Are you ready for a road trip?
If the answer is yes, then check out Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip by Gail Ward Olmsted. Scroll down to read a short excerpt from the book.
Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip
By Gail Ward Olmsted
By Gail Ward Olmsted
In the fall of 1907, Katharine decides to drive from Newport, Rhode Island, to her home in Jackson, New Hampshire. Despite the concerns of her family and friends, that at the age of 77 she lacks the stamina for the nearly 300-mile journey, Katharine sets out alone. Over the next six days, she receives a marriage proposal, pulls an all-nighter, saves a life or two, crashes a high-society event, meets a kindred spirit, faces a former rival, makes a new friend, takes a stroll with a future movie mogul, advises a troubled newlywed, and reflects upon a life well lived; her own!
Join her as she embarks upon her remarkable road trip.
Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908) was born into affluence in England and emigrated to the U. S. at the age of eighteen. Fiercely independent and never married, Kate volunteered as a nurse on a medical ship during the Civil War, before founding a vocational school for underprivileged girls. A lifelong friend and trusted confidante of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, she was a philanthropist, a hospital administrator, and the author of The Other Side of War: 1862, as well as the noted translator of dozens of novels written by French authors, including Moliere and Balzac. She is included in History’s Women: The Unsung Heroines; History of American Women: Civil War Women; Who’s Who in America 1908-09; Notable American Women, A Biographical Dictionary: 1607-1950 and A Woman of the 19th Century: Leading American Women in All Walks of Life.
Excerpt
On her working relationship with Frederick Law Olmsted, Executive Secretary of the United State Sanitary Commission
Working for Mr. Olmsted, as I continued to call him for a time before he insisted that I call him Fred, was never dull, an understatement if ever I’d made one. He was mostly affable and pleasant to deal with, but his rule was absolute and no one dared to question any of his decisions. Some of the staff appeared to walk on eggshells when he was around, but not me.
Of course, I was always respectful and exceedingly polite, but I’d had no issue with asking for clarification of a direct order, requesting minor changes to policies and procedures, and asking, as needed, for forgiveness instead of permission. He was, to my mind, always fair and courteous. I had no issue with forgiving his occasional lapse into a thorough dressing down of the random worker or two when their behavior had negatively affected one of our patients. I would have liked to give the offender a thorough tongue-lashing of my own, but I knew my role on board and it was not that of an enforcer of the rules nor was I allowed to mete out any punishment. I was there solely for the purpose of assisting the doctors in our efforts to improve the health and lives of the wounded men. And that was fine with me.
Doesn't this book sounds utterly amazing?! If you would like to grab your copy, head over to Amazon. If you have #KindleUnlimited subscription then you can read it for free!
Gail Ward Olmsted
Gail Ward Olmsted was a marketing executive and a college professor before she began writing fiction on a fulltime basis. A trip to Sedona, AZ inspired her first novel Jeep Tour. Three more novels followed before she began Landscape of a Marriage, a biographical work of fiction featuring landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, a distant cousin of her husband’s, and his wife Mary. After penning a pair of contemporary novels featuring a disgraced attorney seeking a career comeback (Miranda Writes, Miranda Nights) she is back to writing historical fiction featuring an incredible woman with an amazing story.
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Thanks very much for hosting Gail Ward Olmsted today. I love your banner. :-)
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club