One of the books I received for Christmas is A Woman Tenderfoot, by Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson (copyright 1900). Here’s the copy on the back of the book:
Writer and outdoorswoman, feminist and devoted wife, pioneer and adventurer, these things and more describe Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson. In this charming and unusual book (first published in 1900), Grace charts the adventures she shared with “Nimrod,” her husband, the famed naturalist and writer Ernest Seton-Thompson. Together Grace and Ernest tour the American West at the turn of the century, trekking by horse, train, and on foot through all that those rugged environs afforded.
Whether she is defending herself against an irate rattlesnake, or politely avoiding a prim Victorian couple determined to thank her endlessly for a gift of fresh sweet peas, Grace recounts her exploits with infectious high spirits and good humor.
Introduced by Worth nathewson, long a fan of the books of both Grace and Nimrod, A Woman Tenderfoot will delight readers looking for a rare treasure from the Victorian age. The superb marginal drawings by S.N. Abbott have been retained for the original 1900 edition.
GRACE GALLATIN SETON-THOMPSON was born in 1872. With her husband, “Nimrod,” she founded the Camp Fire Girls. An intrepid adventurer, Seton-Thompson was the first Western woman to venture alone into India and China. An active and enthusiastic writer throughout her long life, she died in 1959.
Well, that makes me want to read it. And it makes me want to call Mike “Nimrod.”
If you want to read more, the text is available for download on the Project Gutenberg Web site, as the work is out of copyright.
Categories: Reading
Would you believe that I have a friend named Nimrod? (I can’t figure out why the name is in quotation marks on the cover of the book…Nimrod is a name like any other name, albeit a bit whimsical to our generation.) My Nimrod is an octogenarian, having lived in Carroll County, MD, his entire life. He is very active in our local citizens’ council and a delightful character. He ran for Clerk of the Court in a recent election. Apparently many people are taken with the name Nimrod, because most of his campaign signs disappeared. He’s a wonderful man and has fun with his name. It’s a biblical name; he’ll tell you book, chapter, and verse where one can locate the moniker in the bible.
Mike would make a great Nimrod!
I have a first edition (1898) copy of Ernest Thompson Seton’s Wild Animals I Have Known- I’m looking at it right now. It was one of my favorite books; I carted it home from my grandfather’s one day and I don’t know how many times I read it. I just reread his introduction (okay, I don’t know if I ever actually read it before) and he credits his wife with the actual design of the book.
Thanks for the heads up on the one you got. I want to read it.