Nothing daunted, the unexpected education of two society girls in the West, by Dorothy Wickenden

Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood were best friends since childhood. After bouncing around a bit (a European tour, etc.) after their graduation from Smith College in 1909, they suddenly decide to accept positions as teachers (for which they have no real training) in remote Elkhead, Colorado, on the Western Slope of the Rockies. The author is the granddaughter of Dorothy and based much of this rather charming book on letters from the period. Both women are indeed intrepid and find fulfilling lives in later life mostly because of this defining year. However, the book started out as a magazine article (the author is an editor at the New Yorker) and probably works better as a long article than a short book. I felt a lot of the history, which was interesting, was primarily padding to lengthy out the article. That said, you will enjoy meeting Dorothy and Rose and cheer them on. 304 pp.