I started reading it in November 2019, but then forgot about the book till last week ,in March 2020.
The book is very long, almost 700 pages .Reading for an hour a day, it took me a week to finish it.
This is the beginning of the story about Alexandria (Alex ) Thane.At the beginning, in 1812, she is a
tomboy girl living with her cousins the Falconers .She falls in love with her cousin Rane (pronounced like rain ) , a shipbuilder.Together they save the life of an American, Caleb Jennings from Baltimore.
In Alex's family, her siblings and she are named after famous cities: Alexandria ,Florence,and brothers Rome,Paris and Boston.Their mother, Margaret, is cold and ambitious, demeans Alex when at home.Florence is married off to a younger son of a titled family, St John Carrington, but dies giving
birth to twins (boy and girl ).St John returns home without his right arm.He proposes to Alex, but the church forbids such a marriage.Still, Alex and Sinje (as she calls him) come to live together .Don't forget, she is only 15, too young to marry .Alex gets pregnant and gives birth to a daughter, Christiana.
In 1820, after their daughter dies of a fever, Sinje and Alex with the twins decide to emigrate to America. They meet again Caleb, now married to Penelope (Pen ) and they become fast friends.
St John brings some Thoroughbred horses with him and starts betting on the races.Thus he wins their plantation, which they rename Wild Swan.During thje next 10 years their horses become champions.
Rane has moved to Baltimore, too.He is married to the American Claire , who is mad at times (shades of Bertha, Mr Rochester's wife in Jane Eyre ).When Morgan is born, everyone believes he is
Sinje's son .(Rane and Alex look alike enough to be thought siblings ).Another son, Nigel, is born.
Then a neighbouring girl, Samantha (Sam, also a tomboy and neglected by her father and stepmother ) comes into Alex's life.Sam adores Morgan .
The Carringtons abhore slavery and have only free Negro servants, like Della. Samson, a runaway slave, finds a real home at Wild Swan. Later his owner comes to the plantation to buy a horse, but Alex refuses him.Samson wants to buy his wife and children from his master ,but it's too late- they have died from some disease.
Alex is torn between the two men she loves- her husband and her cousin /lover.
I loved her wise grandmother, Virginia, a sensible and practical woman, unlike her son,Caton, Alex's father.
The book ends in 1831.To be continued in the next one.

I had a fun time reading this historical fiction novel with my mama! At 800ish pages, it definitely took me awhile to finish it, but I loved an excuse to get completely immersed in this time period. Alex + Rane 4 Everrrrrr. I will die on this ship!

I remember reading the original edition of this book, way back when. I believe it was my sister who introduced me to this author but I don't remember exactly. I enjoyed Wild Swan then and I enjoyed A Wild Hope now, though I do think the original title was better. If fits the story perfectly while the newer title is apt but less so. Hopefully the other books in the trilogy keep their original names or get better name changes.

This first book in the Wild Swan trilogy was full of drama, angst, passion, action, politics, romantic drama, and gallons and gallons of family drama. Alexandria loves two men; no love triangle, she's a serial monogamist. I had forgotten how young she was when she married for the first time, maybe 14 or 14. It didn't bother me the first time I read it years ago, but did a bit this time around. Especially as there's an age gap between her and the first husband, roughly 10 years, maybe more. Most of the time I wasn't aware of their respective ages but then something would remind me and pull me out of the story.

The story is long, almost 700 pages but so much happens that I was caught up. De Blasis wrote lovely descriptions and engaging characters who made me smile, laugh, curse, and tear up. I really liked Alexandria, Alex, the book's heroine. She is feisty, tender, independent, inquisitive, ferociously loyal, and both strong and vulnerable. She wants love and attention from her cold mother and negligent father and brothers but rarely receives any. Their actions, as well as one of Alex's, are what set events in motion and kick off the story. My heart broke for Alex and how her family treated her, and I loved her grandmother. She and Alex were quite similar, especially with their forceful personalities. Alex had a rough start in life, made some poor choices, but rarely pitied herself. Instead, she would dust herself off, and try again. She had the courage to dream, the discipline to make her dreams come true, and the flexibility to change dreams.

I liked both of Alex's loves and the challenges of each relationship were more than enough for a life time. A Wild Hope is romance, history lesson, soap opera, and family saga in one rich confection. I wasn't thrilled with the portrayal of a character who had some mental and emotional challenges. It lacked compassion and was heavy-handed, and of course that character was a bad person for having those challenges. They were villainous even. Many of the bad guys were over the top and not always fully fleshed out but even so, A Wild Hope was a wild ride that tugged at my heart and pulled me into its world. I am looking forward to more books by De Blasis being released in digital and hope that my favorite, The Tiger's Woman, will be re-released.

I originally read this book thirty-six years ago when it was first published in 1984 as Wild Swan. It is part of an epic three-episode saga beginning in early 1813 England’s West Country and moving to the new world of Maryland. It is the story of Alexandra Thaine and the two men she loves, her distant cousin Rane Falconer and St. John Carrington. This book was one of my favorites, and I reread it several times until it was lost or destroyed. In recent years I replaced it via eBay. I saw this listed on NetGalley and jumped at the chance to reread and see if it still held the excitement in did back then. I must say that it has withstood the test of time.

I so enjoyed rereading this and revisiting these people that I once loved and their lives. I thoroughly recommend it to people who love historical romance. As I mentioned, this saga begins in 1813 England and then moves to Maryland and swirls around the topics of horse racing, slavery, politics, and family ties. Celeste De Blasis was an extraordinary author, and this saga was her crowning glory. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This first installment will always be a favorite of mine, and I give it four and one-half stars rounded up to five.

1813-1831 Kent, Clovenly, Maryland saga

Celeste De Blasis was ahead of her time in her portrayal of strong romantic heroines who took control of their own lives and demanded equal footing with their men. De Blasis' greatest accomplishment was the Wild Swan trilogy. The novels span the lives of Alexandria Carrington Falconer and her descendants from 1813 to 1894 in both England and America.

This is an excellent trilogy....I have read it twice...once in the early 80's and again in 2010....all of De Blasis books are very good.

Beautifully written. Historically accurate.

I loved this 1st book. It takes place in England and how they were affected by taxes during the American Revolution. Then the story moves to Maryland and the beginning of horse racing. Loved the history.

I love this. Though it took me forever to read (I’m a very slow reader) it was a great story. I am looking forward to part two. It is very interesting to read how times have changed since the 1800s not just historically and politically but with relationships. Today it’s quite frowned upon in American culture to marry your cousin, no matter the distance. Anyway great story. Not a huge fan of romance novels and the explicit scenes however reading about the culture and history is great. This Alex is a very very strong woman.

I usually never read "romance" novels, but I LOVE this book! The main character, Alexandria, is a model of common sense and love and strong character. The two books that follow are quite good, also.
I hate all other books by this author.

Perhaps they are swan maidens with fine gold chains around their necks... When they settle on secret ponds and lakes, they take off their feather cloaks and are beautiful women, eternally young. That's who I'll wed, one of the swan maidens.

Flocks of graceful wild swans fly serenely throughout the almost two decades that span Celeste De Blasis' epic, wonderful historical novel Wild Swan, blissfully unaware of the earth-bound humans who look up longingly at them, wishing for their freedom.

There are no words to do justice to one of the best historical novels that I have ever read. The first part of the book in particular, which focuses on the heroine's childhood, has the pure and innocent quality of a child's fairy-tale. The rest of the book deals very realistically and brutally with the mess that adults make of their lives, their ups and downs, their bravery and pettiness, their loyalty and treachery, all the while fate lies in wait, ready to deal them a blow while they thought themselves finally secure in their hard-won happiness.

Wild Swan is not just a captivating love story, a meticulous family saga, or a historical fiction with interesting details from the era. Wild Swan is about the purity and ideals of childhood, the strength of a child's heart and soul in the face of cruel, aloof adults

This is a first in a trilogy that follows the members of this family over a century and I will absolutely have to read the rest. A gem of a book that I was so grateful to discover.

great