Once There Was a Farm (Univ PR of Virginia) (Virginia Bookshelf) (Paperback)

by Virginia Bell Dabney (Author) "My parents, living in a comfortable house in the Chicago suburbs, bought sight unseen a 160-acre farm in the center of Virginia..." (more)
Key Phrases: brooder house, milk buckets, Aunt Maggie, Aunt Alice, Mary Marshall (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
It was an unusual household: the mother and three daughters lived on a ramshackle farm in western Virginia while the father stayed in Chicago, visiting his family during summer vacations and at Christmas. Virginia (Vallie), much younger than her sisters, never felt comfortable with her father. Playmates were a rarity, but she found rewards in the company of farm animals and the three black people who were hired help. Vallie wistfully observed her sisters and their friends, dreaming about her future suitors. Strange for that time and place, the sisters received no religious instruction; Vallie's attempt at self-baptism and the cook's reaction makes an endearing story. A devastating forest fire destroyed the farmhouse, and the family lived in a shed until a new home was built. In her debut book, the 71-year-old Dabney paints a wonderfully nostalgic picture of rural life in the late '20s through the Depression years. Author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A memoir of life on a backwoods Virginia farm in the first half of the 20th century. Virginia Bell Dabney recalls the hardships of the Depression, the fire that destroyed her home and how her mother struggled to make a life for her family, but also finds much to rejoice in her country childhood.

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Virginia (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813918472
• ISBN-13: 978-0813918471
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,398,550 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, beautiful, honest, and entertaining, August 17, 1999

By	Shawn A. Cullen (New Hope, PA) - See all my reviews

A beautfiul, poignant memoir of growing up in a less-than-perfect family (who didn't? But how many of us will admit it?) in a now vanished America (the rural South of the pre-World War II years). Dabney's clear-eyed reflections on her childhood memories will strike a chord with anyone who has looked back at their youth across the experience of years. This is no sweetly sentimental reminiscing; Dabney pulls few punches when relating her parents strengths and their failings, as well as her own sometimes less-than-lovable younger self. The pitfalls and prejudices of life in segregated Virginia are clearly spelled out, also. Yet, this is a poetic, moving book, delighting in the slower pace and rich detail of a life lived close to the soil and the seasons, with much beauty to enrich the spirit of an artistic person like the author. Painful episodes like the difficult marriage and premature death of her beautiful older sister are disclosed with grace and sympathy. As the author herself states, this is a book that truly took a lifetime to write, and every page sings with truth, beauty, and the joy and pain of life!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorites!, April 9, 2006

By	A. Methvin "book lover" (beautiful Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Just as the reviewer before me, this is absolutely one of my all time favorite books! I am currently reading it for the 4th time in about 8 years. Each time I read it I find something different that strikes me. It is a beautifully written book, each word carefully chosen for maximum impact. It is a nostalgic read that will make you long for the simpler, but not uncomplicated, times of the past. Buy this book and enjoy it many times throughout the years to come! Mrs. Dabney will become like an old friend...

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my favorite all time books, June 3, 2000

By	julie harris (paso robles, california) - See all my reviews

this is simply put, a wonderful honest read. this is one of my all time favorite books. i am currently reading it for the third time in about 8 years. it is a pleasure to read EACH time. i know that this will not be my last time in reading it!