Rebel Women: Achievements Beyond the Ordinary (Amazing Stories - Heritage List) - Softcover

Kupecek, Linda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551539918 ISBN 13: 9781551539911

Publisher: Heritage Amazing Stories, 2003

Synopsis

Many famous women of the west are celebrated elsewhere. In this book, we meet lesser known rebels, those who lived with passion, individuality, and courage. These are women who dared to follow their own path through life; women who dared to be different.

About this title

About the Author:

Linda Kupecek is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, performer, and journalist. She has worked as a senior correspondent for "The Hollywood Reporter", as an antiques and collectibles columnist, as a film columnist for CBC Newsworld, as a co-producer of the Halloween television special, "Scary Collections," and, years ago, played Mother Fulham in the musical Hoarse Muse for Alberta Theater Projects.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Prologue "Have you ordered the fuel for the winter?" he asked. "Ordered the fuel? What do you mean?" Georgina replied, aghast. After a difficult year farming alone, Georgina was running out of money. She couldn't possibly afford to hire anybody to cut wood for fuel. She had assumed Wilton, the caretaker, would do it. "The neighbours tell me I shall require 17 loads," Wilton said smugly. "Do they!" replied Georgina forcefully. "I don't see you felling, cleaning, and hauling 17 loads of wood in 17 centuries of Sundays." They argued back and forth. Finally he delivered the incendiary statement. "You can't be expected to understand a man's duty to his family," he said solemnly. Georgina breathed deeply. She was a single woman working a farm, struggling with innumerable challenges, and meeting every one, thank you very much. She stalked off and found her little household hatchet, then marched into the woods and started to hack at the trees. Georgina had never cut down a load of fuel before in her life, but anger, outrage, and her so-called caretaker's complacent superiority spurred her on. To begin with, she struggled, cutting down only 12 trees in the first hour, but, "gradually the work got into my blood and I liked it." Soon, she had 60 poles of wood neatly stacked. For two days, she worked, armed only with her little hatchet. But she no longer railed against Wilton. Gradually, her anger was replaced by the efforts of hard labour and the satisfaction she felt in the achievement. The next day, Wilton announced he and his wife would walk to town. They were leaving Georgina's employ because, he said pointedly, there was no fuel for the winter. There was a moment of silence, as they stared at each other. Then Georgina said pleasantly, "Take the wagon, only it must go out first to haul in the load of wood." She sent the flabbergasted Wilton out to collect the wood she had felled by herself. When he returned, she said sweetly, "There are two more [wood piles] beyond. Try to get them in tomorrow." His jaw dropped even lower. In Georgina's words, Wilton and his wife "looked at each other, and at the wood, and at me, and I tried to look as unlike a person crowned with unusual honours as possible." Mr. Wilton stayed on. How could he argue with a woman like Georgina?

About this edition

• Publisher: Heritage Amazing Stories
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1551539918
• ISBN 13: 9781551539911
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120