I am a huge Western fan.  I grew up watching them and as I aged began to love reading them.  I also love history and had planned on teaching it.  The point of all this personal information is to say that when the opportunity to read Gone to Dallas, The Storekeeper 1856-1861 was offered to me, I jumped at the chance!  What a smart move on my part!  Moore-Moore has written a real page-turner with her great western novel about a young, just married woman who leaves her family behind and joins a wagon team headed for Dallas, Texas to start a life as a Mercantile store owner.  

The novel covers the trip to Dallas with all the adventure it brings, getting the store up and running as well as adapting to life in Texas.  Sara, the main character, leaves Tennessee filled with dreams of life in Texas with her handsome husband, working together in their store and raising precious children.  On the journey, she must reconcile her dreams with the sometimes harsh reality of life.  For Sara, facing her fears comes down to the question of does she want to return home having failed in every aspect of her life, or does she want to keep moving forward seeing what she can accomplish.  Moore-Moore has created a terrific protagonist that one can not help but root for, be impressed with, and want to support.  These were not easy times, especially not for women.

Written historically correct for the period and setting, the book highlights the beginning of one of the major cities in Texas.  I loved the information in the story about the La Reunion commune that began in Dallas in the mid-nineteenth century, the role of Sarah Cockrell in the growth of Dallas, and the Buffalo Soldiers.  This is the perfect blend of history and fiction!