Letters Of A Woman Homesteader

by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

Overview

"Peopled with the kinds of characters most novelists only dream of" (Christian Science Monitor), this classic account of American frontier living captures the rambunctious spirit of a pioneer who set out in 1909 to prove that a woman could ranch.

A series of letters make for a fascinating narrative and descriptive journal of Mrs. Stewart's life, moving from the city to a Wyoming homestead, marrying and still having the determination to homestead on her own. Stewart's captivating missives bring to full life the beauty, isolation, and joys of working the prairie.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395911518
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/15/1998
Series:	American Biography Series
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	541,802
Product dimensions:	4.88(w) x 7.75(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1070L (what's this?)

About the Author

Elinore Pruitt Stewart was born in 1878. Letters of a Woman Homesteader, first published in 1914, inspired the critically acclaimed movie Heartland.

Editorial Reviews

"Full of the tang of the prairies and of a delightful personality." The New York Times

"Warmly delightful, vigorously affirmative," The Wall Street Journal —

From the Publisher

George provides biographical insight into the author of the 1914 pioneer classic Letters of a Woman Homesteader , giving a detailed presentation of Stewart's previously uncollected letters. Photos. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 7 Up-After deciding that city life as a laundress wasn't for her, Elinore Pruitt, a young widowed mother, accepted an offer to assist with a ranch in Wyoming, work that she found exceedingly more rewarding. In this delightful collection of letters, she describes these experiences to her former employer, Mrs. Coney. Pruitt's charming descriptions of work, travels, neighbors, animals, land and sky have an authentic feel. The West comes alive, and everyday life becomes captivating. Her writing is clear, witty, and entertaining. The 26 letters are brief and tell about her life on the ranch in the early 1900s. The author frequently and unnecessarily apologizes for being too wordy; she begs forgiveness for many "faults," like being forgetful, ungrateful, inconsistent and indifferent, all without apparent cause. On occasion, language reflects the racial prejudice of the time. Many times, Pruitt attempts to portray the culturally diverse characters she meets by writing their various dialects as they sound. Kate Fleming's narration is as smooth as the writing, perfectly transitioning from one accent to the next. She reads with a calm, down-to-earth tone, which suits the writing well.-Kariana Cullen Gonzales, Lincoln Consolidated High School, Ypsilanti, MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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