Anna Hubbard: Out of the Shadows

by Mia Cunningham

Overview

Anna Eikenhout (1902-1986) was an honors graduate of Ohio State University, a fine-arts librarian, a skilled pianist, and an avid reader in three languages. Harlan Hubbard (1900-1988), a little-known painter and would-be shantyboater, seemed an unlikely husband, but together they lived a life out of the pages of Thoreau's Walden. Much of what is known about the Hubbards comes from Harlan's books and journals. Concerning the seasons and the landscape, his writing was rapturous, yet he was emotionally reticent when discussing human affairs in general or Anna in particular. Yet it was through her efforts that their life on the river was truly civilized. Visitors to Payne Hollow recall Anna as a generous, gracious hostess, whose intelligence and artistry made the small house seem grander than a mansion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813192680
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	11/13/2009
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

	Introduction	1
1	In the Studio	8
2	Payne Hollow Summers	17
3	"She's So Dutch!"	38
4	Little Dutch Girl	52
5	Independence	63
6	Turning Points	71
7	"And Then There Was Harlan"	90
8	Wedding Days	102
9	The True Direction	110
10	The Art of Living	122
11	Hidden	141
12	Anna Always with Me	151
	Chronology	170
	"Books Harlan and I Have Read Together"	173
	"Life in a Shantyboat"	194
	Anna's Recipes	199
	Notes	209
	Selected Bibliography	219
	Acknowledgments	224
	Index	227

Editorial Reviews

Insightful and touching.... Takes Anna out of the shadows of her famous husband and reveals a multi-dimensional woman with deep commitments to her husband and the life they chose.

Kentucky Monthly

Captures the complex markers that rendered an extraordinary, yet difficult, life dynamic.

Lexington Herald-Leader

Meticulously research and fills many gaps in our knowledge....The narrative is skillfully woven together with the author's reflections on the feelings Anna rarely allowed anyone to know.

Filson History Quarterly

Cunningham peels back the layers of Anna's life—first, the biographical facts, then her roles as homemaker and wife to Harlan, and finally her private, secret life, her hidden heart.

Wade Hall

This lovely book includes excerpts from Anna's private journal, Anna's recipes, a selected bibliography with works on the Hubbards, and photos of Anna and Harlan taken on the river boat trips and at Payne Hollow.

Ohioana Quarterly

Offers the reader another side of this fascinating woman. Her motivations, resolve and eventual steely determination to live a life so different from our own make this biography a rewarding read.

Chevy Chaser Magazine

Using Anna's letters and her personal relationship with Anna, Mia Cunningham has both personalized and humanized Anna's story. This is likely to be the definitive work on Anna Hubbard.

Robert J. Rosenthal

Cunningham goes beyond her own experiences and circumstances to find out more about their lives, which gives this portrait well-roundedness.

Ashland Independence

Cunningham delivers a rich and compelling story of Anna Hubbard. Her observations of Anna's life shed light on a woman who tended to remain in the shadows.

Northern Kentucky Heritage

Cunningham has taken Anna, as the title suggests, out of Harlan's larger shadow and allows her to occupy her own moment in the limelight.

Bowling Green Daily News

"Captures the complex markers that rendered an extraordinary, yet difficult, life dynamic." -- Lexington Herald-Leader

"Cunningham delivers a rich and compelling story of Anna Hubbard. Her observations of Anna's life shed light on a woman who tended to remain in the shadows." -- Northern Kentucky Heritage

"Cunningham goes beyond her own experiences and circumstances to find out more about their lives, which gives this portrait well-roundedness." -- Ashland Independence

"Cunningham has taken Anna, as the title suggests, out of Harlan's larger shadow and allows her to occupy her own moment in the limelight." -- Bowling Green Daily News

"Cunningham peels back the layers of Anna's life -- first, the biographical facts, then her roles as homemaker and wife to Harlan, and finally her private, secret life, her hidden heart." -- Wade Hall

"Insightful and touching.... Takes Anna out of the shadows of her famous husband and reveals a multi-dimensional woman with deep commitments to her husband and the life they chose." -- Kentucky Monthly

"Meticulously research and fills many gaps in our knowledge....The narrative is skillfully woven together with the author's reflections on the feelings Anna rarely allowed anyone to know." -- Filson History Quarterly

"Offers the reader another side of this fascinating woman. Her motivations, resolve and eventual steely determination to live a life so different from our own make this biography a rewarding read." -- Chevy Chaser Magazine

"This lovely book includes excerpts from Anna's private journal, Anna's recipes, a selected bibliography with works on the Hubbards, and photos of Anna and Harlan taken on the river boat trips and at Payne Hollow." -- Ohioana Quarterly

"Using Anna's letters and her personal relationship with Anna, Mia Cunningham has both personalized and humanized Anna's story. This is likely to be the definitive work on Anna Hubbard." -- Robert J. Rosenthal

From the Publisher