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ladysmijubug2's review
Way more technical/in-depth than my brain was prepared for at this time.
ars410's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.5
A really interesting read, although sometimes the prose got a little too flowery for my taste. I appreciated the interruptions of the author's own experiences and travels, as it broke up the history very nicely, and I could feel the affection the author had for her subjects.
gemmadee's review
4.0
Sara Wheeler is an English nonfiction travel writer. Wheeler’s blend of extensive historical research with personal experience reminded me of Bill Bryson, although her research seems to go deep where his is broad. When she was facing the age of female invisibility (50, for the males who may be reading) she stumbled upon the story of Fanny Trollope who boldly adventured in the American West with her three youngest children when Cincinnati was a frontier town. Her trip was a disaster, but resulted in a memoir that secured her fortune. Hoping, perhaps, for a similar self-reinvention, Wheeler followed the trails of five more Englishwomen whose literary leveraging of their American travels led to “second acts” in an era when any woman besides the queen was considered used up by thirty.
writtenontheflyleaves's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this book, and the only reason it’s at three stars instead of four is that it took me a long time to get through.
Wheeler charts the second acts of six women who emigrated to America as it was building a national character for itself, from an early social commentator to an actress and abolitionist to a homesteader.
One of the things I loved about this book was the vivid descriptions of the time period and the places—particularly the wilderness of the Midwest. I also liked that Wheeler tells a fuller history than many in her place would: she doesn’t shy away from the atrocities committed against indigenous communities and she doesn’t spare the women she writes about from scrutiny, particularly on the subject of slavery.
I think it just took me a while to get through because I’m not an avid non-fiction reader and I fell in love with a few of these women more than others—getting to the end of their stories left little momentum to carry on to the next.
However I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has an interest in American history and is down to be critical of it. You’ll learn a lot about the formation of America and be introduced to six interesting characters.
Wheeler charts the second acts of six women who emigrated to America as it was building a national character for itself, from an early social commentator to an actress and abolitionist to a homesteader.
One of the things I loved about this book was the vivid descriptions of the time period and the places—particularly the wilderness of the Midwest. I also liked that Wheeler tells a fuller history than many in her place would: she doesn’t shy away from the atrocities committed against indigenous communities and she doesn’t spare the women she writes about from scrutiny, particularly on the subject of slavery.
I think it just took me a while to get through because I’m not an avid non-fiction reader and I fell in love with a few of these women more than others—getting to the end of their stories left little momentum to carry on to the next.
However I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has an interest in American history and is down to be critical of it. You’ll learn a lot about the formation of America and be introduced to six interesting characters.
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