Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West (A Historical Memoir)

Shipper had this item delivered 3 days sooner than expected. True story of two women who traveled from Upper NY., very near Chautauqua Lake region, where I was raised. Chautauqua is so small , there is no dot on a map to find that town. A cultural area --- private, Spring & Summer foliage-lush seasons. Amazing women who are never and will never be mentioned in any History course syllabus. Both their gravesites are at East Alameda & either Monaco or Quebec, in Denver, CO. A meaningful, peaceful read. So grateful shipper had this hardcover in large type. A gift to mu sister who live, met her husband & had 2 kids, in Medina, NY.

How stereotypical have westerns become? Gunslinging fighters, wars with Indians, saloon girls with hearts of gold; all staples of the American Western. What makes "Nothing Daunted" such a unique and interesting read is how it truly flies in the face of these stereotypes, and produces a "western" story that is original, compelling, and very hard to put down.Finding letters from her grandmother, author Dorothy Wickenden retells the story of how Dorothy Woodruff and her best pal Rosamund Underwood leave the safety of Auburn, New York to travel into the western wilds to serve as "schoolmarms" in a tiny school in Elkhead, Colorado. In the year they spend educating the youths, they experience a little drama, a little crime, a little romance, and lots of good natured socializing among the people they encounter. This is the west not seen in movies, one where automobiles are just starting to make their mark on the land, but dinner was provided by whatever game was killed that evening. Whenever Wickenden centers her story on these two remarkable women, the story compels you to read.Occasionally, seemingly in order to flesh out the novel, Wickenden wanders away from Ros and Dot and then, sometimes the novel does drag down a bit. While the history of how the train reaches across the mountainous state of Colorado is interesting, it does tend to be a bit long and a little distracting from the narrative. However, on some of Wickenden's excursions, do little bits of wonderful facts slip out, including one wonderful remembrance of Harriet Tubman in her last days in Auburn.This is such a wonderful book for many reasons. Auburn, being the center of social activism for decades, is a great setting for a story. The West is also equally a harsh, hard, and conquerable setting. But the true glimmer of this story is in Dot and Ros. You care about them, you care about how much they care about their students (many of them dirt poor), and you care about what happens to them in the future. You've never quite seen the west like this before. They were the original Thelma and Louise, but instead of "thieving" their way across the west, they educated it, and conquered it just the same.

NOTHING DAUNTED REVIEWThe author of “Nothing Daunted,” Dorothy Wickendon, is the most fortunate of biographers. She had a treasure trove of letters, news clippings, and family remembrances on which to develop her story. Historical researchers and writers are ecstatic when finding such abundant material.Her grandmother. Dorothy Woodruff, and close friend of eighty-three years, Rosamond Underwood, will be two of the most likable and adventurous women the reader will ever meet. In their late twenties, with open spirits and inquisitive minds, the two ladies signed on to be teachers in the remote high country of Colorado. They knew nothing of being a teacher or of subsisting in a turbulent environment, but overcame all the hurdles with their eager and resolute attitude.The amazing thing about their comments is the absence of complaints or odious remarks about anything or anybody they encounter. It’s almost Pollyannaish in its reading, yet refreshing and delightful in our contemporary world of distasteful literary efforts.Dorothy’s letters are filled with insight and amusing anecdotes. I squirmed when reading of the flea infestation found in the straw flooring of Parisian carriages. And I understand her perplexed look at Matisse paintings. She was opinionated and set in her ways, but in an agreeable and down-to-earth manner.There are interesting glimpses at Isadora Duncan, Nijinsky, and Agnes de Mille, who, as a thirty-year-old dance instructor, wanted to see a real square dance. She came to Elkhead, witnessed and joined in the locals’ dance, and ended up in the sagebrush when she was pitched through the door at the end of a “crack the whip” step. Seven years later she danced the lead in her ballet, “Rodeo,” to Aaron Copeland’s rousing score, crediting her trip to Elkhead as the inspiration.There’s not a disagreeable character in story. Perhaps the most intriguing is Ferry Carpenter, a local lawyer, who hires the two women and becomes their guardian angel. He is about their age, kind and solicitous, and I sense a romantic entanglement never acted upon until Ros marries him after the death of her husband many years later.This book is an uplifting look at the goodness in people, not only in Dorothy and Ros, but also in the people they encounter. That feeling of benevolence is extended to the author as she interviews the expanded group of family members from the early days of Elkhead, Hayden, and Oak Creek. Wickendon’s gift for language, passion for research, and painstaking construction of complex relationships will fascinate you.Schuyler T WallaceAuthor of TIN LIZARD TALES

This was ordered in the US to be sent to the UK as a gift. So I have no way of knowing the condition in which it arrived or whether it was sent promptly. But I have heard no complaints from the receiver. It's a great book.

item arrived on time and as described