At Great Price is a historical novel that tells the story of Tamsen Donner (1802–1847)—a writer, educator, advocate for women's rights, wife, and mother—during the final year of her life as it follows her journey with the Donner Party, a group of pioneers departing from St. Louis and heading to California in 1846. The story chronicles events leading to and including when an early season snowstorm preceded a brutal winter that trapped them in high the Sierra Nevada mountains where they faced extreme hardships and starvation.

Drawing on careful historical research, the book explores Tamsen's decisions and her commitment to others while facing enormous challenges. While the Donner Party's experience was overshadowed a few years later by the California Gold Rush, this story is a sobering perspective of pioneer life as seen through the eyes of Tamsen Donner and provides an insightful account of endurance, loss, strength and one woman's incredible determination. The story is perfect for those interested in historical fiction and fresh perspectives on pioneer life in the American West. .

***About the Author***
Mabel Chapman (1893–1994) was a writer and educator born in Colorado. A 1914 graduate of the University of Denver, she taught school in California, raised four children, and published short stories in national magazines. In her later years, inspired by her son-in-law, a descendant of the Harlan-Young Party, the last wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada safely in 1846 before the Donner Party's difficulties, she wrote At Great Price in her late 80s and self-published it in her 90s. Her detailed, historically grounded narrative gives voice to Tamsen Donner and sheds light on the resilience of early pioneers and the important strength of women in the American West.