Beadle's New Dime Novels: The Hunted Life

The Hunted Life: The Outcasts of the Border This serialized dime novel by Edward Willett (New Series No. 150, 1882) follows Samuel Wardleigh and his family's migration to Kentucky in 1780. The narrative opens with the Wardleighs reaching a mountainous vantage point overlooking the Kentucky frontier. Samuel, prematurely aged and guilt-ridden over an unnamed past crime involving stolen gold, travels with his younger wife Maria, their son William (handsome, capable), daughter Mary (delicate but skilled horsewoman), and family friend Dick Hardy (a former Virginia captain). The party includes pack animals and livestock. The text establishes the historical setting—white settlement expanding despite Indian hunting-ground claims—while developing Samuel's brooding melancholy contrasted against his family's hopeful outlook. The narrative emphasizes the beauty of the untamed landscape and the family's search for refuge from a society that has repeatedly rejected Samuel due to his mysterious transgression.