This was one of the best books I have ever read. I am not reporting it because I am sending it to my neice. It was terrific. It really gives you an idea of women in the scientific community at the turn of the century and how constrained they were-- yet it isn't lecturing at all. It's in the form of an engrossing story told in letters. It was just great.

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A young medical student from Cornell travels to Yellowstone Park to join in on a bontanical rsearch expedition. Going only by the first initials A.E., she is invited by Professor Merriman (in charge of the group) and to his chagrin finds out that she is a woman. and refuses to take her along for economic, gender and other reasons. She fights and earns the right to accompany them and do her own scientific research. To quote from the back cover of the book: "Simply and brilliantly captures that time when the American wilderness was still a pristine, awe-inspiring place."

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I had some idea that this book was a compilation of actual letters from the 1800s, from Yellowstone. But it isn't. It is a set of fictional letters set in that time, from various people involved in a field study in Yellowstone National Park. The protagonist is A.E. Bartram, a botany student who is excited to join the team. The leader of the team, Howard Merriam, is not aware that A. E. is a woman, and initially he is put off by this.

But A. E. (Alexandria, Alex) proves herself to be a good researcher: enthusiastic, knowledgable, and capable of learning. The rest of the team and those who are involved from afar are not immediately taken by having a woman in the group, but they defer to the leader.

The letters are fun to read, revealing as they do the nature of the work, the relationships among the people involved, and some of the beauty that is Yellowstone. The hotel featured in the book is real and still exists, albeit remodeled, of course.

I enjoyed the development of the characters and did not mind too much the somewhat flowery language employed in the letters. It's true that many people wrote that way at the time, though I doubt that they spoke the same way. Alex's character may be a bit out of sync for the time, but at the same time we read a lot of rather victorian attitude in the letters. I'm not sure that this attitude had invaded all of society at the time, given that at any time there is a mix of cultures and attitudes.

Overall I found it quite enjoyable and it whets my appetite for visiting Yellowstone.

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This was the second time I read this book, for a discussion group session this time. I enjoyed it even more this time. The characters are an interesting, diverse group--professor, Crow Indian, mountain man, park ranger, rancher, woman naturalist, and a talking raven! The setting is wonderful--near turn of the 20th century Yellowstone--then called the Nation's Park because it was the only one. I particularly liked how the evolving nature of natural history study and collecting was told in an interesting, easy to read story format. And there are delightful, funny moments, too. I liked this book so much I'm planning to read her next one.

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very easy to read, whimsical

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