Letters of a Woman Homesteader
I can’t remember where I first saw the book Letters of a Woman Homesteader. I think it was a “Books Recommended for You” link on either Amazon or Goodreads. The wonderful cover caught my eye right away and the title was intriguing, but the clincher was the fact that I could read it right away on my iPod — for free! (I’m not the biggest e-book reader, but it’s helpful at the moment when I have very limited space.)
I was not disappointed. In fact, it was so thoroughly enjoyable that I’ve already recommended it to several people, and will probably buy a hard copy. I even want to read it aloud to my husband Evan. Not only is the premise interesting — a young widow with a small daughter who decides to go out West and claim her own homestead — the writing is excellent. Elinore Stewart wrote wonderful, descriptive, humorous letters to a friend, and through them we are offered a glimpse of real life in Wyoming at the turn of the century.
I love her understated ways of telling news of utmost personal importance. You feel like you’ve met her friends and neighbors, especially the taciturn Scotsman she “housekept” for, delightful Mrs. O’Shaughnessy, and sweet, hard-working little Cora Belle. And the way Elinore gets into scrapes will remind you of a grown-up Anne of Green Gables — on the frontier. Delightful!
Want to read it now? It’s available as a free download several places:
Kindle download
Project Gutenberg e-book
If you have an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, make sure you download the free iBooks app, then search for Letters of a Woman Homesteader. (And I just learned that the app includes a free download of A. A. Milne’s classic Winnie-the-Pooh, so make sure you get that, too!)
Definitely check out the free audio recording of this book: http://librivox.org/letters-of-a-woman-homesteader-by-elinore-pruitt-stewart/ I’m definitely downloading this & planning to listen to this!
Thanks for a great review!
That sounds good! Thanks for the review. I may have to download it on my brother’s Kindle (he’s so generous to let us all use it).
I loved this book, too—–and if you liked it and want more of the same, look for “Golden Fleece,” by Hughie Call; “Dakota Cowboy,” by Ike Blasingame; “Land of the Burnt Thigh,” (can’t remember the author…); “Leaning Into the Wind” (but read this one with discretion); “Boss Cowman,” by Ed Lemmon. The first is about a sheep rancher’s wife in Montana, and the other three are about my own home territory of South Dakota. Oh, and for more fun, find the “Callahan” books—-“That Callahan Spunk,” The Callahan’s Gamble,” Callahan Goes West.” More true, or more or less true, tales of the Montana Homesteading Frontier.
Just downloaded to my Kindle! Thanks for the review!
This sounds just perfect for me! Thanks so much for the recommendation.
Oooh! My mom has had this book on her shelf for years – now I’m definitely going to read it 🙂
I remember picking “Letters of a Woman Homesteaders” up off my Mom’s bed at the end of high school. It was a very enjoyable book. I just wish I remembered more of it! I’ll have to ask if she still has it…
Sounds like my type of book!
Sounds like a fun book! I’ll have to add it to my Paperback Swap wish list because my library doesn’t have it…