Customer Reviews

Hill Country

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Janice Woods Windle proves that lightning can strike twice.. Following her highly successful debut novel, True Women, which was made into a 1997 television mini series, the Texas author has penned Hill Country, a sweeping historical drama fraught with danger, excitement, and love - all the more fascinating because it's true.

Drawing from an unfinished autobiography plus a trove of letters and notes, the author has revitalized the indefatigable spirit of her pioneering grandmother, Laura Hoge Woods, an amazing woman who fought marauders, scratched a living from unfriendly soil, raised seven children, counted presidents as friends, and flew with Charles Lindbergh.

Much of Laura's grit came from her mother, "Little Mattie," who once pulled down Old Boomer, an "ancient, ten-gauge, double-barreled, shotgun" to protect 7-year-old Laura and her two brothers from hostile Indians. Herman Lehmann, who had been kidnaped by Apaches as a child, was among the intruders. To Laura, he was beautiful, "His hair was golden and long....his body seemed carved from ivory."

As a teenager Laura met Herman again, at Eager Mule Creek, her wilderness hide-away. They fell in love, but the gap between Indian life and the white world proved too wide for him to bridge. Wealthy Peter Woods, owner of a large horse ranch and chairman of the Blanco County Democratic Party, became Laura's husband. Through him, she hoped to satisfy her political aspirations - if she couldn't run for office because she was a woman, she decided to be a candidate's wife.

When government railroad land was offered for a dollar an acre, Laura and Peter bought. There was one qualifier: a buyer had to build on the land and remain there for six months. Agreeing to live in this new territory while Peter tended their present ranch, she "moved to the last place on Earth....the wild empty lands of Central Texas," where she felt her life was "sliding backwards."

In 1894, a violent storm arose isolating Laura and two young sons at the distant ranch. Days of incessant rain made puddles in the cabin, brought creek water to the horse pens, and serious illness to her youngest boy. Despite the blinding torrent, Laura managed to hitch a buggy, cradle the paroxysm seized baby in one arm, hold the other child on the floorboards between her knees, ford a wild river, and drive ten miles for help.

After the rigors of wilderness life, she was delighted to move to Blanco, into a stone bungalow overlooking the river. This home, known as "Hanging Tree Ranch" because of its proximity to a lynching she witnessed as a girl, was where Laura lived her glory years.

She gave birth to their first daughter, Winifred, and met the young woman who became her lifelong friend, Rebekah Baines Johnson.

It was also at "Hanging Tree Ranch" that Peter and Laura entertained Teddy Roosevelt who bought horses for his Rough Riders. Despite initial misgivings about Roosevelt's Republicanism, Laura was won over.

Later, in 1911, Laura again doubted a political hopeful; she was dissuaded by his scholarly mein. But when Woodrow Wilson came to Texas and advocated women's suffrage, Laura enlisted in his cause.

As the United States teetered on the brink of World War I, some suspected an alliance between Mexico and Germany. Asked to provide horses for an assault on Pancho Villa, Peter mortgaged his land to buy the animals.

An attempt to transport the Spanish cow ponies by train proved disastrous - a derailment injured the horses so severely that Peter was forced to shoot them. Laura wrote, "It was like something in Peter died that night, as well."

Always troubled by Winifred, who seemed uncommonly distant, Laura was pleased when her daughter married. But Winifred's first child was stillborn, a loss that pushed the fragile girl beyond reason, and eventually warranted her institutionalization.

As Peter faded to a shadow of his former self, Laura realized that she would have to support them. The family moved to San Marcos where she opened a rooming house. Of this journey she wrote: "The road from Blanco to San Marcos, Texas, is only 45 miles as the snake slithers.....Every mile of that road is littered with little pieces of my soul, with discarded notions of right and wrong, love and duty, and all the dreams and easy pleasures youth sheds on its way toward the setting sun."

In 1924, a young Charles Lindbergh barnstormed through Texas selling plane rides. Laura flew with him twice, finding "It was like riding on a beam of sunlight and being in absolute control." That evening she pretended not to hear when Peter asked her where she had been.

Outliving her husband and her close friend, Laura saw Rebekah's son elected to the presidency. She waltzed with Lyndon Johnson at his Inaugural Ball.

At over 90 years of age, plagued by failing eyesight and osteoporosis, Laura became the unwilling resident of a nursing home where she was repeatedly told to lay "back and rest." Valiant in her obstinacy, she would have none of it. After escaping her confines, Laura thought, "Maybe if I was old like these others I'd lie back and rest. But I've got things to do." One can scarcely imagine what it was that this remarkable woman had not already done.

Janice Woods Windle has done it again! True Women held me spell-bound, and this book is even better! I was so sorry when it was over. What a life Laura Hogg Woods had. Imagine being born in a time when Indian attacks were common, horses were vital means of transportation and cooking was done on a wood stove. Imagine dying at a time when man is about to go up in space, a beloved president is shot while in his car and your best friend's son becomes the president as a result of the tragedy. This author tells the story so vividly and beautifully, she has an amazing gift. I can't begin to praise this story enough---a great read!

An inner core of steel helps Laura Hoge Wood overcome a childhood fraught with great hardship and danger and takes her to the very portals of history and the U.S. presidency. A woman as uniquely Texan as her environment, Laura has to make an early decision between following her heart or her head in matters of love. That decision shows the mettle which serves Laura well for the rest of her long life. Her pioneer spirit brings her through adventures not for the faint of heart. This book has everything- suspense, romance, mystery, history- that will satisfy even the tastes of a picky reader.

I loved this book. It saved my life on a long airplane trip recently. I couldn't put it down, and so the bland airline snack and the cramped seats seemed to melt away. It is just a darn good story.

After reading True Women I knew that Hill Country would be another interesting history lesson and I wasn't disappointed! The love that Woods-Windle pours forth from her family tree is told in a way that you want to believe every word to be fact but of course her telling the story in a fashion so artfully done will make me always remember these beautiful people. Little Mattie is such a wonderful mother and Laura is a woman that everyone wants to know. Janice's dipiction of Rebekah Baines Johnson's relation with her best friend, Laura and her son Lyndon is beautifully written. I'm proud to have these two books in my library and to share them with my daughter, sister and special friends.

I was so sad when this book was over...I couldn't put it down!! I highly recommend this for any woman to read. A wonderful story, made all the more exciting because it's set in a region of My great state that is dear to my heart!

The main charracter , Laura, is a wonderfull role model for all women. What a story ! She has childhood loves to her adult problems and relationships. I enjoyed watching her grow. This story is rich and full . I miss reading about her. Laura was an amazing woman, yet so common that not only did I find my self pulling for her but I found myself changed and enspired by her . Her experiences became mine. My hat is off to this truely talented author. I hope she writes many many more books. I would also like to thank her for sharing Laura's story . What a WONDERFULL BOOK !!!!

Even if you have never been to the beautiful Texas Hill Country you will find this book a facinating journey through a very significant portion of central Texas history that had an impact on the entire world. Janice Woods Windle's descriptions of places and people are so vibrant they really pop. Wonderful read.

I can not say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. From the beginning to the "wow" of an ending this book will have you hooked. A truely fantastic read. Laura (the main character ) is a very likeable child who grows into a remarkable woman. Her lifes journy takes the reader on a wonderful adventure. Along with her growth as a person the reader can't help but to grow also. A fantastic story.

I am almost finished with Hill Country. There is a question, that I think I found the answer to about Lucy, Laura's sister. When Laura was bitten by the wild dogs on the night of Haleys comet, and Laura was transported by Lucy's car, how did Lucy die? It is brought to the readers attention that Lucy died, with no explaination given of how. Was there a car wreck? Would someone please show me what I missed with Lucy's death?