The Californian Gold Rush, the American Civil War, and the lure of land expansion filled the 19th-century American West with men like Tom Rourke, the protagonist of Kevin Barry's The Heart in Winter. These men came to work as miners, farmers, or ranchers—but they often lacked companions to help with farm work, ensure the continuity of their families, or, perhaps most importantly, alleviate their loneliness. According to the US census, Montana in 1890 (the state and decade in which the novel is set) had a population of 85,981 males and 46,178 females. Tom helps illiterate men write letters to women back East with the objective of finding a bride. With this detail, Barry gives us a glimpse into what is often referred to as the mail-order bride system, a phenomenon that shaped the social landscape of the American frontier. (Despite this being the common term used, these particular marriage arrangements did not generally involve an exchange of money.)

Francesca Beauman, who wrote...