THE BONNET BOOK

In this historical novel, a teenager becomes a reluctant passenger on the orphan train in 1902.

Blanche Spencer is a precocious 14-year-old from Oraville, Illinois, and a real hit on the temperance circuit. Her recitation of “The Drunkard” sparks loud applause from the tent audience every night. Her father has been persuaded to put her on the orphan train so that she can have better opportunities in St. Louis. She is immediately taken in (so to speak) by the Robeys, who see her not as an adopted daughter but as a servant. She is even forbidden to write home. But she loves her young charges and they her, so she sticks it out. Then Mr. Robey—these people are not absolutely evil—finds a place for her at a millinery company; her talent is discovered; and her career takes off. Soon, she is sent on extended trips, first to Cobden, Illinois, near her hometown, where she does a bang-up job of breathing new life into a dowdy hat shop. On the strength of that success, she is sent to the Wild West—Oklahoma City, another triumph. In Cobden, she met handsome Charlie Menees, and his attentions were part of the reason she accepted this new assignment—she is not ready for a man in her life. Lo and behold, Charlie shows up in Oklahoma, and eventually love does conquer her independent spirit. They marry in Muskogee and start life anew back in Cobden.

Hardesty’s book, based on the experiences of her grandmother, is a very engaging read. Blanche (later “Bonnie”) is an admirable character, fully drawn. One recurring theme is abandonment. While her father—though torn—genuinely thought he was doing the right thing for Blanche, she nurses a grievance all of the nine years that she is away. In fact, the crux of the book’s climax, the homecoming, is whether she will ever be able to see her father in the same loving light again. Compounding this is her experience with the Robeys. The one thing that kept her 14-year-old self going was the thought of being educated (she was the brightest of the Spencer brood). The greatest test of her mettle comes when Mr. Robey says there will be no schooling for her. She is crushed, betrayed—not just by the Robeys, but also by the father she trusted. The author makes readers feel this keenly. And that testing of Blanche’s mettle is the turning point in her young life, as she vows to educate herself. She is determined to beat any odds, and she does. The writing is sometimes a bit awkward (“On the dining room table, after asking Mrs. Robey if she could use the table”) and the speech can be a bit arch (“We will never forget your hats, and your bravery out on the hostile prairie”). But these are quibbles. For the most part, the details are admirable, not just of women’s hats—a very big deal back then—but also the rest of their outfits; what a rooming house or a train ride looked and felt like; and so forth.

An engrossing tale and a wonderful tribute to the author’s formidable grandmother.