Blue Horizons (Women of Paragon Springs, 2)

Rating:
Summary: A litany of courage
Review: Blue Horizons, by Irene Bennett Brown, portrays the status of women during the frontier period with wrenching accuracy. It's hard for contemporary readers to envision a time when "the gentler sex" had few legal protections and were basically the property of their husbands. Her story continues with the characters from the first book in the series, Long Road Turning, and focuses on the courageous Meg Brennon. Hunted by a sadistic husband who has already crippled her for life and will do anything to get her back, Meg attempts to get a legal divorce at a time when the courts were cruelly disposed to dismiss claims of mental and physical abuse as "provoked" by the victims. By exposing her location and new identify to her husband, which she must, if she appeals to the courts, she risks incurring more abuse or even death. In St. Louis, she befriends Hamilton Gibbs an excellent lawyer and truly compassionate human being who is awed by the strength of the disparate group of women who are creating the town of Paragon Springs in Western Kansas. Not only is Blue Horizons a moving, face-paced story, Brown's details on women's rights in the 1880's could serve as a text for sociology students. Adding to the tension are attempts to destroy the fiber of the precious fragile community by a rancher, Jack Ambler, who sees town-building as providing legitimacy for the homesteaders. Blue Horizons is a masterful blend of fiction and history. Definitely recommended for the discerning reader.

Rating:
Summary: A litany of courage
Review: Blue Horizons, by Irene Bennett Brown, portrays the status of women during the frontier period with wrenching accuracy. It's hard for contemporary readers to envision a time when "the gentler sex" had few legal protections and were basically the property of their husbands. Her story continues with the characters from the first book in the series, Long Road Turning, and focuses on the courageous Meg Brennon. Hunted by a sadistic husband who has already crippled her for life and will do anything to get her back, Meg attempts to get a legal divorce at a time when the courts were cruelly disposed to dismiss claims of mental and physical abuse as "provoked" by the victims. By exposing her location and new identify to her husband, which she must, if she appeals to the courts, she risks incurring more abuse or even death. In St. Louis, she befriends Hamilton Gibbs an excellent lawyer and truly compassionate human being who is awed by the strength of the disparate group of women who are creating the town of Paragon Springs in Western Kansas. Not only is Blue Horizons a moving, face-paced story, Brown's details on women's rights in the 1880's could serve as a text for sociology students. Adding to the tension are attempts to destroy the fiber of the precious fragile community by a rancher, Jack Ambler, who sees town-building as providing legitimacy for the homesteaders. Blue Horizons is a masterful blend of fiction and history. Definitely recommended for the discerning reader.