Shortly after the Civil War, Captain Kidd, 72-year-old veteran of three wars, rides around Texas reading the news in small towns. He was previously the owner of a print shop in San Antonio, but during the war, the Confederate government forced him to invest in their government bonds, so he ended up bankrupt.
Most of Texas is very dangerous, prone to raids by Native warriors and lawless. He is in Wichita Falls when a freight driver he knows asks him to take a girl—who was captured by the Kiowa four years earlier and has now been returned under threat—to her relatives near San Antonio. The driver has found her hard to control and has no freight to take to San Antonio. The Captain reluctantly agrees.
The girl, kidnapped from German immigrants, is named Johanna and is going to her aunt and uncle. However, she remembers nothing of her previous existence and is wild about being taken from the Kiowa.
The Captain and Johanna come to understand each other on this dangerous, difficult journey of around 400 miles. They have to cope with floods and such dangers as an attack by three men who want Johanna for a prostitution ring.
I had already seen the excellent movie starring Tom Hanks, but News of the World is even more involving. I was interested to re-encounter Simon the Fiddler, who is the main character of Jiles’s most recent book. Having looked at some of her other books, I see that she has set several of them in the same area and time, with characters who make brief appearances in each other’s novels.
I just loved this book. Jiles has created two unforgettable characters, and the novel is ultimately powerful and heart-warming. Descriptions of the land are lyrical, from its harsh aridity to its lushness.
whatmeread 
I love this book. I felt like I’d had a mini-Texas history course. The movie is great too.
I agree!
It’s been several years since I read this book, but I too really enjoyed it. It’s so well-written and such an absorbing story, with a fantastic sense of history. I also appreciated that it doesn’t bog down in the historical details in a way that makes the reader feel like the author needs everyone to know how much research they did.
I don’t usually mind historical details, but I know what you mean.
This sounds interesting. I’ve read very few books set in the period at the end of the Civil War.
I think you would love it, Helen.
Sounds great – might have to add this one to the wishlist!
Please do!