“A few years ago, PBS broadcast "Victorian House," a series that showed a modern family attempting to live under the same social and physical conditions as a family in the Victorian era. For modern readers, Nothing Daunted is like "Homestead House," as we follow Ros and Dorothy, socialite graduates of Smith College who travel to the wilds of Colorado to teach at a rural school. While focusing on the hardscrabble lives of homesteaders in pre-World War I Colorado, author Wickenden -- Dorothy's granddaughter -- also portrays labor struggles, prison conditions, the American political scene, and the social limits and expectations for women. While reading the book, I couldn't help marveling at how dramatically lifestyles have changed over the past 100 years and wondering whether today's students, tethered since birth to video games and cell phones, could ever undertake an adventure as bold as Ros and Dorothy's. The fascinating story is topped off by a poignant epilogue that describes how Ros and Dorothy's youthful teaching experience shaped not only their lives but also those of their families and students.”
