Soliloquy of a Farmer's Wife: The Diary of Annie Elliott Perrin

by Annie Elliott Perrin, Dale B.J. Randall (Contribution by), Dale B. J. Randall (Editor)

Overview

Soliloquy of a Farmer’s Wife is the bare-bones diary of a Geneva, Ohio, farmer’s wife, Annie Perrin, who wrote during the last three weeks of 1917 and all of 1918, that is, during the final battles, climax, and close of World War I.

Her entries recount her family’s trip to Florida where they considered settling before deciding to make a go of their farm near Lake Erie. She writes also of the daily chores and personal stresses of dealing with a difficult husband, sending a son off to the Navy, and worrying about the health of her younger son.

In addition to the work and worry, and despite the fact that their farm was without electricity or running water, and despite the outbreak of the Spanish influenza epidemic, Annie Perrin records the occasional good times, including visits to the nearest cities, Ashtabula to the east, and Cleveland to the west.

Since Annie’s diary entries are brief and cryptic, they are supplemented here with a full introduction, four appendices, and extensive notation. Together with copious illustrations, these elements help to create not only a factual but also a warmly humane and rounded sense of family members and neighbors, of various farming practices of the day, and of life in the nearby village.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821412671
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	09/30/1999
Edition description:	1
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	(w) x (h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dale B. J. Randall, an Ohio native, is Professor of English at Duke University and is the author of numerous essays and books.

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	ix
	Preface	xv
	A Note on the Text	xxv
	Introduction	1
	The Diary of Annie Elliott Perrin
1.	"Our Trip to Florida" (17 December 1917-23 March 1918)	73
2.	Early Spring to Early Summer (24 March-30 June 1918)	131
3.	From Henry's Furlough to Harvest Time (1 July-30 September 1918)	201
4.	From First Frost to Year's End (1 October-31 December 1918)	263
	Postscript: Annie's Later Years	317
Appendix A	A Letter from Annie to Her Sister-in-Law Pearl (1897)	333
Appendix B	Four Letters from Henry B. Perrin to Lettie Perrin (1918)	337
Appendix C	A Partial Family Tree of the Elliotts and Perrins	352
Appendix D	"Soliloquy of a Farmer's Wife"	354
	Research Sources	357
	Index	367

Editorial Reviews

Annie Elliott Perrin, a northern Ohio farmer's wife, received a diary book as a gift in December 1917, as the family set out on a once-in- a-lifetime trip to Florida. Her daily notations for a year are the basis for this story of a family's life and times. Perrin's brief, practical entries center around the continuous daily chores at a farm with no electricity or running water. Each entry is supplemented by extensive notation, b&w photos of family members, and historical illustrations from popular magazines and newspapers. Includes an introduction on the family and the community, and appendices of letters. The editor is professor of English and drama at Duke University, and the grandson of the diarist. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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