Letters of a Woman Homesteader [Paperback]

Elinore Pruitt Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1998

"Peopled with the kinds of characters most novelists only dream of"(Christian Science Monitor), this classic account of American frontier living captures the rambunctious spirit of a pioneer who set out in 1909 to prove that a woman could ranch. Stewart's captivating missives from her homestead in Wyoming bring to full life the beauty, isolation, and joys of working the prairie.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

George provides biographical insight into the author of the 1914 pioneer classic Letters of a Woman Homesteader , giving a detailed presentation of Stewart's previously uncollected letters. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–After deciding that city life as a laundress wasn't for her, Elinore Pruitt, a young widowed mother, accepted an offer to assist with a ranch in Wyoming, work that she found exceedingly more rewarding. In this delightful collection of letters, she describes these experiences to her former employer, Mrs. Coney. Pruitt's charming descriptions of work, travels, neighbors, animals, land and sky have an authentic feel. The West comes alive, and everyday life becomes captivating. Her writing is clear, witty, and entertaining. The 26 letters are brief and tell about her life on the ranch in the early 1900s. The author frequently and unnecessarily apologizes for being too wordy; she begs forgiveness for many "faults," like being forgetful, ungrateful, inconsistent and indifferent, all without apparent cause. On occasion, language reflects the racial prejudice of the time. Many times, Pruitt attempts to portray the culturally diverse characters she meets by writing their various dialects as they sound. Kate Fleming's narration is as smooth as the writing, perfectly transitioning from one accent to the next. She reads with a calm, down-to-earth tone, which suits the writing well.–Kariana Cullen Gonzales, Lincoln Consolidated High School, Ypsilanti, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (May 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395911516
• ISBN-13: 978-0395911518
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #693,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

485 of 487 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and interesting!, January 3, 2010

By 

Snowbrocade (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Kindle Edition)

Since this Kindle book has no introduction or information on the book page, I copied a publishers note I found on on the Google books website which provides some background information about the author. "The writer of the following letters is a young woman who lost her husband in a railroad accident and went to Denver to seek support for herself and her two-year-old daughter, Jerrine. Turning her hand to the nearest work, she went out by the day to work as a housecleaner and laundress. Later, seeking to better herself, she accepted employment as a housekeeper for a well-to-do Scottish cattleman, Mr. Stewart, who had taken up a quarter-section in Wyoming. The letters, written through several years to a former employer in Denver, tell of her new life in the new country. They are genuine letters, and are printed as written, except for occasional omissions and alterations of names."


The letters begin in 1909, apparently right after a homestead act made it possible for the author, Elinore Pruitt Stewart, to claim a homestead of 160 acres in Wyoming. Ms. Stewart is a very resourceful woman as well as a wonderful story-teller. She explains that she never received formal education but she refers to current literature so I am guessing that she has learned to write from her interest in reading. Apparently she was a prolific author in her time and one of her descendants has published a book about her. (There are pictures of her on the web and more information if you want to know more about her.)

Elinore has a cheerful and pragmatic approach to life making her well-written letters a lot of fun to read. She mostly writes about events, usually involving meeting some of the other inhabitants of the area, ranging from mountain men to Mormons. She loves to go camping and several times recounts setting out on her horse with her baby and camping in the wilderness. She brings very little supplies, catching trout and snaring rabbits for food. She also does some description of her everyday life which apparently was very busy and full of hard work but she always describes it as fulfilling.

I enjoyed this slice of life from another time. It is a quick fun read and definitely worth the price!

105 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and highly recommended, April 13, 2010

By 

Pen&Paper (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Kindle Edition)

This was a great peek into the life of a woman homesteader. I was delighted to see (through Ms. Pruitt's writings) how many other women homesteaders there were in that time. She has such an engaging writing style and it kept me riveted for the entire collection of letters.

By chance I noticed that one of the films on my netflix list is called Heartland. It's a movie from 1980 whose main character, Elinor, is based on these writings. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie even more after reading these letters.

If you like smart, spunky, DIY characters, you'll love Ms. Pruitt's writings.

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't hesitate, February 4, 2010

By 

D. Loren (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Kindle Edition)

Letters of a Woman Homesteader

This was recommended in one of Jessamyn West's memos. It was so interesting I could not put it down. How courageous this woman was and what a great sense of humor. If you ever thought life was too hard to move forward, just read this book and become inspired!