Book Review: The Montana Frontier: One Woman's West

Authors

• Allison Badger, Tuttle University

Date of this Version

2004

Document Type

Article

Comments

Published in Great Plains Quarterly 24:4 (Fall 2004). Copyright © 2005 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Abstract

The Montana Frontier: One Woman's West traces the life of Joyce Litz's grandmother, Lillian Hazen, from her days as a New York newspaper columnist to her years on a Montana ranch. Using her grandmother's journals and her published and unpublished writings, Litz describes a woman who grew up believing that a husband and children would ensure happiness and success. Yet, as Litz demonstrates, Hazen's life was anything but happy. Despite years of bankruptcy, drought, and a cheerless marriage, Hazen found ways to cope with her circumstances. Although Litz rarely delves into Hazen's emotional state, she believes Hazen's writing itself allowed her to survive.