September 2019: Women Pioneers

… where few women had gone before …

PIONEERING WOMEN --and-- WOMEN PIONEERS



Books about female pioneers in any discipline.

. . . Or . . .

Books which focus primarily on experiences of women pioneer settlers.



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WOMEN PIONEERS

”... a person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area.
synonyms: settler, colonist, colonizer, frontiersman, frontierswoman, explorer, trailblazer, bushwhacker, ‘the pioneers of the Wild West’”

Possibilities:

Fiction:
O pioneers! by Willa Cather
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
One thousand white women : the journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy Turner
Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness by Robert Specht
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Marilee by Mary Francis Shura

Nonfiction:
Women of Colonial America: 13 Stories of Courage and Survival in the New World by Brandon Marie Miller
Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna Stratton
Letters of a woman homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
So Much to Be Done: Women Settlers on the Mining and Ranching Frontier by Ruth Barnes Moynihan
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
Nothing to Do But Stay by Carrie Young
Frontier Grit: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women by Marianne Monson
Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier by Chris Enss
The Letters of Rachel Henning by Rachel Henning

A few lists:
Top 6 historical novels on pioneering women.
Frontier women book list.

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PIONEERING WOMEN

”... develop or be the first to use or apply (a new method, area of knowledge, or activity).
"he has pioneered a number of innovative techniques"
synonyms: introduce, develop, evolve, launch, instigate, initiate, spearhead, institute, establish, found, be the father/mother of, originate, set in motion, create”

Possibilities:

Fiction:
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (forensics)
Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott (Celtic leader)
In the time of the butterflies by Julia Alvarez (revolutionaries)
Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Weatherford (singer)
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (archaeologist)
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (botanist)
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church (ornithology)

Nonfiction:
Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War by Stephen B. Oates (nursing)
Susan B. Anthony: A Biography of a Singular Feminist by Kathleen Barry (suffrage)
West with the Night by Beryl Markham (aviation)
Pioneer Doctor: The Story of a Woman's Work by Mari Grana (medicine)
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (female ruler)
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor (rulers)

A few lists:
Inspiring female firsts.
Women who changed science.
Ultimate women in science reading list.
Ten best female pioneers.

I love this theme, I am going to use this as an opportunity to finally read O Pioneers by Willa Cather.

I've been wanting to read The Indifferent Stars Above for some time. I already have it on my Kindle. I loved The Boys in the Boat and hope the writing style is comparable in this one. Also have One Thousand White Women on my list. I'll mark both these off for September. It will be here before we know it!

>3 beebeereads: : beebee - I JUST finished The Indifferent Stars Above and can say that his writing style is comparable in this one. The Boys in the Boat was a 5-star read for me. I liked it somewhat better than Stars. But with this book, too, his research and telling of the story taught me quite a bit about what REALLY happened.

Great topic, browsing those lists is truly astounding.

The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas fits this category--I really enjoyed it and began reading Dallas.

Oh, I love this theme. I have read a few on the list. So many wonderful choices. Thank you!

What a great theme! I already have this as a category in the Category Challenge group.

I have chosen for this theme to read: Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott. Thankfully, my library has it.

I may choose another also. Love the theme.

My intention is to read The Emigrant Trail by Geraldine Bonner, which is available in the public domain. I also would like to fit in The Indifferent Stars Above but might have to save that one for another month or theme.

I'm going to read Letters of a Woman Homesteader which has been on my ereader for 3-4 years.

It looks like I've got The Personal History of Rachel DuPree on my tbr, and that appears to fit!

>12 LibraryCin: I'll take a bullet for that one! Hope I can get to it in September.

>12 LibraryCin: & >13 beebeereads: I hope you both enjoy The Personal History of Rachel DuPree. I thought it was excellent.

Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Dover Books on Americana) by Elinore Pruitt Stewart. This was a series of letters written by Elinore to her friend back east. I think there are letters missing because there were big gaps. That being said, it was a better than average book. What I found interesting is that even though married, she had her own claim and worked it with no help from her husband who also had his own claim. Elinore was good friends with Zebulon Pike and traveled extensively, which really wasn't normal for that date and time. The writer had some connection with the Mormons but I was unable to ascertain what that was. 3 1/2 stars 144 pages

Since this one was short and I'm "early", I'll probably read a couple of other as I love this category.

Oh I loved that book, it really is a different pioneer women story. Another good one is A ladys life in the rocky mountains Being from the west I really tire of this subject, but someone turned me on to it a while back. May need to reread it

I have completed O Pioneers! by Willa Cather, and I loved it. Although this is considered the first in her Prairie Trilogy, I read it last. I loved My Antonia but wasn't quite as taken with Song of the Lark, but with all three books the author has given us a vivid and lasting look at life on the Nebraska prairie and the strengths and endurance the women needed to exist and build their families on these difficult lands.

>17 DeltaQueen50: I'm with you on Song of a Lark. The main character was a little too much of the prima donna. I've really got to give My Antonia a reread because it's got a complexity of the slightly dimwitted male narrator (reminding me of Wuthering Heights). My own favorite Cather is Death Comes for the Archbishop.

>18 CurrerBell: I haven't read Death Comes for the Archbishop yet so I have that one to look forward to.

I've finished The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss. Gloss often writes about women pioneers. This book is about a woman who, after she is widowed with no children, decides to sell everything off and head West. Gloss' dedication is to her great-grandmothers, all of whom were westering women. 4*

Book i am reading now is perfect for this theme: Inland Mother in territorial Arizona, post Civil War meets with a drifter who talks with the dead. About halfway through and enjoying it quite a bit.

Having read all of the Marcus Didius Falco books by Lindsey Davis, he of the ill-fated 2nd Augusta that fought against Boudica, and the Ruth Downie books, and having seen Boadicea and Her Daughters sculpture when in London, I was so looking forward to reading Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott.

Well, Ive slogged my way through two-thirds of this 460-page book and decided to give it up. I haven’t been able to connect with or care about the characters, especially Breaca (Boudica), and if I read one more word involving dreams, dreaming, dreamers or visions, I might just throw the darn thing against a wall. Maybe the title should have given me a clue! I had hope when the story picked up for a couple of chapters in the middle of the book, but nope, after that, it went right back to the old plodding story. In the future, I would like to read a book about Boudica, just not this series.

So, on to better things. I haven’t decided what to read instead, but it is a great theme with lots of possibilities.

October thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/311219

>23 clue: Thank you. :-)

I gave up on reading The Emigrant Trail and am going to try Hattie Big Sky instead. Hopefully I will be able to stick with a YA novel.

I’ve just finished The Life of Harriet Tubman: Moses of the Underground Railroad by Anne Schraff.

This book is at the middle school/high school reading level, although I think older elementary school children would enjoy it as well.

I know, of course, that Harriet Tubman is known for her work with the Underground Railroad but she did other remarkable work as well: scout and spy for the Union Army; worked with virtually non-existent resources to relieve the suffering of Civil War soldiers and veterans in military hospitals; worked to aid the poor and destitute, all the while caring for her aging parents; and worked for women’s suffrage. She was a truly remarkable, extraordinary person and I am glad to have gotten to know her a little bit through this story.

I also read The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss. I have always known that I don't have the right work ethic to be a pioneer and this book totally confirmed that.

The Personal History of Rachel Dupree / Ann Weisgarber
3.5 stars

Rachel is a black woman who married Isaac, on a deal to get land in South Dakota. Fourteen years later and five kids with one more on the way (and two in the ground), and they are suffering the worst drought, and don’t know how they will survive. It’s 1917, as they struggle, and it’s even more difficult due to being the only black family for miles.

This was good. They may have been the only black family, but there were “Indians” nearby; Isaac hates the Indians, so Rachel took her cue from her husband (though she would need the help of one of the women later on). I especially liked the way it ended, and would love for there to be a sequel, as I’d love to know what happens next!

>28 LibraryCin: I had to skim your message to avoid getting anything resembling a spoiler! I am in the middle of The Personal History of Rachel Dupree and am really enjoying the writing, the plot and the characters. When I've finished I'll read your review. I believe I took this as a BB from you earlier in the thread.

>29 beebeereads: I understand. I do try not to put spoilers in my reviews (and if I think there's one there, I try to use the spoiler tag). On the other hand, if you want to be 100% certain to avoid, it is best to not even read the reviews till after!

I do hope you like it!

I have chosen to read Immerwahr for this, about the first woman in Germany to get a PhD in chemistry. She was married to Fritz Haber and committed suicide over the poison gas used in trench warfare which he invented. The book is written as a novel, in stream of consciousness style, and I found this unsatisfactory.

I chose this book based on a BB from >12 LibraryCin:. Thank you!
The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber. Historical fiction is my comfort zone. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about this time and place (The Badlands 1903-1917) to judge its historical accuracy. The story however was compelling and a great read focusing on determination, finding a path forward and dealing with consequences of decisions made and opportunities lost. The main character is a black woman who bargained a trip to The Badlands in the early twentieth century. The suffering she and her family endured is palpable, from hunger, thirst and physical injury to loss and vain hope. It is definitely worth reading to sharpen our empathy skills to the challenges that are made harder by racism and poverty.

>28 LibraryCin: LibraryCin: I agree...I would be on board for a sequel.

Also for anyone interested in the facts behind the story, I found this on the author's website
https://annweisgarber.com/the-personal-history-of-rachel-dupree/book-talk/the-tr....

> 32 I've read all three of her books and liked them all. I've heard her speak a couple of times and she usually mentions the research she did for the book and I think she's likely to be historically correct. The inspiration for her most recent book, The Glovemaker, came from a trip to a National Park in Utah.

>33 clue: Thank you for that. I have been eyeing The Glovemaker for awhile...I'll move it up my list.

>32 beebeereads: Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

The Strickland sisters were gently reared English ladies when they and their gentlemen husbands determined that their best way forward out of genteel poverty was to head to the new world; specifically, Upper Canada. Sisters in the Wilderness was the story of their lives in Canada. They were ill equipped for life in the bush and, while they created new lives for themselves, it is hard to say if they were successful or not.

Such plans I had! A ladies trip to a gorgeous beach house on Cape Cod. I envisioned hours of reading on the deck, on the beach, in the hot tub, in my room... Nope. This is all I accomplished:

A Shelter of Hope, Tracie Peterson
Chosen because I'm interested in stories of the Harvey Girls. But this was a middling read.

Trials of the Earth, Mary Hamilton
Excellent autobiography, with a mystery inside. And I agree with DeltaQueen upthread. I wouldn't have made a pioneer woman, either.

More Perfect than the Moon, Patricia MacLachlan
#4 in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series. I expected this to be YA, but it was very short and more for children. OK for the audience.