29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Move Over Annie and Tell Henry David the News, December 18, 1999
This review is from: Driftwood Valley: A Woman Naturalist in the Northern Wilderness (Northwest Reprints) (Paperback)
Do not buy one copy of this book! When you finish you will press it on a friend, who in turn will press it on another. In a month it will be out of the county; in two out of the state. You will not see the book again and you will sorely miss it. So buy two copies: one for re-reading, one for evangelism.
Driftwood Valley is easily the best book written on an outdoor theme by a woman. Why it remains buried in obscurity is a wonder. The best contemporary writing in the genre connot match it. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek comes close; but to read the two books successively is to realize the limitations of Annie Dillard. Stanwell-Fletcher stands in better company with Thoreau. In her depictions of winter life in particular she approaches the master. One is reminded constantly of "The Pond in Winter", "Brute Neighbors", and "Winter Animals". There is some of the grandeur of Thoreau's contemporary, Francis Parkman, in her prose, too, when she lifts her eye to sweep the horizens of the immense British Columbian landscape.
Ultimately, this is a big, confident, heroic book. No trembler in the world's genetically reductionist sphere is Theodora Stanwell-Fletcher. She sees Heaven's glory shine, and revels in it. So will you when you read this most neglected of American masterpieces!
A last note: Ms Stanwell-Fletcher is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. I learned this from the bookjacket of the original edition I picked up for a dime at a yard sale. Having spent a year at Mount Holyoke as an exchange student, I took special heed of this and called their library seeking information. Was she still alive, etc. But no one there had heard of her! Later, a friend in South Hadley went to the alumni office, learned that she is indeed still with us, and was able to forward a fan letter to which she received a gracious thank you. I would suggest that any Holyoke grad reading this get the book, read it, contact your alma mater, and demand that they honor this lady. Ms Stanwell-Fletcher deserves it!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Driftwood Valley Worth Re-Reading, June 27, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Driftwood Valley: A Woman Naturalist in the Northern Wilderness (Northwest Reprints) (Paperback)
I have an autographeed copy the ©1946 edition of Driftwood Valley. I had the privilege of growing up in the same rural Pennsylvania town as Ms. Fletcher. When I was a teenager, I was employed by Ms. Fletcher to clean house for her one summer while she was away. She is a very nice woman with a remarkable background. She has set aside a nature conservatory in Northeast Pennsylvania which is open to the public. She has always been active in protecting the environment and wildlife. I re-read Driftwood Valley every couple of years and just love the adventure and challenges of this true-life story. What made it even more exiting for me is that the author was from my hometown.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
awesome, January 4, 2000
This review is from: Driftwood Valley: A Woman Naturalist in the Northern Wilderness (Northwest Reprints) (Paperback)
This book is an amazing journey into the frontiers of nature, exploration and science in the 1930's.
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