A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896

A Coal Miner's Bride is an absolutely beautiful, yet dark glimpse into the life of a late 19th century "mail-order bride." This book touches down on many subjects that would later come under heavy fire by both the leftist and the right-wingers: harsh mining and factory conditions, immigration, socialism, unionism, child-labor, arranged marriage, and the right to protest. Bartoletti is a true artist in her descriptions of not only Anetka's village life in Poland, but also her life as a young (VERY young) bride to a complete stranger. Within a month of leaving the ship at Ellis Island, she becomes an American resident, a wife, and a mother...all before her fifteenth birthday. While you may find yourself crying before the end of the book, show more you will also find yourself more knowledgeable of the rough life 19th century immigrants faced, regardless of race, religion, age, or gender. show less

A diary account of 13-year-old Anetka's life in Poland in 1896, immigration to America, marriage to a coal miner, widowhood, and happiness in finally finding her true love. Her fascinating diary entries give readers a personal glimpse into what life was like in a coal-mining town during a tumultuous time in the country's past.

Meet Anetka, a 13-year-old Polish girl who comes to America as a promised bride to a Pennsylvania coal miner. Her fascinating diary entries give readers a personal glimpse into what life was like in a coal-mining town during a tumultuous time in our country's past.

Young Anetka's father sends for her and her brother to join him in America. However, the tickets have been paid for by thirteen-year-old Anetka's husband to be, a widower with three daughters. As Anetka adjusts to life in America, she adjusts to life as a wife and mother. Bartoletti brilliantly weaves the convincing fiction with the historical setting, from Russian controlled Poland to the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Readers will learn much about the difficulties immigrants faced, the harsh working conditions of the time period, and the struggle laborers went through for their rights. Bartoletti delivers a complex story in a suitable manor for the intended audience. Very well done.

Annetka Kaminska is a thirteen-year-old girl living in Russian-controlled Poland in 1896. She bitterly resents the Russians that have taken over her country and are forcing her people to give up their language and customs. But she is even more angry when her father, living in America, arranges a marriage for her, with a Pennsylvania coal miner twice her age. A widower with three little girls, Stanley mounrs for his wife and does not love Annetka, treating her almost like a servant. Yet when he dies in a mining accident, things become even more difficult, as she must care for the children and pay the rent. Yet in spite of her bleak life, she finds some hope in the children, and in the possibly of true love. I highly reccomend this novel show more to historical fiction fans. Annetka is a well-developed, likeable character that you can't help but cheer for as she struggles to survive daily and make a new life for herself in America. show less

Personal response:

Even though this book is fiction it is based on actual events from the coal mines of Lattimer, Pennsylvania during the late 1800's. In our day of so much ease it is hard to imagine what life was like for these early immigrants. I thought that I was young when I married at 18, but many girls during this time in history were married much younger that to men they didn't even know. The diary format made it easy to read and believable.

Curricular Connections:

This series would be good to compare the struggles faced by immigrants in the past to the immigrants of today.

What a great piece! This book is a great glimpse of not only a young Polish girl, but of the great heart and will of the Polish people. Being Polish myself, I was honored to feel like my ancestors were a part of this.