The Last Woman
From a Catholic school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1877, to a West Texas ghost town on the eve of World War II, The Last Woman presents the early adulthood and the final years of Catherine McCain, an extraordinary woman who went west in the closing years of the frontier and remained even when most others had moved on. Along her journey as a young woman, she picks up the nickname Frenchy from a riverboat gambler. The Mississippi River offered a ready avenue of escape from the drudgery of her childhood, and the chance for adventure with her friends Louise and Mamie.
Not everyone is a friend on this odyssey, however, and Frenchy finds plenty of folks more than happy to use her and her pals for their own purposes. The frontier offers a haven of anonymity, and Frenchy follows the migration west, pausing at Dodge City and later heading down to Texas. She experiences romance along the way, but also finds she’s being stalked by a figure from her past.
John Willingham based Frenchy on an actual woman, and he does a nice job of characterization with her and the people who have a major impact on her life. Some significant characters, though, would benefit from fuller development and less reliance on stereotypical behavior. The book’s timeline alternates between the late 19th century and circa 1940, but Willingham is able to maintain reader interest.
