Synopses & Reviews
An action-filled love story” (San Francisco Chronicle) starring Harry Longbaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid. Legend has it that bank robber Harry Longbaugh and his partner, Robert Parker, were killed in a shoot-out in Bolivia. That was the supposed end of the Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy.
Sundance tells a different story. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Longbaugh is very much alive, though serving in a Wyoming prison under an alias.
When he is released in 1913, Longbaugh reenters a changed world. Horses are being replaced by automobiles. Gas lamps are giving way to electric lights. Workers fight for safety, and women for the vote. What hasnt changed is Longbaughs ingenuity, his deadly aim, and his love for his wife, Etta Place.
Its been two years since Etta stopped visiting him, and, determined to find her, Longbaugh follows her trail to New York City. Confounded by the citys immensity, energy, chaos, and crowds, he learns that his wife was very different from the woman he thought he knew. Longbaugh finds himself in a tense game of cat and mouse, racing against time before the legend of the Sundance Kid catches up to destroy him.
By turns suspenseful, rollicking, and poignant, Sundance is the story of one man dogged by his own past, seeking his true place in this new world.
Review
Praise for Sweetsmoke “[Fuller] creates characters complex enough for readers to pity, detest and, in some cases, even admire all at the same time.”
—USA Today
“Fast-paced . . . captivating.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A suspenseful novel rich in period detail . . . compelling . . . a well-imagined and researched novel of survival and courage.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“[P]art mystery, part love story, and a harrowing portrait of slavery that reads with the immense power of the slave narratives. A tour de force for David Fuller.”
—Pat Conroy, author of Beach Music and South of Broad
Review
“Speculative historical fiction of extraordinary intelligence and descriptive power.”
—Dallas Morning News
“An action-filled love story.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Sundance is a masterful example of historical fiction. Fuller has crafted an extremely believable story, and his characters feel very human, particularly Longbaugh (the Kid); its a tribute to the authors skill that I felt no urge to imprint Robert Redfords face on this novels protagonist as I read! There is depth to the plot, and a page-turning pace.”
—Historical Novel Society
“A powerfully nuanced love story… The dialogue is marvelous, with an air of eavesdropping on real conversations, and the Kid strides the pages as you would have him: wily and wise, laconic and patient, hard-edged and deadly when pushed…historical fiction of extraordinary intelligence and descriptive power.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Compelling…Fullers research, encompassing the Triangle Fire, early feminism, and even New Yorks amazing subways, is exemplary.”
—Booklist
“Sundance is an intriguing and unique alternative history of Harry Longbaugh — the Sundance Kid — that assumes something many Wyomingites absolutely believe: that he didnt die in South America with Butch Cassidy after all.”
—C.J. Box, New York Times bestselling author of The Highway and Stone Cold
“Sundance prances on the page, sometimes rollicking, always high-spirited, as the Kid—yes, that Kid—returns. Harry Longbaugh's poignant search for the woman who almost waited for him is a tale told with rare flair. He's an outlaw to root for."
—Ivan Doig, author of The Bartenders Tale
“David Fuller does historical speculation with precision and grace. This is a compelling yarn about the possibility that Harry Longbaugh, the Sundance Kid, did not die in Bolivia but ended up in New York City searching for his wife. Its a fascinating idea and a very satisfying read.”
—Selden Edwards, author of The Little Book
“In his ingenious new novel, David Fuller pulls off a heist worthy of the Sundance Kid himself—he steals a page from the history books and utterly rewrites it. Mixing fact with fancy, Fuller paints a vibrant portrait of an America just beginning to flex its muscles at the turn of the twentieth century—and of a celebrated outlaw whose own career reflected every change in the world around him. Its wilder than a rodeo ride and more rewarding than a bank robbery.”
—Robert Masello, author of The Romanov Cross
“The Old West meets New York in this clever, highly entertaining novel. Harry Longbaugh is an insightful, wily and romantic man. His quest to find his missing wife, Etta, takes us on an enthralling journey through the neighborhoods and streets of old New York.”
- Jennie Fields, author of The Age of Desire
Praise for Sweetsmoke
“[Fuller] creates characters complex enough for readers to pity, detest and, in some cases, even admire all at the same time.”
—USA Today
“Fast-paced . . . captivating.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A suspenseful novel rich in period detail . . . compelling . . . a well-imagined and researched novel of survival and courage.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“[P]art mystery, part love story, and a harrowing portrait of slavery that reads with the immense power of the slave narratives. A tour de force for David Fuller.”
—Pat Conroy, author of Beach Music and South of Broad
About the Author
David Fuller is a screenwriter and the author of Sweetsmoke. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and twin sons.