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Book Review By Mary Trotter Kion
Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

This is a collection of personal accounts, set down in often work-worn hands, from Kansas women who braved the pioneer years of settling in the United States. These combined historical stories bring to light such incidents as women having babies alone, except for others of their small children and a family dog, within the unsanitary walls of a sod house. Their daily trials often included prairie fires, hoards of grasshoppers that devoured every thing in sight, Indian raids and blizzards.

They arrived on the Kansas Plains in every shape, dress size and social attitude as well as education or the lack of it. They were mothers and wives, schoolmarms and Indian squaws. Some were immigrants, new to the country. Some arrived as new brides, or were married shortly after coming to Kansas with a wedding in the morning and a garden to plant in the afternoon. Some of these women, finding the homesteading life not to their liking turned to outlawry or, as towns grew, turned to working in saloons and prostitution. In direct opposite of these, some fought to do away with the saloons and drinking, while others fought another battle, that of the right of women to vote.


Plot & Themes
Gender/Class story? - woman's story
Job/profession/poverty story Yes
Kind of living: - pioneering in countryside
Ethnic/regional/gender Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1600-1899

Subject of Biography
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Ethnicity - Black
Nationality - American

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest
Prairie? Yes
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - farm
Small town? Yes
Century: - 19th century

Writing Style
Book makes you feel? - in awe
If this is a kid's book: - Age 16-Adult
Pictures/Illustrations? - A lot 11-15 B&W
How much dialogue in bio? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 26-50% of book
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