Ramona

A Novel By Helen Hunt Jackson

In March of 1884, after four months of writing, Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885) finished her now-famous novel Ramona. One of the locations to which her heroine and hero, Ramona and Alessandro, flee in the novel is Temecula. The store known as Hartzel's in the novel was actually the Wolf Store, which is still standing today.

Her novel, the story of the struggles of Native-Americans of Southern California, was first published in weekly installments in the Christian Union. Since that time the story has been recreated in numerous films and a play. The dramatization by Garnet Holme has been performed annually, with a few exceptions, at the Ramona Pageant in an outdoor amphitheater in Hemet for about seventy-five years.

Some Of The Actresses Who Have Portrayed Ramona:

	Mary Pickford, silent movie, 1910
	Delores Del Rio, movie, 1928
	Loretta Young, movie, 1937
	Raquel Welch (a.k.a Raquel Tejada), Ramona Pageant, at age 18, about 1956

Raves And Reviews About The Novel

"Ramona is a novel to sit up all night over; perhaps to take up again and read with pleasure a second time. It is indeed a romance of the finest type."

- The New York Times

"Ramona is recognized by foremost critics as one of the best creations of modern fiction...It is the greatest story of California ever written. It will always remain as an eloquent plea for justice to a rapidly disappearing native race."

-The San Francisco Chronicle

Booklist

Check out our recommendations and explore the links below to find great books recommended by local teachers.

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Paperbacks:

	*Ramona*, by Helen Hunt Jackson, Avon Books, March1984, paperback novel, $3.99, ISBN 038000383X. Click to order this novel from Amazon.com. There are several copies of this paperback edition in the Riverside County Library System. If you have a library card, you can search for a book and request it online by clicking on the link above. There is also a copy at the Temecula branch.]
	*The Annotated Ramona*, with introduction and notes by Antoinette May, including the full text of the novel and illustrated with drawings and photographs, 1989, paperback, $14.95. ISBN 0933174527. [This book is available at the Temecula Public Library. The Call # is Loc Hist 813.4 JAC-M, Adult NF. There is also one in the Reference section, but it cannot be checked out.]

Hardcovers:

	*Ramona*, by Helen Hunt Jackson. Hardcover (October 1999), $13.35. Click here to order this novel from Amazon.com.
	Ramona (Notable American Authors), by Helen Hunt Jackson. Library Binding, January 1901 reprint. $75.00. Click here to order from Amazon.com.

Audio Cassette:

Ramona: The Heart and Conscience of Early California (audio cassette), Boots Martin (reader), October 1995, $15.96. Click here to order this audio cassette from Amazon.com.

Related Books:

	*A Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Government's Dealing With Some of the Indian Tribes,* by Helen Hunt Jackson and Valerie Sherer Mathes, paperback, April 1995, $11.96. Click here to order this non-fiction book from Amazon.com. [Also available through the Riverside County Library System.]
	*Helen Hunt Jackson and Her Indian Reform Legacy* by Valerie S. Mathes, paperback, 256pp, (September 1997), $13.95. ISBN: 0806129638. Click here to order this book from Amazon.com.

Author

Learn more about the author by following the link to

Helen Hunt Jackson on the Web