No Other Place: The Women of Paragon Springs Book Three
Paragon Springs is an imaginary town in western Kansas emerging over the last three decades of the 19th century. The series moves forward through the lives of women settlers. Although each book features a particular character (here it is Aurelia Symington) it is not difficult to pick up the narrative. Allusions are made to the other characters’ background stories, but it is more enticement than distraction.
The reviewer, a native Kansan with a history background, can attest to the accuracy of the details herein. Flashbacks describe Aurelia’s coming to Kansas in 1872 from Kentucky as a recent widow. Expecting a ranch, she gets a lone soddy. Cow chips for fuel? She picks them up with gloves. When the book begins, she has overcome her initial revulsion of the prairie, remarried, and with her stouthearted women friends is building a town with an eye on a railroad as well as becoming the county seat. The boom of the late 1870s and early 1880s contributes to the town’s growth. There is a tornado, of course. The town divides between those who would keep it “dry” and those who want to allow saloons. A power struggle develops between Paragon Springs and another town, which erupts into violence. Drought and the Cherokee Land run of 1893 threaten to empty the town. Despite the obstacles, the story ends on a positive note.
The book can be recommended as a gentle read.
