Letters of a Woman Homesteader

Letters of a Woman Homesteader is a frontier classic by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, a widowed young mother who accepted an offer to assist with a ranch in Wyoming. In Stewart's delightful collection of letters, she describes her homesteading experiences to her former employer, Mrs. Coney. Stewart's charming descriptions of work, travels, neighbors, animals, land and sky have an authentic feel. The West comes alive, and everyday life becomes captivating. Stewart's writing is clear, witty, and entertaining. Clear as a bell, concise yet comprehensive, replete with localisms and skillfully rendered frontier humor, it makes one want to toss the PC and reference library into the trash and move to some unspoiled wilderness. 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 in Letters of a Woman Homesteader Stewart attempts to portray the culturally diverse characters she meets by writing their various dialects as they sound. Elinore Pruitt Stewart was a remarkable woman. After enjoying this book, readers will be equipped with a whole new view of not only life in the early 20th century but of the impact woman had on it. Readers of Letters of a Woman Homesteader may also enjoy the film made from it, "Heartland." Elinore also wrote "Letters on an Elk Hunt", as well as many short pieces for periodicals of the day.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Delightful, a mere hundred years ago!

This book is one of my new favorites, one I will reread again and again.

Though it was a little tricky to catch the tone and situation at the beginning, I fell in love with the author's poetic descriptions and indomitable spirit. And the patient, attentive reader will have his or her questions answered by the author in her own time.

Almost everything is a charming and cheerful adventure for this self-described "ex-wash lady" homesteading in the Wyoming hills. It strikes me that a mere hundred years separate us from this fiery, independent lady who set an amazing example for Feminists of a later age. Though her life was not untouched by tragedy, her faith and spirit buoyed me up as I read, smiling, with tears in my eyes.

Great history and great story !

Loved the historical element, but even more, I love Eleanor’s happy outlook!! Great little listen!!

Every woman in the US should read this book.

As well as every man. This wonderful set of letters written by a woman homesteader back to her friend in St Louis is nothing short of amazing. And the reader does an excellent job of capturing Eleanor's spirit. Audible is terrific but at least read the book. It will open your eyes to the settlement of the West and the role played by women.

Narrator accent would've helped

I really liked this one overall. Some of the words used in the letters could've used a different type of accent or pronunciation because they were slang/ not proper English and the narrator's voice was almost too "proper English" for this story.
But I love the letter format and this was a nice break from a streak of heavier books (both in content and length)

Wow!

How stereotype-busting it is to read texts by real people waking up everyday in another time and place. This one is better than many, as Pruitt Stewart wrote what she believed to be private letters to a particular person, not to a vague future reader. Certainly I "got unstuck" from the 21st C for a good five hours--not saying I'd want to stay in 1909, but this seems a good way to take a look. If you've read deeply in late Victorian or Edwardian lit, work like this can shake your assumptions to the core.