Summary
Summary of A Mating in the Wilds
Key ideas
Key idea 1
The wilderness tests character and truth
In the fur country of northern Canada, a small group leaves the security of a Hudson Bay Company post for the forest and the winter beyond. At the centre are Hubert Stane, a young man with graying hair, and Helen Yardely, the spirited niece of a powerful Company governor.
Gerald Ainley, who knew Stane in England, stands between them. Their adventure brings together danger, romance and a question about character: what remains when comfort disappears, and what does a person owe to the truth about his own name?
Key idea 2
An old enemy avoids a question
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Key idea 3
A rescue opens the way to trust
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Key idea 4
Helen becomes the one who helps
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Key idea 5
Shared work deepens their bond
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Key idea 6
Love is spoken under threat
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Key idea 7
The pursuit reaches the frozen lake
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Key idea 8
Different viewpoints sharpen the suspense
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Key idea 9
Actions reveal what people are worth
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
You will enjoy this if you like wilderness adventure, canoes and snowshoes, a love story that grows steadily between two capable people, and a mystery about an old wrong that someone has hidden for years.
What this book is
A Mating in the Wilds is an adventure romance set in the fur country of northern Canada. It was written by Ottwell Binns, who died in 1935, and it follows a small group of people from a Hudson Bay Company post into the deep forest and the winter beyond. You get a river rescue, a forest fire, a trapper's cabin, a siege in the snow and a chase across a frozen lake.
At the centre are Hubert Stane, a lean young man with graying hair who lives in the wilds with an old Indian companion, and Helen Yardely, the high-spirited niece of a powerful Company governor. Between them stands Gerald Ainley, a polished rising man in the Company who knew Stane in England. Around them move an Indian girl named Miskodeed, a mounted policeman, a trapper and a hired killer.
The book asks what a person is made of when comfort is taken away, and what a man owes to the truth about his own name. Let's begin at the Company post on the river, where a stranger in a canoe sees a flag and hesitates.
In this summary
- 1A stranger and an old enemyFree
- 2Two nights of waiting, then a blow
- 3The search that goes the wrong way
- 4The river rescue and a mystery shot
- 5Stranded in the forest
- 6Fire, raft and a cabin by the lake
- 7Footprints, a policeman and a cunning chief
- 8The siege and the knife in the dark
- 9The chase across the ice
- 10What the story is really about
- 11How the story is told
Key point 1 of 11
A stranger and an old enemy
The book opens on a summer day at Fort Malsun, a northern post of the Hudson Bay Company. A lean young man in a fringed deerskin outfit paddles up the river, but he beaches his canoe away from the wharf. A flag is flying, and he fears it means a steamer or an important visitor is near. He is Hubert Stane, and his hair is already streaked with gray.
Near the post he sees a beautiful Indian girl singing on a path through the willows. She flees like a startled deer when she notices him. A little later he sees a white woman cross the square with a dapper young man who wears a monocle. The young man is Gerald Ainley, and when he sees Stane his face turns white.
Ainley tells the factor's wife that Stane served three years in Dartmoor prison for forgery. Stane sees Ainley turn away from him and burns with anger, because he believes he was punished for something he did not do. He confronts Ainley in the store and says there is a question he must ask him.
Ainley promises to come to Stane's camp at midnight. Then a fanfare sounds from the river, announcing a company governor and his party. Ainley hurries off to greet them, and Stane is left with a question that has waited for years.
The scene sets up the whole book. It gives us a proud man with a past, a smooth man with something to hide, and a promise that may never be kept.
That’s 1 of 11 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does Stane hold back from speaking of love?
Right. “Stane will not speak of love while he is a convicted man.”Not quite. “Stane will not speak of love while he is a convicted man.”
How does Helen change during her time in the forest?
Right. “She sets a bone, builds a raft, shoots a caribou and carries a man on her back.”Not quite. “She sets a bone, builds a raft, shoots a caribou and carries a man on her back.”
How do the changing viewpoints help create suspense?
Right. “The suspense comes from what we know and the characters do not.”Not quite. “The suspense comes from what we know and the characters do not.”
Questions about A Mating in the Wilds
What is A Mating in the Wilds about?
It follows Hubert Stane, a man with a prison past, and Helen Yardely, a governor's niece, who are stranded together in the northern forest. Their survival, growing love and a hidden plot by Gerald Ainley drive the story.
Who is Gerald Ainley?
Ainley is a rising Company man who knew Stane in England. He wants to marry Helen, and he is the person Stane most wants to question about the old forgery that sent him to prison.
Who is Miskodeed?
Miskodeed is a young Indian woman whose name means the Beauty of the Spring. She meets Stane at Fort Malsun and twice tries to warn him of danger. Her loyalty matters a great deal later.
Where and when is the story set?
It is set in the fur country of northern Canada, at Hudson Bay Company posts, along rivers and lakes, and through a winter cabin. The story belongs to the early twentieth century, with canoes, dog teams and the Mounted Police.
Is A Mating in the Wilds easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that the plot moves fast. Chapters are short and each ends on a hook. The language is plain, the action is clear and the cast of characters is easy to follow.
