Kate Stephens

The edition I read was published in 1936, which is **I think?** when it was written. In which case, this was written by a well-to-do woman, daughter of a judge, who grew up in Lawrence, Kansas in the 1870s and is recalling the people and events of that time some 50 years later. Or should I say the GLORIOUS, RIGHTEOUS, HAND-SELECTED BY GOD, VASTLY SUPERIOR people of that time.

I had heard the term "manifest destiny" as a high school student, but never understood what it really meant until I read this book. It means that people like Kate Stephens must "illuminate" the other less-civilized (darker) races of this wild land with her Anglo-Saxon ideals and opinions. She isn't shy about the reminders that it's DESTINY which has led to Eastern noble families coming to save the West. Nearly every chapter lauds the families of Ireland and England, oh those wonderful families!

The parts I enjoyed were the descriptions of things that are relevant today -- tales of fraternity pranks and neighbors whose marriages worked out sadly. I focused on those excerpts and skipped the pages of long-winded fake Grecian poetry and overblown boring original songs. (Yes, Kate Stephens is ready to show you her superior mind in more than just prose!)

I'd like to edit some of the cockiness out of this book and make it more accessible to a modern eye. It's just so SO hard to get past the racist and delusional thinking prevalent in these pages (which, to be fair, were the popular views of the time and so I can't truly fault Kate Stephens for behaving in a manner that was utterly consistent with her upbringing and a greater societal context).… (meer)