Driftwood Valley (the Northern Frontier)

A tight, clean and unmarked copy-" A fascinating book that had me riveted. The adventure that these two people experienced in the wilderness is very well written by the author. It is interesting to catch a glimpse of life back in the 1930s and 1940s,"- " Do not buy one copy of this book! When you finish you will press it on a friend, who in turn will press it on another. In a month it will be out of the county; in two out of the state. You will not see the book again and you will sorely miss it. So buy two copies: one for re-reading, one for evangelism. Driftwood Valley is easily the best book written on an outdoor theme by a woman. Why it remains buried in obscurity is a wonder. The best contemporary writing in the genre can not match it. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek comes close, but to read the two books successively is to realize the limitations of Annie Dillard. Stanwell-Fletcher stands in better company with Thoreau. In her depictions of winter life in particular she approaches the master. One is reminded constantly of "The Pond in Winter", "Brute Neighbors", and "Winter Animals". There is some of the grandeur of Thoreau's contemporary, Francis Parkman, in her prose, too, when she lifts her eye to sweep the horizons of the immense British Columbian landscape. Ultimately, this is a big, confident, heroic book. No trembler in the world's genetically reductionist sphere is Theodora Stanwell-Fletcher. She sees Heaven's glory shine and revels in it. So will you when you read this most neglected of American masterpieces! A last note: Ms. Stanwell-Fletcher is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. I learned this from the book jacket of the original edition."-William Eccleston