Bird-watchers will love this journey back to the 1880s West Coast when
vast populations of wild birds still filled the skies in annual
migrations. But the birds were imperiled by plume hunters intent on
personal fortune. This story of violence, love, and loss portrays the
advent of the Audubon Society.
A moving story of conflict, friendship, and love, The Plume Hunter
follows the life of Fin McFaddin, a late-nineteenth century Oregon
outdoorsman who takes to plume hunting - killing birds to collect
feathers for women's hats - to support his widowed mother. In 1885, more
than five million birds were killed in the United States for the
millinery industry, prompting the formation of the Audubon Society. The
novel brings to life an era of our country's natural history seldom
explored in fiction, and follows Fin's relationships with his lifelong
friends as they struggle to adapt to society's changing mores.
Renée Thompson writes about wildlife, her love of birds, and the people
who inhabit the American West. Her first novel, The Bridge at Valentine,
received high praise from Pulitzer Prize-winner Larry McMurtry, author
of Lonesome Dove. Renée lives in Northern California with her husband,
Steve, and is at work on a short-story collection.
The Plume Hunter won the 2012 da Vinci Eye Award, presented by the
Eric Hoffer Award for Books, for its superior cover art.
"I really enjoyed this book. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the
life of a bird hunter and the complex social, economic and personal
issues swirling around the birth of the conservation movement." ---David
Sibley, author of THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS
"Renée Thompson's gripping novel transports the reader to a time when
our nation was trying its best to grow up, yet seemed mired in its own
awkward "teen" years...I read this book in one sitting, finding it no
easier to put down than Fin did his hunting guns." ---Bill Thompson III,
Editor, Bird Watcher's Digest
"Renée Thompson brings us to a place of semi-darkness, with its confused
emotions, and allows us to witness the "Hunter" changing from within.
This is a story of process and a quest to redeem. I love it." ---Fr. Tom
Pincelli, Former Chairman, American Birding Association
"A compelling chronicle of avarice, betrayal, and redemption."
---Tim Gallagher, author of The Grail Bird
[THE PLUME HUNTER is] an economically written literary drama sparked
by expert dialogue and visualized through an acute sense of place."
---Allen Pierleoni, book critic for The Sacramento Bee
