in this series, as he plays the character of Jacob Dutton, patriarch of the Dutton family, after raising his nephews John (James Badge Dale) and Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), and building the Dutton empire in Montana. But draught and greed threaten to take it all away, as sheep herder, Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) encroaches on Dutton land, teaming up with entrepreneur, Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) to declare war on the Duttons in an attempt to steal it all away. The Duttons send for Spencer, the youngest nephew, who is a war hero, hunting lions for the British crown so they can lay roads across the African plains.

Although we’re following the patriarchal line of the Dutton family, for me, it was the women in this saga who truly shone. Acclaimed actress Helen Mirren plays the strong and proud matriarch of the Dutton clan, Cara. She is strong and well accustomed to ranching life in the Montana valley. When her husband is shot, she does whatever is needed, including running the ranch until Jacob heals and regains his strength.

Aminah Nieves plays the character of Teonna Rainwater, a crow Indian taken from her family and placed in the white man’s school. Run by Father Renaud (Sabastian Roche) and a group of nuns who take strictness to the extremes of cruelty, as they try to ingrain their own beliefs of the native children and ‘civilize’ them. Abused, beaten and raped, Teonna will take no more, and her escape turns her into a wanted woman, running for her life in a struggle to survive and carry on her tribe and their legacy.

And then, there is headstrong Alex, Alexandra Countess of Sussex, played by Julia Schlaephfer, who abandons all the refineries of British culture, throwing it to the wind in favor of love at first sight, in a narrow escape from an arranged marriage to a man she did not love. Determined is the only way to describe her. When separated from her new husband, Spencer Dutton, the lion hunter, she’ll let nothing stand in her way of reaching the man who she loves and the father of the child she carries within. Talk about a tragic love story. Her determination becomes her downfall as she embarks on a journey to America and a series of poor choices and just plain bad luck. She is beaten and robbed, forced to work as a serving girl to eat on the train, and then, raped by one of the passengers and placed under house arrest when she fights back. It seems there are obstacles blocking her every step of the way, but through it all, she finds a way to carry on and hold her high, always moving toward her goal, for better or for worse.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARC digital copies, (she also accepts print copies). Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.

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This segment of “Everyone is a Critic” with Kaye Lynne Booth is sponsored by The Women in the West Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.

Historical Women’s Fiction

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