Helpful Score: 2
This novel of letters written from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1940s tell a powerful story! It will inspire you and stay with you for a very long time. A timeless classic!
Helpful Score: 1
This small book is so beautifully written I hated to finish it. The story is told through personal letters from the fictional Beth Steed Garner from 1899 to 1968. Beth Steed Garner was a woman born to wealth and privilege and was accustomed to all of the pleasures of that life. She had a life as a wife, mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, successful businesswoman and world traveler. Her most important characteristic however is that of an independent woman who plans her own life and plots her own course. In an age when it was unheard of she demanded a marriage contract based on equality, yet bound her children and family friends to her with chains of love and money. In a 20th century world, many of her most private thoughts were ahead of her time. I loved this book. I envied her the freedom she took for herself, but found I disapproved of the way she usually served her own interest before the interest of those who loved her. A darn good read. Genny Sikes
A great read. Reminds me of Emma by Barbara TAylor Bradford.
A 70's classic, selected by the BOMC and made into a major motion picture.
A book full of wisdom -- but not at all overbearing about it. I both laughed out loud and got a little teary. A book for all ages -- a delight!
I truly enjoyed this book. It was very entertaining, informative, and described a lot of the conflicts that women of that generation faced- and still do. I did not always like the main character, but she was a hoot!
Originally published in 1978, A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS is the richly woven story of Bess Steed Garner, whose trials and triumphs from the early 1900s through the 1960s make her a woman for all ages.
At the turn of the centruy, a time when women had few choices Bess Steed Garner inherits a legacy not only of wealth, but of determination and desire, making her turly a woman of independent means. from early 1900 thru 1960's we accompany Bess as she endures life's trials and triumphs with unfailing courage and indominitable spirit: the sacrifices love sometimes requires of the heart; the flaws ands rewards of marriage; the often-tested bond between mother and child; and the will to defy a society that demands conformity.
An excellent story.
An excellent read, my book club and I loved it.
Good book, cleverly written...it would be a challenge to develop a character when the narration is so one sided (letters just from her).
Letters written by Bess, a woman who marries, raises children, travels, writing to family and friends during her whole life. The author has created "Bess Steed Garner--a precocious, bossy, loving and extremely believable woman who as a singular character represents much of everywoman." I couldn't put it down for very long...finished it in three days!
Written in the form of letters...
I haven't read this book--I decided I wanted to buy a paperback that i could carry with me and read a little at a time.
I read this many, many years ago and loved it--kept buying it for friends and wound up never having a book of my own.
Now I want to savor it little by little.
I read this many, many years ago and loved it--kept buying it for friends and wound up never having a book of my own.
Now I want to savor it little by little.
An enjoyable read. Bess wasn't a perfect woman (who is?), but she was certainly never dull! Loved the writing style as well.
Interesting read.
