Here we come to the very last of the series of Little Colonel Books. Sort of. This is actually two books in one. Part 1, in 8 chapters, continues where we left off in Texas on the way home to the little mining camp of Lone-Rock in Arizona. Mary plans ... Read more

Here we come to the very last of the series of Little Colonel Books. Sort of. This is actually two books in one. Part 1, in 8 chapters, continues where we left off in Texas on the way home to the little mining camp of Lone-Rock in Arizona. Mary plans to stay there only as long as it takes to find a position elsewhere, then finds that there may be just as many reasons to stay. Part 2 gives us Betty's wedding in Lloydsboro Valley, and finally a life's mission for Mary Ware: A mission that is for Mary as the King's call of Edryn. However to "keep the tryst" will force her to make a painful decision between her new-found work and the fulfillment of her life's dreams. This part of the book is in reality a tribute to, collusion with, and now a history as well of Annie Fellow's Johnston's own sister, Albion Fellows Bacon, and her work. Some will recognize "Riverville" as Evansville, Indiana. Albion Fellows work as a reformer, as well as her situation in life, can be found in the character of Mrs. Dudley Blythe. In this book, Annie Fellows Johnston makes her strongest political statements of the series. And here, in Mary Ware, she gives us a heroine whose call goes far beyond that of the Little Colonel, who's only ambition in life had been to make a Road of the Loving Heart (without breaking any fingernails). For in Mary we find a heroine that hoped to be a "blessing to her generation and a torch that helped to light the way for all who came after her." Less