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Riding Shotgun
The author of Venus Envy takes you on a riotous ride back to one woman's future...
In a delightful contemporary farce with a riotous twist, Rita Mae Brown welcomes you to Virginia's horse country, where a fox hunt is about to lead a 1990s woman, Cig Blackwood, into a 1690s adventure of the heart. Infidelity, single motherhood, family betrayal, and the thrill of the hunt (in many varieties) are hilariously and poignantly played out in this captivating novel of time travel and self-discovery.
From the Paperback edition.
In a delightful contemporary farce with a riotous twist, Rita Mae Brown welcomes you to Virginia's horse country, where a fox hunt is about to lead a 1990s woman, Cig Blackwood, into a 1690s adventure of the heart. Infidelity, single motherhood, family betrayal, and the thrill of the hunt (in many varieties) are hilariously and poignantly played out in this captivating novel of time travel and self-discovery.
From the Paperback edition.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
29 people are currently reading
478 people want to read
About the author
Rita Mae Brown
178 books2,198 followersRita Mae Brown is a prolific American writer, most known for her mysteries and other novels (Rubyfruit Jungle). She is also an Emmy-nominated screenwriter.
Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.
Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.
During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.
Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.
In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.
Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."
Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.
Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.
During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.
Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.
In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.
Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
July 5, 2019
Maybe on of my favorites by this author. I reread it again and again, and it was the one I brought with me that she was gracious enough to sign along with the new book after a speak-and-greet in NC.
July 21, 2017
My first Rita Mae Brown book; I will be looking for more! Much of the fox hunting aspect was foreign to me, but that didn't destroy the story. Through experiencing herself in a time 300 years prior, the main character learns much about herself and her own time, as Brown unfolds the story with gentleness, humour, and empathy. These are characters to like (except for some). I might have given the book five stars except for the somewhat unbelievable row that occurs near the ending.
January 6, 2020
Pryor Chesterfield Deyhle Blackwood, Cig for short. Widowed mother of teens Hunter and Laura, selling real estate to make ends meet. Her true passion is fox hunting - or rather chasing as they don't kill the foxes. She is Master of the Hounds for the Jefferson Hunt in Virginia. A titled position that has no pay but it does have prestige in the horse world.
During a hunt a strange fog appeared on the course. It was thick enough for Cig to have the riders stop the hunt, rather than risk injury to the horses. Some of the hounds are still out in the field and Cig goes in search of them. While out, Fattail the big red fox appears and seems to temp Cig to chase him. She can't resist. Following him deeper into the woods and the fog, she notices strange happenings to her surroundings. When she breaks out of the fog she finds that she has gone back in time to 1699.
She can't understand how or why this has happened. Also she has appeared as Pryor Chesterfield Deyhle, the person she is named for within her family tree! She meets her twin brother Tom and his wife Margaret. It seems she has been over in London and is just returned. The people of this era are not aware Cig is from another time, but accept her as who they think she is.
Life in this time is much different than where Cig is from. There are less distractions and more attention to people and relationships. Things like infidelity, motherhood, and relationships are different yet there can be similarities. As her time goes by, Cig starts to get a different perspective on life, maybe a better one.
I am used to reading the Mrs. Murphy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown and her co-author, Sneaky Pie. This was a very different book. I wasn't sure I'd like it once I started reading, but I did! She writes good dialogue between her characters and peppers it with bits of humour. She also hits on some serious topics and gives the reader something to think about. Yup, a good read.
During a hunt a strange fog appeared on the course. It was thick enough for Cig to have the riders stop the hunt, rather than risk injury to the horses. Some of the hounds are still out in the field and Cig goes in search of them. While out, Fattail the big red fox appears and seems to temp Cig to chase him. She can't resist. Following him deeper into the woods and the fog, she notices strange happenings to her surroundings. When she breaks out of the fog she finds that she has gone back in time to 1699.
She can't understand how or why this has happened. Also she has appeared as Pryor Chesterfield Deyhle, the person she is named for within her family tree! She meets her twin brother Tom and his wife Margaret. It seems she has been over in London and is just returned. The people of this era are not aware Cig is from another time, but accept her as who they think she is.
Life in this time is much different than where Cig is from. There are less distractions and more attention to people and relationships. Things like infidelity, motherhood, and relationships are different yet there can be similarities. As her time goes by, Cig starts to get a different perspective on life, maybe a better one.
I am used to reading the Mrs. Murphy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown and her co-author, Sneaky Pie. This was a very different book. I wasn't sure I'd like it once I started reading, but I did! She writes good dialogue between her characters and peppers it with bits of humour. She also hits on some serious topics and gives the reader something to think about. Yup, a good read.
September 3, 2007
Rita Mae Brown mentions in the Author's Note for Riding Shotgun that she wrote the book during a blackout when she was bored, and feeling weighed down by troubles. She goes on to say that she hopes the book helps readers forget their troubles, even if just for a short while. Mission accomplished.
The book is filled with Brown's usual Elizabeth Bennett types: strong, beautiful, intelligent, independent, ass-kicking women who make men swoon, with some lesbian sensibility for good measure. This one has a fantasy side: the protagonist time-travels to 1699 during a foxhunt, right after she learns something troubling about her dead husband. It's a lot of fun and certainly distracted me when I needed to be.
The book is filled with Brown's usual Elizabeth Bennett types: strong, beautiful, intelligent, independent, ass-kicking women who make men swoon, with some lesbian sensibility for good measure. This one has a fantasy side: the protagonist time-travels to 1699 during a foxhunt, right after she learns something troubling about her dead husband. It's a lot of fun and certainly distracted me when I needed to be.
December 20, 2018
This was a great read. While on a foxhunt, Cig Blackwood is thrown back in time to 1699. She meets her ancestors and experiences living in 1699. It's full of family drama and Cig wants to return to the present to address her issues. It's an interesting history lesson and of course I've learned more about horses, hounds, and foxhunting.
August 17, 2011
Enjoyable historical fiction. Light and fun read. Rita Mae Brown at her best. Topics include: foxhunting, life in America in 1699 and 1995, human relationships/sexual orientation, love, forgiveness, feminine strength, horses and cats.
July 24, 2013
I read this book the year it was published (1996). It was a good summer read. I enjoyed the time-travel element and, of course, the equestrian-theme.
I have tried "Outfoxed" and its counterparts but never really got into them. Perhaps will try again in the future.
I have tried "Outfoxed" and its counterparts but never really got into them. Perhaps will try again in the future.
January 1, 2017
I gave this book 3 stars because the story started off slow and I almost didn't stick with it.
Also, because even though I am a horse person, I know nothing about foxhunting and hunt club and often there were long strings of terminologies used or situations talked about that only a fox hunter would understand. I had no idea what the author was talking about in several places.
There were also several places that drug on and I had to just skim through what felt like I was peeking through the window, witnessing a family talking about what to have for dinner and I had to wonder if there was any point at all in what I was reading, if it was going to lead anywhere or if it was just "filler".
Even though the writing could be better, I love books that feature horses, I appreciate reading a book about a strong female and overall I enjoyed the story, the setting and I liked the characters, notably Cig (the lead female) and the relationship with her two teenagers and her sister. A few places of dialog made me laugh out loud as I could completely relate to what Cig was feeling and going through.
It was good enough that I'm glad I did stick with it and I will give another of her books a try.
Also, because even though I am a horse person, I know nothing about foxhunting and hunt club and often there were long strings of terminologies used or situations talked about that only a fox hunter would understand. I had no idea what the author was talking about in several places.
There were also several places that drug on and I had to just skim through what felt like I was peeking through the window, witnessing a family talking about what to have for dinner and I had to wonder if there was any point at all in what I was reading, if it was going to lead anywhere or if it was just "filler".
Even though the writing could be better, I love books that feature horses, I appreciate reading a book about a strong female and overall I enjoyed the story, the setting and I liked the characters, notably Cig (the lead female) and the relationship with her two teenagers and her sister. A few places of dialog made me laugh out loud as I could completely relate to what Cig was feeling and going through.
It was good enough that I'm glad I did stick with it and I will give another of her books a try.
December 20, 2022
Do you want pages and pages of mind numbing horse talk and fox hunting talk? This might be the book for you.
More than half of this book is the author waxing pseudo-philosophical and it's eye-roll inducing. Next time, just write an essay about Oh How The Times Are Changing rather than an entire half baked novel.
All of the characters are irritating, Cig is a holier-than-thou wise old martyr, and not a single interpersonal interaction between Cig and the people of the past actually makes any sense. It's immersion breaking and sours chunks of the book.
Many scenes just drag on well past their reasonable expiration word count, and it's exhausting.
More than half of this book is the author waxing pseudo-philosophical and it's eye-roll inducing. Next time, just write an essay about Oh How The Times Are Changing rather than an entire half baked novel.
All of the characters are irritating, Cig is a holier-than-thou wise old martyr, and not a single interpersonal interaction between Cig and the people of the past actually makes any sense. It's immersion breaking and sours chunks of the book.
Many scenes just drag on well past their reasonable expiration word count, and it's exhausting.
October 13, 2024
Mooi verhaal over een vrouw die in een andere tijd terechtkomt. In die tijd wordt ze aangezien voor de tweelingzus van een hereboer. Ze vertelt haar schoonzus, de vrouw van haar 'tweelingbroer', de waarheid. De schoonzus denkt, dat ze naar deze tijd is verplaatst om met haar verleden in het reine te komen: 'je kunt pas terug, als je het hebt vergeven'.
Door wat er tegen het einde gebeurt, ben ik daar niet zo zeker meer van.
En daarom drie sterren, geen vier. Er kloppen dingen niet en er blijven teveel losse draadjes. Bovendien wordt het wat al te lieflijk op het einde, sorry, dat hoeft dan ook weer niet voor mij.
Door wat er tegen het einde gebeurt, ben ik daar niet zo zeker meer van.
En daarom drie sterren, geen vier. Er kloppen dingen niet en er blijven teveel losse draadjes. Bovendien wordt het wat al te lieflijk op het einde, sorry, dat hoeft dan ook weer niet voor mij.
July 8, 2018
I loved this book.
A recently widowed woman learns her beautiful younger sister was sleeping with her unfaithful husband the night he died.
Just as the widow learns this, she is pulled back in time 300 years to some long ago ancestors, where she learns about true love and family.
A poignant tale filled with tears and laughter.
A recently widowed woman learns her beautiful younger sister was sleeping with her unfaithful husband the night he died.
Just as the widow learns this, she is pulled back in time 300 years to some long ago ancestors, where she learns about true love and family.
A poignant tale filled with tears and laughter.
August 19, 2018
This book started off a little slow and there were many different/difficult terms that are very specific to foxhunting that if you were unfamiliar with the sport are hard to understand simply from context. Otherwise, a very well-written story, with well-rounded, REAL characters. I hope to read more about Cig Blackwood and her family, in both the future and in the past.
February 22, 2019
It's okay. I picked it up, honestly, because I thought it would be a mystery and heavily about horses. Horses are part of the story, but a small part. Mostly it's a contrived time travel story with a woman who's pretty nice in the past but pretty annoying in the present.
You might like it. It didn't work for me.
You might like it. It didn't work for me.
April 4, 2020
It was not for me.
The dialogues were annoying. I didn’t like any of the characters. The language and the writing style were too primitive and boring.
The hunting stories were so boring, that I skipped quite a few pages. Even though I am a horse person and I could relate to it.
I am not interested in reading more of this author.
The dialogues were annoying. I didn’t like any of the characters. The language and the writing style were too primitive and boring.
The hunting stories were so boring, that I skipped quite a few pages. Even though I am a horse person and I could relate to it.
I am not interested in reading more of this author.
July 23, 2024
I found a paperback of "Riding Shotgun" on the giveaway rack at the Carrollton, Miss., library last week. Wow, a Rita Mae Brown I hadn't read. A trip into the emotional life of characters in the familiar modern day Virginia fox hunting territory that mysteriously bleeds over into 1699. Somehow our RMB makes the story deliciously tragic and romantic. Loved the reading.
December 27, 2018
I read this book when it first came out 22 years ago ---- God, I'm getting old --- and loved it! After recommending it to someone who was desperate for a good read, I realized I wanted to read it again, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time.
Read
May 17, 2021This may not be the BEST story Rita Mae Brown has ever penned, but if not, it's close. Good characters, interesting plot, smooth writing. There were a few loose ends left untied, but nothing too critical to the enjoyment of the story.
October 31, 2022
Average story with high drama
While I generally enjoy this author's work, this book barely held my attention. It includes time travel and animals, which could be of interest but there was too much emotional drama for my taste.
While I generally enjoy this author's work, this book barely held my attention. It includes time travel and animals, which could be of interest but there was too much emotional drama for my taste.
February 10, 2025
Addicted to this author
Loved this. The plot was well done, characters well defined and with depth. It was hard to put down. The extensive typos were annoying but after a bit were fairly easy to ignore.
Loved this. The plot was well done, characters well defined and with depth. It was hard to put down. The extensive typos were annoying but after a bit were fairly easy to ignore.
June 6, 2020
Fun, light read. Especially if you enjoy fox hunting and Virginia!
July 2, 2020
I really enjoyed this the 1st of Rita Mae Brown novels I read.
July 21, 2024
Pretty far fetch…
September 17, 2011
Great historical fiction! The story is well-written, telling the story of a woman who goes back in time. Even though I went from liking, to disliking a character, the main character showed me how to enjoy the first character again. I'd read this book once already, but forgotten. The history was great, made me wish I'd gotten the chance to go back in time, too.
July 5, 2013
I probably would of liked this story more, if I had been around horses more, but I've seen horses only when my class goes to the farm on a field trip. Although I enjoyed the parts about going back in time, I think this author made life in 1699 a little to comfortable and easy. An easy read, now going to read something for work so I can be a better teacher ha ha!!
June 7, 2008
It's always comforting to spend some time with a Rita Mae Brown creation. If I hadn't been obsessed with "Lost" in recent months, I'm not sure how I would have felt about the time-travel element in this story. But, it worked for me and, even better, it worked well in the story.
September 1, 2012
Time Travel
This was “not bad.” It was readable. The nickname given to the main character drove me crazy. “Cig” was named because her middle name was Chesterfield. I hated it through the whole book.
Another book cleaned off the shelf.
This was “not bad.” It was readable. The nickname given to the main character drove me crazy. “Cig” was named because her middle name was Chesterfield. I hated it through the whole book.
Another book cleaned off the shelf.
April 4, 2017
Set in Virginia, Cig is the Master of the hunt, But during the ride a fox, Fattail, leads her into a mysterious fog and she travels in time. This story gives you a lot to thing about contracting 1699 to current times. I enjoyed this story more as I got into it.
September 29, 2007
While out on a fox hunt, the heroine goes back in time to get over the death of her husband and other stuff. Modern times back to 1699 Virginia. Pretty good.
December 27, 2007
I'm a huge Rita Mae Brown fan; I'm not a fan of fictional time travel -- so, I was torn on this book. As always, RMB writes a compelling tell, I just didn't go in for the premise.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews