Letters of a Woman Homesteader

by Elinore Pruitt Stewart Narrated by Kate Fleming

Overview

After losing her husband, Elinore Pruitt washed clothes in Denver to support herself and her daughter. In 1909 she took a job working for a rancher near Burnt Fork, Wyoming. Subsequently she filed her own claim and married the rancher. The letters she wrote to her former employer over several years are packed with delightful stories and fascinating observations about her new life.

In this audiobook, Kate Fleming, a gifted, award-winning, narrator, gives a marvelous performance, taking us back to Burnt Fork and a very rich slice of America's past.

Elinore Pruitt Stewart was born at Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1876. She spent most of her childhood in Oklahoma (Indian Territory). Her schooling came to an end when her teacher was lynched by a group of local men. At the age of fourteen both her parents died. She now had the task of raising her eight younger brothers and sisters. The three youngest were taken to live with their grandmother whereas Elinore and the five older children went to work for the local railroad company.

Elinore eventually married a man much older than her. He was killed in an accident and despite having a young child, she trained to become a nurse. Elinore worked at a hospital in Burnt Fork but in her spare time wrote articles for the Kansas City Star. Later she moved with her daughter, Jerrine, to Denver, where she found work as a cook.

In 1909 Elinore went to work for Clyde Stewart, at his isolated ranch in Denver. Six weeks later she married the 41 year old widower. Over the next few years the couple had four children. The first one died but the three boys survived childhood.

Elinore wrote regular letters to Mrs. Coney, a former employer. Coney was impressed with the standard of Elinore's writing and arranged for them to be published in the Atlantic Monthly. They also appeared in two books, Letters of a Woman Homesteader (1914), and Letters on an Elk Hunt (1915).
Elinore Pruitt Stewart died in 1933.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

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.)

School Library Journal

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.

The Wall Street Journal

Warmly delightful, vigorously affirmative.

From the Publisher

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

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

New York Times Book Review

"Authentic records of Western ranch life—and more, for Mrs. Stewart had a born writer's talent."—New York Times Book Review

Western American Literature - Ann Ronald

"Mrs. Stewart was a woman whose nineteenth-century pioneer spirit seems to have been laced with a strong dose of twentieth-century liberation. Equally impressive is her ability to characterize the people around her."—Ann Ronald, Western American Literature

Wyoming Horizons Magazine - T. A. Larson

"The letters show how important women were in frontier development. [Elinore Stewart's] energy, good works, sense of humor, courage, common sense, and humility win our admiration."—T. A. Larson, Wyoming Horizons Magazine

Wyoming Horizons Magazine

"The letters show how important women were in frontier development. [Elinore Stewart's] energy, good works, sense of humor, courage, common sense, and humility win our admiration."—T. A. Larson, Wyoming Horizons Magazine

— T. A. Larson

Western American Literature

"Mrs. Stewart was a woman whose nineteenth-century pioneer spirit seems to have been laced with a strong dose of twentieth-century liberation. Equally impressive is her ability to characterize the people around her."—Ann Ronald, Western American Literature

— Ann Ronald

AUG/SEP 04 - AudioFile

Publisher InAudio seems to go from strength to strength in the Our America series. Elinore Stewart, a homesteader, left us a wonderful legacy when she recorded her experiences, reactions, and, best of all, her emotions as she encountered a life that would daunt most people. She wrote wonderfully descriptive letters to a former employer/friend in which she regales her with stories about the usual pioneer tasks, including looking after young children, along with preparing for a wedding, meeting some pleasant-- and very unpleasant--characters, and simply existing in harsh conditions. Narrator Kate Fleming perfectly projects Stewart’s humor, warmth, and wisdom. Commendably, Fleming quotes each character in the exact manner in which he or she would have addressed Stewart. This title offers pure pleasure. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170188932
Publisher:	InAudio
Publication date:	10/01/2003
Edition description:	Unabridged

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