Nothing Daunted

The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West

By: Dorothy Wickenden

Narrated by: Margaret Nichols, Dorothy Wickenden

From the author of The Agitators, the acclaimed and captivating true story of two restless society girls who left their affluent lives to “rough it” as teachers in the wilds of Colorado in 1916.

In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, bored by society luncheons, charity work, and the effete men who courted them, left their families in Auburn, New York, to teach school in the wilds of northwestern Colorado. They lived with a family of homesteaders in the Elkhead Mountains and rode to school on horseback, often in blinding blizzards. Their students walked or skied, in tattered clothes and shoes tied together with string. The young cattle rancher who had lured them west, Ferry Carpenter, had promised them the adventure of a lifetime. He hadn’t let on that they would be considered dazzling prospective brides for the locals.

Nearly a hundred years later, Dorothy Wickenden, the granddaughter of Dorothy Woodruff, found the teachers’ buoyant letters home, which captured the voices of the pioneer women, the children, and other unforgettable people the women got to know. In reconstructing their journey, Wickenden has created an exhilarating saga about two intrepid women and the “settling up” of the West.

a good read

so I have a soft spot for Laura Ingalls and all the women who made it out west without the benefit of an airplane and an iphone, so picked this one up as easy summer read. impressed by how well researched and unexpected the story turned out, and I enjoyed the reading.

Fascinating

Detailed and gripping true story of two young society women from upstate New York who went to Colorado in 1916 in response to an advertisement for two teachers. Untrained as educators but well educated from Smith college and accustomed to an upper class life, they took to the rustic life on the frontier with fervor , enthusiasm and passion. This story based on their letters and other writings of the time was written by one of their granddaughters, a well renowned Editor of the New Yorker as well as the author of several books. One of the best socio historical biographies I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

Well researched, narration ulitmate bore

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I purchased this audiobook months ago after being drawn to it at the local bookstore. Though well researched and documented, the ultimate mistake is having the author do the narration. I have left and returned to it numerous times, and am unable to finish it. The narration is colorless, without inflection or interest. Unfortunate as it could have been much more interesting. I keep thinking of the other narrators that call me back time and time again, no matter how well I know the story - not wasting the time struggling to stay awake through any more of this one.

What did you like best about this story?

The uniqueness of Dorothy and Rosamund's experiences.

How could the performance have been better?

A diffferent narrator.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not in documentary form, unfortunately too dry in presentation.

Wonderful!

Grateful that we have books of the past that tell the stories of people who actually lived it. Well written and beautifully narrated.

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I enjoyed this book very much because I was interested in 3 things: Smith College because it is my Alma Mater, Colorado history because I spend time in Fort Collins, and the city of Auburn because my relatives live in that area. Without an interest in those 3 things, the story might not hold the interest of a reader. The narrator has an irritating habit of pausing before reading something that I assume is in quotation marks in the printed book.
But aside from those reservations, let me say that it is a terrific story of two courageous women and the people of the Colorado rockies.