Oct 4, 2026
Canada, October 4, 2026 -- Explora Books was proud to present Donna Gene Stankey and Ramona Hammel’s historical family saga, Rate, at the 2026 London Book Fair. The nonfiction narrative was featured at the Explora Books exhibition booth, where Hammel also held a book signing event that drew readers and book lovers to discover this sweeping saga of small-town Midwestern life.
Set in rural Elsie, Michigan, at the turn of the twentieth century, Rate is a richly detailed work of historical nonfiction inspired by decades of real family history. The story centers on the English/Canadian immigrant Setterington family, who built their lives in the American Midwest, and follows the young Ralph “Rate” Setterington from infancy through boyhood into the early 1900s.
Drawn from decades of family stories, handwritten records, and oral histories painstakingly gathered by Stankey, the novel brings to life a world of farm labor, community bonds, and generational tension that will resonate with readers of American historical narrative and family saga novels alike.
At the heart of the novel is the complex web of family dynamics that shapes Rate’s coming of age. His mother, Mina, who never quite warmed to having a son, and his father, Milford, a hardworking and stubbornly proud farmer cut from the same cloth as his formidable patriarch father Horatio, together create an emotionally rich portrait of a household where love is expressed through labor, discipline, and unspoken loyalty rather than easy affection. Rate’s spirited older sister, Blanche, the household’s undeniable favorite, gives the novel much of its warmth and wit, while the tension between parental favoritism and a young boy’s quiet perseverance forms one of its most enduring emotional threads.
What makes Rate stand apart from other works of American historical nonfiction is its extraordinary depth of period detail. Stankey renders nineteenth-century rural Midwest life with the precision of an eyewitness—the rhythms of lambing season, the politics of horse trading, the social rituals of cheese factory deliveries and Decoration Day parades, the slow creep of electricity and the automobile into skeptical farming communities, and the quiet grief of families weathering drought, disease, and personal loss.
The first book in a planned four-part series covering the Setterington saga from 1893 toaround 1920, Rate lays the foundation for a multigenerational portrait that is both deeply personal and broadly American.
Donna Gene Stankey grew up on a small farm in rural Elsie, Michigan—the very community at the center of her narrative. A lifelong learner, she graduated as high school co-salutatorian at just sixteen years old. She later earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University, majoring in group science with a minor in English. It was there, under the dedicated encouragement of her professors, that she began writing in earnest. Stankey spent years gathering, sorting, and verifying the family stories and historical records that form the backbone of Rate. Her daughter, Ramona Hammel, co-authored and published the work, ensuring this labor of love reached the readers it deserved.
For those who love meticulously researched historical narrative, multigenerational family sagas, and stories rooted in the authentic textures of American rural life, Rate is an unforgettable introduction to a family and a world that once was.
Readers can find Rate through Amazon and other major retailers.
About Explora Books
Explora Books is a book marketing firm located in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company specializes in self-publishing and marketing, taking pride in its exhaustive research and creative strategies that provide wider avenues for aspiring authors to gain recognition for their works. Explora Books aims to guide authors through the complexities of self-publishing, offering convenient solutions to navigate this process. The firm fosters and redefines creativity and innovation, setting new industry standards. Explora Books is dedicated to empowering authors globally.
Contact Info:
Name: Zia Miller
Email: Send Email
Organization: Explora Books Ltd.
Address: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Phone: (604) 330 6795
Website: https://explorabooks.com/
Release ID: 89205049
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