The Life of an Ordinary Woman

Most poor people don't get around to writing about their lives. Anne Ellis is an exception. She opens with describing her mother's side of the family, then her father's--but she never names her father! It seems they think they come from quality people, but some of the tales make them seem quite backwoods (e.g. uncles who tore down the jail to escape). The book continues with chapters from her childhood and then her first 2 marriages. Apparently she had no hopes of doing anything else with her life but getting married, despite dreams of going on to college or becoming a writer. Life seems to hover on the border poverty no matter what they try to do. It was actually kind of distressing to read how often they are scrabbling to find food show more for the next meal.
She really exposes the seamy side of life in small mining towns inhabited primarily by single men, with plenty of saloons & whorehouses. Early mining attracted people who always expect to strike it rich, when the reality is most of them went broke.
A bit scattered, very vague about dates & timeframes, often uses nicknames rather than people's actual names (tho I suppose that is helpful to avoid repercussions from real people).
Apparently there was a lot of editing of the original manuscript...I think it could have used quite a bit more. show less

I don't think I could be as honest about myself or remember as many details as Annie Ellis does. Her account really gives a feeling of what it was like to live in that time and place - the kinds of things that were important and the outlooks people held. It helps put our own obsessions and values in perspective.

"When we come to the train, I feel I am really seeing life. This little narrow-gauge train, consisting of a dinkey engine and two spitty, dusty cars, seems lovely to me."


The book is an honest recording of insights and experiences not only of one woman but of a period of time and place, that of 19th century Colorado mining camps.

The charm of this book is partly the plain, simple language used by the author, never trying to be something she was not. I would defy any woman to read this book and not find something that relates to her own life. Anne Ellis was a fine, hardworking woman.