Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West [Paperback]

The acclaimed and captivating true story of two restless society girls who left their affluent lives to “rough it” as teachers in the wilds of Colorado in 1916.

In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, bored by society luncheons, charity work, and the effete men who courted them, left their families in Auburn, New York, to teach school in the wilds of northwestern Colorado. They lived with a family of homesteaders in the Elkhead Mountains and rode to school on horseback, often in blinding blizzards. Their students walked or skied, in tattered clothes and shoes tied together with string. The young cattle rancher who had lured them west, Ferry Carpenter, had promised them the adventure of a lifetime. He hadn’t let on that they would be considered dazzling prospective brides for the locals.

Nearly a hundred years later, Dorothy Wickenden, the granddaughter of Dorothy Woodruff, found the teachers’ buoyant letters home, which captured the voices of the pioneer women, the children, and other unforgettable people the women got to know. In reconstructing their journey, Wickenden has created an exhilarating saga about two intrepid women and the “settling up” of the West.Dorothy Wickendenhas been the executive editor ofThe New Yorkersince January 1996. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard, Wickenden was national affairs editor atNewsweekfrom 1993-1995 and before that was the longtime executive editor atThe New Republic.She lives with her husband and her two daughters in Westchester, New York.This reading group guide forNothing Dauntedincludes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with authorDorothy Wickenden. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase l³’