Mrs. Mike

By: Benedict Freedman, Nancy Freedman

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Recently arrived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, after a long, hard journey from Boston, 16-year-old Katherine Mary O'Fallon never imagined that she could lose her heart so easily or so completely. Standing over six feet tall, with "eyes so blue you could swim in them", Mike Flannigan is a well respected sergeant in the Canadian Mounted Police and a man of great courage, kindness, and humor. Together, he and his beloved Kathy manage to live a good, honest life in this harsh, unforgiving land and to find strength in a love as beautiful and compelling as the wilderness around them.

©2002 Benedict and Nancy Freedman (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Only once in a long while does the lover of books come across a novel like this one. Mrs. Mike is an unforgettable story." ( Boston Herald)
"It is the personality of Sgt. Mike blowing through this account like a clear breeze that gives it a refreshing quality. Everyone's dream of a cop, he was also a romantic and understanding husband, the fondest of fathers, a man of honor and humor." ( The New York Times)

How could I have missed this all these years?

This is a riveting book, a great one to listen to. The descriptions of the Canadian Northwest and living conditions are in great and realistic detail. Although it has some aspects of a novel for Young Adults, the complexities of the life and the ordeals faced by the main characters take it beyond that genre. Highly recommended.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Mothers favorite book

Mrs Mike is a refreshing story. My mother loved the book and allowed me to read it as a young teen. In todays busy times,I was thrilled to find it in audible. It is written in a simple way that lets you relax and imagine yourself living her life. You laugh and cry and persevere and when your done listening, you hug your family and feel blessed.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Reread from highschool

I love this book! I cry every time I read it or listen to it. I have read it in book form at least 15 times. It is real and touching and a glimpse of what life was like in the Canadian North at the turn of the century. It is well written and very enjoyable.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Lovely version of an old favorite...

I fell in love with this book decades ago. Listening to this audio version made me fall in love all over again.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Riveting Story of Life and Love in the Wild

This book impacts your life and helps to put all things into perspective. Somehow, what starts out as an almost sappy love story, turns into a fascinating account of the human condition. The Canadian North Woods in the early 1900s are a beautiful but brutal place to live, and this book does not spare you from either dimension. Eventually you understand that maybe love can conquer all, but not without changing you in the process. I first read Mrs. Mike as a young teenager, and the story was so compelling, I never forgot it. Reading it again forty years later the emotional impact remains the same. The narrator brings Katherine Mary O'Fallon (Mrs. Mike) to life, and I applaud her performance. So when you combine entertainment, literary refinery, and meaningful substance into a single story, than it earns 15 stars on my scale.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

1907-1918 Married Life in the Canadian Wilderness

Holy smokes! I've been through the fire with this one. A classic, published in 1947. It's realistic historical fiction with some sense of a love story but also a good deal of personal tragedy, including some truly grisly scenes.

I alternately read the e-book and listened to the audio, narrated superbly by the talented Kirsten Potter. It was also made into a movie, starring Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes, but I haven't seen it.

This fast-paced narrative is told in 1st person POV in the perspective of "Mrs. Mike" (the name the Cree and Beaver natives use for the heroine, Katherine Mary O'Fallon Flannigan, of Boston).

The story begins in March 1907, on a train bound for Calgary, in the midst of a historic snowstorm. It continues in Alberta and British Columbia, Western Canada (Calgary, Hudson's Hope, Peace River Crossing, and Grouard, near Lower Slave Lake).

Descriptive. Vivid imagery. Educational. Sometimes funny. Sometimes profound. A few sweet loving scenes, with hugs and kisses. And terribly horribly grim at times. Very sad.

Realistic look at life in the Canadian wilderness, the serenity, the majesty, and the horror (forest fires, diphtheria, horrible deaths -- even of beloved characters -- whiskey smuggling, insanity, murder, wonderful natives, missions, mosquitos, bears, wolves, prairie chickens (rabbits), dogsleds (huskies), etc.

The authors credibly portray three women of tremendous emotional courage and resiliency, especially Sarah and Constance, but also Katherine Mary (Mrs. Mike) herself.

Loved the hero of the tale, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Mike Flannigan. His love for life, for the wilderness, for the natives, and for his girl Kathy was transparent. When they marry in 1907, Mike is 27 years old and Katherine is 16. When the story ends, they are each about 12 years older. They've suffered great loss and experienced great joy in only 12 years. Katherine has grown up.

Quibbles:

The book suddenly ends after almost 12 years of marriage, so we just have to assume they live a good life together with their children. I wish there were more closure. My other quibble is that some scenes and characters were glossed over or forgotten. But that's minor. Also, the chapter about the Chinese emperors did not seem to fit at all, never mind how silly it was.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

Better to listen when older vs. forced as an...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I had to read this book in my 8th grade English class...and reading was not something on my want to do list of activities. So when my daughter received the same book assignment, I wanted to help her out and thought listening to audio will make it better. Just intending to be a member for those 3 months, I ended up enjoying listening vs reading. (I tend to gain weight by reading books so listening to the books solved that problem LOL)

Back to Mrs. Mike, I sure appreciated the story better now than when I was forced to read it in high school. Mrs Mike is a great story. I feel in love with the characters and the story of their lives. It made me want to re-visit the classics from HS.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Warm, welcoming and full of charm.

This is a beautiful, charming, warm tale of family, love and life in a remote area of Canada before and during WW2. I fell in love with the people of this little town. The Freedmans were inspired by their real life friend, and I think they wrote a beautiful story in her name. I hope she felt honored.

I pushed the play button on my phone after my husband went to bed... and several hours later it ended. One breathless sitting, falling in love with a place and the people who inhabited it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

My favorite book

Mrs Mike has played a special roll in my life and in the lives of my children. I have personally read it eight times! Several of those times were read aloud to my children. It was so good we read all night just to finish this beautiful story. Listening to the audible book has been delightful to me. It brought back many memories of times gone past with hot chocolate and children gathered all around me. This is one of the best books ever!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A classic done beautifully

As for many, Mrs. Mike was a book I read long ago and I still have my copy at home. I saw the title pop up and listened to a sample before I bought it. Kirsten Potter did a wonderful job with book and made me feel as if I was reading it myself and she brought back how much I liked this story. I'll be sure to listen to more stories she's narrated.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful