CELTICLADY'S REVIEWS: On the Rails by Rosemary and Larry Mild Spotlight Tour Review and Guest Post!

On the Rails: The Adventures of Boxcar Bertie by Rosemary and Larry Mild

Publisher: Magic Island Literary Works (July 1, 2023)
Category: Historical Fiction
Tour Dates August 21-Sept 22, 2023
ISBN: 978-099054724
Available in Print and ebook, 230 pages

Description On the Rails by Rosemary and Larry Mild

What’s a woman to do? Bertie Patchet has just graduated from college in New Haven, Connecticut, to become a grammar school teacher. But the year is 1936, and the country is deep in the throes of The Great Depression. Securing employment is nearly impossible for everyone, let alone a single inexperienced female.

Going home is an ugly option to be avoided. Bertie absolutely must get away, but travel without an income? Forget it! Bertie dresses like a man and turns to hopping railway boxcars to make her escape to better opportunities. A female hobo? Unheard of! It’s a man’s world, so how can she maneuver in this male atmosphere fraught with risk, danger, and loss?

Will she ever find a teaching job? And will she dare to find romance in the bargain? A charming new novel with an unforgettable protagonist, a setting to die for, and a mesmerizing plotline, On the Rails is on track to become another beloved tale by dynamic husband-and-wife duo Rosemary and Larry Mild.

Guest review by Laura Lee

Who is Bertie Patchett and where is she going?

These are the central questions asked by the main character in Rosemary and Larry Mild's new novel, 'On the Rails: The Adventures of Boxcar Bertie.'

Many young people go through a soul-searching phase when they leave college, but Bertie Patchett happens to be doing this during the Great Depression, arguably the worst economic period in America's history.

It only makes sense that she would see the men riding the rails, trying to find work and wonder if that was the right choice for her.

Bertie decides to take to the rails after nearly being assaulted by her step-father and leaving her mother's house once and for all.

As a woman alone, she realizes that she must protect herself if she is going to travel among mostly men, and she takes it upon herself to dress up as a man, calling herself Bert.

Traveling as a man, Bertie makes friends, enemies and shady acquaintances as she travels from town to town along the east coast, taking jobs when she can to survive.

I greatly enjoyed this lively novel, and I feel like I learned a lot about the Great Depression from reading it.

Also, I appreciated how tough and smart Bertie was as a character. I loved her for her strength but also her vulnerability that really showed who she was and made her realistic.

Bertie faced a lot of difficult situations in this novel, from the beginning right up to the end, and watching her grow and change as she went along really made this novel a five-star read for me!

I won't say how this one ends for fear of spoiling it, but lets just say I found the ending very satisfying and refreshing, and I look forward to finding more books from these authors to read!

A Hobo’s Interview with Bertie Pachet

Scene: It’s 1936. Bertie has just jumped from a freight train moving too fast and twisted her ankle. A kind hobo has helped her from the track gravel to his campfire to share a much-needed meal in an isolated grassy nook of the New Haven rail yard.

Bertie: That sure was a tasty meal. Thank you. The beans and rye bread really hit the spot.

Hobo: Say, lad, where are you off to, anyway?

Bertie: I’m not a lad, Mister. I’m a full-grown woman, and where I’m going is none of your darn business.

Hobo: Sorry, Miss. But if you’re a woman, why are you all decked out like that—like a lad?

Bertie: Because a lady can’t go certain places dressed like a lady.

Hobo: And what places might that be?

Bertie: If you must know, I ride the rails.

Hobo: You mean the freight trains in a boxcar, like me?

Bertie: Yes, that’s right. In a boxcar. It’s the only way I can get where I want to go. I haven’t any money to pay for passenger fare.

Hobo: No one does these days. I blame it on the Depression. But where is this place you have to get to?

Bertie: Anywhere I can find a job. You’re a pretty nosy guy, aren’t you?

Hobo: I apologize for that, Miss, I don’t mean you any harm. I’m just passing the time of day with you. I like to learn things about people—like, what kind of employment are you looking for?

Bertie: I’m a grammar school teacher and I’m looking for a school that will have me. Or maybe I can find a rich family that will hire me to tutor their kids.

Hobo: This is 1936. There aren’t too many rich people around here anymore. Have you even got any credentials for teaching?

Bertie: You bet I do. I graduated top of my class at the Connecticut State Normal School for teachers last June.

Hobo: I suppose you wouldn’t take any other job in the meantime?

Bertie: You’re wrong again, Mister. I’ve done some cooking, cleaning, and waiting tables to earn my keep. I’ve even worked on a farm for a while.

Hobo: Where have you traveled so far?

Bertie: Pretty much all over southern New England—Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts—wherever the train stops.

Hobo: Anything happen in those places?

Bertie: Lots of things. A good deal of danger, punishment, and excitement too.

Hobo: Wasn’t it scary for you riding those boxcars?

Bertie: You bet. Getting on and off a moving boxcar is a pretty tricky thing—one misstep and you’re in deep, deep trouble. Then there are the rail yard guards. If they catch you, they’ll beat the living tar out of you. And you never know who or what you’ll meet once you’re in a boxcar.

Hobo: Say, you’re pretty spunky for a lady—not a bad looker either.

Bertie: Whoa there, Mister. I draw the line at expressions like that. Now don’t you go getting too friendly with me.

Hobo: Sorry, Miss, it’s just an observation. I’m not making a pass at you. Say, don’t you have a home—somebody you care about? Everybody has to come from someplace.

Bertie: Yes, in New Haven, the Hill section, just up the hill from the railroad station here. But I can’t go back home—ever.

Hobo: Why is that, Miss?

Bertie: Because I have a rotten, abusive stepfather, whom I abhor, and a drunken, permissive mother. That’s why, Mr. Nosy.

Hobo: What happened to your real father?

Bertie: He died a long, long time ago, and my mother remarried this ne’er-do-well, a loser without a job or sense of morality.

Hobo: What was your father like? Was there ever any love in your family?

Bertie: Daddy was a gem, and Mommy wasn’t drinking back then. We were a happy, loving family. I miss them both terribly, but life at my house can never be anything but misery now.

Hobo: Do they own the house or do they rent?

Bertie: They own the house, but they’re going to lose it soon. They’re getting too far behind in the payments.

Hobo: Have there been any other men in your past?

Bertie: Not that it’s any of your beeswax. I’ve met a few I befriended along the way.

Hobo: Did anything ever develop with these guys?

Bertie: Mostly we were just friends, colleagues in boxcar riding. Some tried to take advantage of me, and I gave them what they deserved. I’m still intact, but I’m certainly looking forward to romance and security in my future.

Hobo: Well, good for you.

Bertie: Let’s just say I’m a determined woman. I know where I’m going.

Hobo: I’ll ask you again. Where’re you headed, Miss?

Bertie: A job interview.

Hobo: Dressed like that?

Bertie: Of course not, I’ve got a decent dress folded up in the bottom of my backpack.

Hobo: Good luck, Miss. I’ll be on my way now.

Bertie: Hey, wait. I’ve been spilling out my whole life to you. Don’t you think it’s about time you tell me something about you?

Hobo: Sure, Miss, but that will have to be at another time and place.

© Rosemary and Larry Mild

About Rosemary and Larry Mild

Rosemary and Larry Mild coauthored the Dan & Rivka Sherman Mysteries; the Paco and the Molly Mysteries; Hawaii adventure/thrillers Cry Ohana and Honolulu Heat; and four volumes of short stories, including their new one, Charlie and the Magic Jug and Other Stories.

Many of their stories appear in anthologies. The Milds, a happy husband-and-wife team, make their home in Honolulu, where they cherish time with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.

Website: https://www.magicile.com/

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On The Rails by Rosemary and Larry Mild