Starred review from February 28, 2011
Nineteen-year-old Clara Estby is hauled by her mother, Helga, on a 7,000-mile walk from Spokane, Wash., to New York in 1896. The fashion industry is looking for promotion of the new, shorter dress for women; Helga is looking for a $10,000 prize to save the family farm from foreclosure. The historically factual walk is only the first half of the book; the rest follows Clara after she leaves her family, becomes a businesswoman, and makes her way as times change for women at the turn of the century. Kirkpatrick has done impeccable homework, and what she recreates and what she imagines are wonderfully seamless. Readers see the times, the motives, the relationships that produce a chain of decisions and actions, all rendered with understatement. Kirkpatrick is a master at using fiction to illuminate history's truths. This beautiful and compelling work of historical fiction deserves the widest possible audience.
Starred review from April 15, 2011
Needing money to save the family farm in 1896, Helga Estby and her daughter, Clara, accept a bet to walk 3500 miles from Spokane, WA, to New York City within seven months. For their efforts, they would be awarded $10,000. Returning home a year later, Clara chooses to leave her mother and the only life she has ever known to continue on her journey. The original walk, paid for by the fashion industry to show off new, shorter dresses, is based on historical fact. VERDICT Kirkpatrick (An Absence So Great) has done an outstanding job of illuminating turn-of-the-century America and the effect of the period's rapid changes on the emancipation of women. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction that features strong female characters and attention to detail.
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from August 1, 2011
Kirkpatrick ("An Absence So Great") delivers an inspirational historical fiction tale of Clara Estby, later known as Clara Doray, during and following her radical 3500-mile walk from Spokane to New York City in 1896. Clara's mother, Helga, of Norwegian descent, has taken a wager of $10,000 from sponsors of the fashion industry to complete this impressive trek, modeling new women's reform clothes and giving speeches in cities along the way. Clara is her unwilling companion. In the second half of the book, Clara deals with the effects of the walk on her family, socioeconomic status, relationships, and growing work as a businesswoman. Kirkpatrick paints Clara's fears and trials and the period's liberation of women with finesse and sincerity, not to mention heavy research. Broadway actress Kimberly Farr's crisp yet earnest tone blends beautifully with Kirkpatrick's powerful prose. Recommended for fans of historical fiction, Christian fiction, and feminist literature. ["An outstanding illumination of turn-of-the-century America," read the starred review of the WaterBrook: Random pb, "LJ" 4/1/11.—Ed.]—Jamie-Lee Schombs, MLS Candidate, Pratt Inst., New York
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.