Mrs. Mike

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Summary: A story that only improves with time.
Review: I read this book several times as a young teen over 20 years ago, and remembered it as one of the best books I had ever read. Recently I picked it up again to see if the story was as interesting to me as an adult as it was when I was a girl. I discovered that my own experiences as a grown woman gave the story much richer meaning for me. The book not only held up, it was even better.

Mrs. Mike is the story of a young innocent girl who falls in love with man and follows him to the remote Canadian wilderness . It is packed with scenes so vivid and real I could remember them perfectly for 20 years. The romance and adventure called to me as a teenager; the friendships, love and loss call to me as an adult.

I cannot reccomend this book highly enough.--Erin Smit

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Summary: Reminding us of cherished values of another era ...
Review: Mrs. Mike is a surprisingly contemporary story whose main character is a strong female. I think it was written about 40 years ago, so parts of it are a bit dated (and perhaps politically incorrect by today's standards). However, it is a wonderful, tender love story set against the background of the extreme and brutal climate and geography of the Canadian northwest. It is the story of a young Irish girl from Boston who falls in love with a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. The young husband, a strong male character, adores his wife and treats her accordingly. The book also depicts Indians (now called First Nation people in Candada) in a wonderful fashion, as well as strong and deep friendships among the women. This book should be required reading for young people, especially in a time when bonds between people are easily shattered and hardship is looked on as something to be avoided at all cost. Our book group loved it and read it based upon the memory of one of our members who read it as a very young woman and always treasured it in her heart.

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Summary: For Forty+ Years... Inspiring a Life
Review: Today at 61 as I trace certain lifelong attitudes to their origins I see a book I read as a pre-teen-- "Mrs. Mike." This book inspired me to both reading and thinking-- to be strong, to take risks, to think independently. And though I haven't always been true to those ideas (who could be 100%?), from that reading and thereafter every piece of burned toast in my way, whether actual or symbolic, would recall the "burned toast" incident at the book's end to jerk me back, realign skewed priorities. Marvelous!

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Summary: Mrs. Mike
Review: If I had to name one of my life-long favorite books, Mrs. Mike is at the top of the list. I first read the story when I was in 9th grade. I was quickly swept into the early 1900s and could easily envision the rugged terrain and difficult lifestyle in many of the remote areas of Canada. The experiences tugged at my young heart.

There was a line in the book that has been with me since I first read the book. "His eyes are so blue that you could swim in them." The love story had me laughing and at other times, crying. It was impossible to put it down.

I came across the book a little over twenty years ago after I had married a forester with eyes so blue you could swim in them. Reading it again renewed my love for the book.

Just a few weeks ago, I was telling my friend about this marvelous book, and yesterday she gave me a copy she had tracked down. It still is impossible to put the book down. Once again I feel like I am watching a beloved movie and visiting dear friends. Reading the paperback jacket made me realize for the first time that this story is based on the real lives of Sgt. Mike Flanigan and "Mrs. Mike". This story has endured the test of time with me. Since my husband and I have no daughters, I am getting a copy to share with my nieces. Hopefully, they will find similar enjoyment.

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Summary: No... don't read this
Review: This book was extremely boring and seems to get more boring everytime I read it

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Summary: GREAT WINTER RELAXATION
Review: Having first read MRS. MIKE as an assignment in Jr. High school I was inspired this time to read it for pleasure during this snowy, cold winter we are having here in Maine instead of a dreaded teacher's assignment. Although the story is a very fast read, enjoyable,and light reading; it does have suspense and, at times, an intense plot. This true story clearly and accurately depicts the rugged lifestyle of the cold north while also being a story of love and true devotion as Kathryn leaves her home of luxury in Boston and heads to Alaska with her new husband. Refreshing to spend an afternoon reading this again. I am also looking for the VHS (I understand you can only buy used copies now) and have had no luck. I am also a bit confused and wonder if someone can help. While searching the web and E-Bay I have found listings for: 1) Mrs. Mike 2) Mrs. Mike: The Story of Katherine Mary Flannigan and 3) Search for Joyful. I have read reviews that state there are three in the series, but noticed the sub-title of the (first) Mrs. Mike book is...The Story of K. M. Flannigan. Can anyone tell me if there are indeed three in this series or just two? Oddly enough I have found a synopsis and review for all three but haven't had any luck finding this so called "second" in the series. Any help?? [e-mail] THANKS!

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Summary: Want to buy at least 5 copies to give away
Review: Truly a great read. I read it in junior high school, and just bought it and re-read it. Women like her do not exist today. Too much whining over the appearances and amentities. Whatever she was presented with she would just suck it up, and work shoulder to shoulder with her husband and neighbors to overcome whatever the problem was. Impossible to put this book down.

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Summary: An old favorite
Review: I first read Mrs. Mike more than 30 years ago when I was quite young and never forgot many of the scenes, recently by chance came across a copy and was surprised at how good it is. As a young reader I liked it as a romance, but now can appreciate it for it's historical value - originally published in 1947, this is a novel of people living in harsh and brutal wilderness conditions, and how people pull together and help each other in small tight communities.

Mrs. Mike is the true account of Katherine Mary Flannigan from Boston, when she was 16 years old she was sent to her uncle John up in Calgary in the hopes that the Canadian climate would ease her suffering from pleurisy. Calgary was still quite a wild place in 1907, and Kathy is one of the few white women for miles around. She meets a Mountie named Mike, marries, and goes with him to Edmonton, and then on to Lesser Slave Lake by dogsled team where they will make their home amongst the villages where Mike presides as the law. It seems like there is a Hudson's Bay trading post everywhere no matter how remote the area and many unforgettable scenes such as the forest fire and grizzly bears, lots of interaction with First Nations people, epidemics that wipe out whole families and villages. Perhaps the best part is when she finally does return to Boston after years away and finds out there is no going back.

A great novel about the Northwest Territories a century ago.

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Summary: This book started my relentless reading hobby
Review: I'm not the first woman who claims that this is the book that made her fall in love with reading. I came across it in my mother's bookshelf maybe 50 yrs ago, when I was about 11, and I don't believe anyone saw me for the next few days as I plowed my way through it.
Mrs. Mike is the love story of Katherine Mary, a young Irish girl from Boston, and Sergeant Mike of the Canadian Mounties, under whose supervision falls all of the great Canadian wilderness. Katherine Mary comes from a world of privilege and comfort. When she moves with her husband to the North Pole region, let's say it took a bit of adjustment. It's a romance, an adventure, a coming-of-age, a tragedy, and a history. Give it to your niece or daughter or granddaughter. Give it to your sister, your friend, your neighbor. I guarantee, they'll all love it.

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Summary: A Recommendation to Mrs. Mike
Review: The story of Katherine Mary and her handsome husband, Sergeant Mike Flannigan, appealed to my adolescent heart. It starts out as a train ride to her Uncle's place in Canada in hopes of improving her health condition. Leaving such a busy and wondrous life to a mysterious simple one would be hard enough, especially during the time when the bustling economy was just starting to bloom; where theaters, dances, and a life of ease can be expected from America. But in Canada, where she meets Sergeant Mike Flannigan of the Canadian Mounted Police, who is a friend of her uncle, she sees that life is simplistic there. It is there in Canada that she grows from a young innocent girl to a woman. A woman who is immediately attracted to Sergeant Mike Flannigan and finds that the attraction is mutual. Despite the age difference, her being six years his senior, his admiration for her is apparent for he knows that he will be able to give her a new life. The book continues on to explain the trials and tribulation as the newly weds, for Katherine Mary is now known as Katherine Mary Flannigan, travels to a new location where her gallant husband Mike is to be sent and how their love grew stronger as time went on especially while on this journey. Along the way to a new location, they met people who had little or a lot of effect on Katherine. Characters helped evolve this young wife for she is considered a sensitive creature. But this sensitive creature is no longer considered that, she is now considered as a determined wife who wants to make the marriage a happy one, full of love, tenderness, and care. Now being married she has to take on the responsibilities of caring for her husband, as well as for herself.

I highly recommend this book to readers who are willing to read a true story of a young girl and her journey to maturation, a story of love and admiration and a story about lives filled with sorrow and at times, despair. Different stories come about here and there and it is interesting to read each character's struggles. Characters who are also mentioned in this book have destinies that are intertwined with each other, and that have certain connections. This book is a story filled with many changes and destiny, which is an attraction that the book holds. The heroine is the kind of character that I want to grow up along with. Her life seems almost perfect, and still is. But in the long run, I felt like as I read the book, I did grow as she grew to become mature and be open to a world full of pain and anguish.