Book Review: Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America

This is my first attempt at writing a book review, so please be gentle with me!

Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America,  by Linda Lawrence Hunt, was a story that begged to be told but was almost lost to history. If not for the daring action taken by a granddaughter-in-law, we may never have known about this courageous woman's journey.

In 1896, things were looking bad for Helga Estby and her husband Ole, both Norwegian immigrants. They had moved from Minnesota's prairies and large Norwegian enclave to Spokane, Washington. They were eager to escape the harsh living conditions in Minnesota:  the Siberian-like winters, the tornadoes that destroyed everything in their paths. The difficulty of making a living in such condtions and the encouragement of brochures about the splendid Northwest convinced them that they should relocate to the state of Washington. 

The brochures, which were published by the new Northern Pacific Railroad, made promises of a better climate, affordable housing, exciting educational opportunities and an already thriving Scandinavian population. That was enough to convince Ole and Helga to take their growing family west.

The brochures didn't lie, but failed to mention that the rapid growth of the region had resulted in an inadequate infrastructure which caused conditions that led to Helga having a life-changing accident on the streets of Spokane. She won an unheard of (women did not sue the government in those days) settlement of $5,000 for her pain and suffering. With the money, she was able to have risky surgery to correct her health problems and they also bought a farm outside the city where they built a comfortable house and Ole found work as a carpenter making a good living. Unfortunately, the financial crash of 1893 intervened. Banks failed, foreclosures on new constructions were common, work came to a standstill (sound familiar?).  Without work, Ole was unable to keep up the mortgage on their home and the bank threatened foreclosure.  This is when Helga's story really began.

Things were getting desperate for the family when Helga received an offer through "the instrumentality of a friend in the East." A wealthy woman in New York offered to pay $10,000 to Helga and her daughter Clara if they would walk without male escort across America. It was proposed as an advertising scheme to introduce a new kind of bicycle skirt that had been introduced at the Chicago World's Fair.

This is a fascinating tale of two women who crossed the continent armed only with a couple of revolvers, a can of homemade "pepper spray" and only a few days' worth of food between them (they were instructed to earn food and shelter along the way). In an age where women were not supposed to have a brain or do anything physical beyond fanning themselves, just the walking itself was a marvel. But the hardships and danger they encountered along the 2,800 miles of their journey made it extremely remarkable. And to make it even harder was the fact that Helga left behind eight other children, one of whom was only two years old, in the care of their father. She encountered prejudice and hatred along the way, especially among the Norwegian community that she left behind. To Norwegians, and to most Americans at that time, motherhood and the all the responsibilities it entailed were sacred. They were considered loose women by many, but were admired by many more.

This is not only a tale of two women, but of all women, as it occured during the early days of the women's suffrage movement. It also encompasses the pivotal election of William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan.

Unfortunately, Helga's journey did not have a happy ending, and because most of her family hated her for the consequences of her bold action and the terrible hardships that they faced themselves, they destroyed almost all of Helga's records with which she intended to write a book. Because of her granddaughter-in-law's actions, the author was able to piece together this story with the help of a great-grandaughter.

My son Jaye found this book for me at Goodwill. At first I was a little ho-hum about it, but when I started reading, I couldn't stop. I give it 4 stars out of 5.