Author: P. L. Roe

1Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888

By Frances M. A. Roe

<i>"There appeared from the bushes in front of me, and right in the path, two immense gray wolves . . . Rollo saw them and stopped instantly, giving deep sighs, preparing to snort, I knew . . . To give myself courage, I talked to the horse, slowly turning him around . . . when out of the bushes in front of us, there came a third wolf! The situation was not pleasant and without stopping to think, I said ‘Rollo, we must run him down - now do your best’ and taking a firm hold of the bridle, and bracing myself in the saddle, I struck the horse with my whip and gave an awful scream. . .</i>”<br><br> Thus, the spunky and resourceful Frances Roe recounts one of her many adventures. Frances was the young wife of a West Point Army officer, whose career took them both to frontier garrisons in what are now the states of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. Her letters home to her family in upstate New York, written between 1871 and 1888, and published in book form in 1909, are a fascinating chronicle of life on the frontier. Despite the grittiness of keeping house in tent-and-log-cabin quarters, Frances took to Western life, learning to shoot and ride (side saddle), fly fish for trout and hunt buffalo. Her letters, chatty and detailed, open windows on varied aspects of frontier and army life: army protocol (including the right of senior officers to bump subordinates out of their housing ); the Indian tribes--Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Apache, Kiowa (ceremonial visits from chiefs as well as Indian warfare); the black cavalry troops (at Camp Supply in Indian Territory); Chinese cooks (also Polish, Irish, and enlisted men doing kitchen duty). Her letters span years of rapid change in the West. They touch on the disappearance of the buffalo herds, the decline of the Indian tribes and the coming of the railroads. Even Yellowstone Park, established in 1872, gets a mention:<i> “Now that the park can be reached by railroad, all of the generals, congressmen, and judges are seized with a desire to inspect it--in other words, it gives them a fine excuse for an outing at Uncle Sam’s expense.”</i><br><br>Her emotions run deep when she writes: <i>“I love army life here in the West, and I love all the things that it brings to me--the grand mountains, the plains, and the fine hunting.” </i> But, Frances’ husband, Fayette Washington Roe, is eventually promoted to a headquarters desk job. Frances tries to evinse enthusiasm for town life:<i> “since I cannot return to the plains, I might as well go to the city, where we will meet people of culture.” </i> But even shopping for the necessary clothes distresses her: <i>“Parasols have bothered me. I would forget to open them in the street, and would invariably leave them in the stores when shopping and then have to go about looking them up.” </i> She then utters a timeless cry of urban angst: <i>“It is the feeling of loneliness I mind here--of being lost and no one to search for me.” </i>(written at a hotel in Omaha, Nebraska in August 1888) Anyone with nostalgia for or curiosity about the Old American West will certainly enjoy this book. (Summary by Sue Anderson)

2He Fell in Love with His Wife

By Edward P. Roe

James desperately needs someone to help him keep his farm going, but has failure after colossal failure finding a good housekeeper. Alida marries a man only to find out he's already married. She's so undone when she finds out that she just wants to go somewhere where no one will judge her for her misfortune, where she can work and keep herself fed and clothed. James and Alida meet and arrange for a strictly business marriage, leaving loving and honoring out of the vows. The title of the book tells the rest of the story, but the way it gets there is worth the journey. (Introduction by TriciaG)

3Opening a Chestnut Burr

By Edward P. Roe

Walter Gregory is a gentleman whose health is broken down by the stress of Wall Street and the consequences of his fast lifestyle. Disillusioned in love and betrayed in friendship, he returns to visit his childhood home in the country. Who is this young woman Annie Walton he finds there? Can she truly be as good as she seems? He determines to test her character to the utmost. Deceitful villains, fire, death, and nautical disasters all try our hero and heroine. She has shown him the saving faith that gives life. Can he rescue her from a false fiancé who would ruin hers? (LikeManyWaters)

4Driven Back To Eden

By Edward P. Roe

Frustrated with life in the tenements generally and the negative influences on his children specifically, a father decides to move his family to the country, where they live off the land and breathe fresh air. - Summary by David Gore

5From Jest to Earnest

By Edward P. Roe

As a practical joke at a house party, a young and beautiful socialite tries to make a fool out of a visiting young missionary to amuse her friends. She pretends to be a seeker in order to win his affections, but gets a lot more than she bargained for... - Summary by LikeManyWaters

6Day of Fate

By Edward P. Roe

A night editor at a New York paper escapes to the country to avoid a nervous breakdown. Providence lands him in the middle of a loving Quaker family in time to save them from being roasted by a lightning strike. Then what could be more natural than falling in love with a girl already engaged to someone else? Truly, it was a Day of Fate for him. "Some shallow story of deep love." (Shakespeare) - Summary by LikeManyWaters

7Home Acre

By Edward P. Roe

To tens of thousands of bread-winners in cities a country home is the dream of the future, the crown and reward of their life-toil. Increasing numbers are taking what would seem to be the wiser course, and are combining rural pleasures and advantages with their business…By means of such a suburban nook we can keep up our relations with Nature and all her varied and health-giving life... The area of land purchased will depend largely on the desires and purse of the buyer; but about one acre appears to satisfy the majority of people. This amount is not so great that the business man is burdened with care, nor is its limit so small that he is cramped and thwarted by line fences. If he can give to his bit of Eden but little thought and money, he will find that an acre can be so laid out as to entail comparatively small expense in either the one or the other… In this book I merely hope to make some useful suggestions and give practical advice—the result of experience, my own and others'—which the reader may carry out and modify according to his judgment. We will suppose that an acre has been bought; that it is comparatively level, with nothing of especial value upon it—in brief, that the home and its surroundings are still to be created. - Summary by the Author