In 1853, Abigail Scott was a 19-year-old school teacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When financial mistakes and an injury force Ben to stop working, Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family. What she sees as a working woman appalls … her, and she devotes her life to fighting for the rights of women, including their right to vote.
Following Abigail as she bears six children, runs a millinery and a private school, helps on the farm, writes novels, gives speeches, and eventually runs a newspaper supporting women’s suffrage, Something Worth Doing explores issues that will resonate strongly with modern women: the pull between career and family, finding one’s place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices women encounter when they compete in male-dominated spaces. Based on a true story of a pioneer for women’s rights from award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick will inspire you to believe that some things are worth doing–even when the cost is great.
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“To move forward, she’d have to believe that something was worth doing no matter how it turned out.”
Compelling and thought-provoking, Jane Kirkpatrick’s “Something Worth Doing” presents a fictional but reality-based depiction of suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway. In all honesty, this is the first that I recall ever hearing about her, despite her decades of work toward women’s enfranchisement. Kirkpatrick mentions in her author notes that she chose to focus more on Abigail’s personal life, and this is what gives the book its distinctive tone, in my opinion. It actually took me much longer than usual to read, and I think that the complexities of Abigail’s character and the extraordinary details of her life’s journey are the reason. Even though she is clearly modeled after a famous historical figure, I have to credit Kirkpatrick with truly tapping into Abigail’s personality and lifting her from the pages of history—faults, assets, and all.
In a larger context, “Something Worth Doing” applies to struggles beyond that of women’s suffrage and women’s rights. Whereas most historical fiction includes a happily-ever-after preceded by a standard plot structure, this one diverges. The solemn tone throughout reflects the hardships of life, and particularly women’s lives, in the nineteenth-century, highlighting their inability to own property, influence laws through voting, and have careers outside the home and their subsequent status as dependent on the men in their lives. Many of the controversies in the novel remain prevalent today in some form, emphasizing how progressive Abigail and her compatriots really were. In my opinion, part of the reason that she was able to retain her reputation in the midst of her outspoken platform was in her approach: “My way is a ‘still hunt.’ Quiet coercion of men in power and men in general to be less frightened by women.” I was intrigued by her speculation about how equality between men and women would have been the result had Columbus landed on the West Coast, rather than the East, and her persistence through so many setbacks and even outright failures is quite remarkable.
Abigail’s story as told by Kirkpatrick invites reflection and contemplation, aided by engaging chapter titles and a set of discussion questions at the end of the book. While I admire Abigail’s tenacity and dedication to the cause, I also feel a great deal of sadness for her because she sacrificed tenderness and stronger relationships with her family on behalf of her suffrage work, a forfeit that she did choose willingly. She acknowledges as much by noting that “The married women and mothers working in the cause bore an extra burden to make sure their own daughters weren’t set aside for the larger effort. Advocacy had its price, even with occasional privileges.” Such is the case with any passion or cause that we take up today as much as it was a century ago, and thus this story resonates so profoundly. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed Ben’s supportive presence so much, reminding us all that “Things didn’t always turn out well, as Ben proposed, but some things were worth doing, regardless.”
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Something Worth Doing
By Jane Kirkpatrick
Abigail “Jenny” Scott wants to do something with her life, but 1852 meant she was under the rule of her father and her future husband whoever he may be. Abigail wants to make her own choices, to determine her own path. But few options were available to women, not if they wanted to be seen as respectable members of society.
When Abigail gains a teaching position in the Oregon Territory, most assume that she’ll soon give it up for marriage, after all that is duty of every woman. When a family situation arises Abigail finds herself marrying sooner than she expected. But Ben Duniway is a good match for Abigail and most importantly he doesn’t she her as a way to increase his landholdings.
Though they don’t see eye to eye, Ben encourages Abigail and her efforts to make a better life for not only herself but other women, as well. In a day when women, like children, were expected to be seen and not heard, Abigail was an exception. She championed the cause of women. She sought to see equality become the norm in how women were seen. She fought to make a better world for her daughters, and their daughters. She advocated for giving women the vote, having equal share in making decisions, to become something more, to control their own lives.
Something Worth Doing shares the harsh realities of life on the frontier. Civilization came but it was a hard fought effort by the men and women who settled there. The efforts were fought by both though women were considered to fragile to have an opinion on matters of politics or finances. But they were responsible for any and all debts that her husband may have acrued. This is Abigail’s story, a story that is America, a story that has helped shape the world that we know today. Life was not easy but nothing worth having is easy, it takes work, and the very act of doing sometimes is enough to start change.
What I most like about Jane Kirkpatrick’s books is that they are based on the lives of real people, people who made a difference just by living their lives. Were they perfect? No, but they lived their lives as best they could. The people in Jane’s books are relatable in that though they lived in a different era and century the issues and challenges of life are not so different from what we face today. The challenge to find one’s place in the world and to meet and conquer the trials that come. Something Worth Doing should be the goal of everyone who lives. The something doesn’t have to be momentous it can be a small act of kindness, a meal well made, or a book shared. Some fiction is good and some is excellent and this falls in the excellent category.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.
The summary and cover of this book definitely drew me in when I first saw it. The fact that was historical fiction definitely drew me in as well. In this book we meet Abigail Scott who is the main character and who the book is all about. She is an independent woman with big ideas and big dreams. She is not interested in marriage or having someone telling her what she can and cannot do. She starts out life trying to set to map out her life but it doesn’t go according to her plan.
We meet Ben who definitely falls in love with Abigail and courts her. Due to a circumstance with her father she has to move the wedding to Ben a lot sooner than she expected. He is truly the ideal mate for her. He supports her every idea and doesn’t stifle that independent heart that she has.
This was my first book by Jane Kirkpatrick. She definitely does an excellent job in her research and even adding her fictional characters and fiction themes was flawless. Especially this being a historical biographical fiction she really made sure that everything was correct which I appreciate when reading this genre. But I have to admit that I did not enjoy the main character at all. I feel like she focused so much on being independent and pursuing her dreams I felt like she completely ignored her husband and children and it broke my heart for them.
If you enjoy real-life historical fiction then this is definitely the book that you may want to pick up.
I received this book from Revell . I was not required to post a review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion
Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick is a fascinating novel based on the life of a real American woman. One of the earliest suffragists and a contemporary of Susan B. Anthony, Abigail Scott Duniway lived a remarkable life and this author really brought her story to life with amazing research. The time period and serious challenges faced were brought into vivid detail. This is an important story and I think this author tells it beautifully. This story is important to remember. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.
I love that Jane Kirkpatrick can find a historical person and tell their story with all the feelings that they would have while they were actually living these good things and bad. I really felt the pull that Abigail would have had when she wanted to have children but she also wanted to have a business of her own. I think that the author really showed how she must have felt and how her family felt during their lives. I laughed and cried and did not want to put the book down. This also made me want to know a bit more about suffrage and prohibition. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
The best part of this book was the detailed information of how difficult it was for women like Abigail to continue to fight for women’s rights against the incredible odds and the incredible obstacles that were put in her path. One has to really admire her determination, her commitment, her courage, and her strength through the many years she fought the good fight. She wrote books and articles, spoke at gatherings, and had meetings with legislators and important influential men to try to sway them to supporting her cause.
I appreciated the opportunity to learn things that I didn’t know about the suffrage movement. Many of us had been well acquainted with Susan B. Anthony and all that she did. But all of these other women, like Abigail, who fought on state levels had just as much impact on eventually getting the right to vote passed.
While I admired what Abigail did, I had a hard time relating to her as a woman and mother. Too often I wanted a stronger emotional reaction to the internal conflict between wanting to be with her family and her need to go out and do what was called “her work.”
When she left to go on a speaking tour when one of her children was dying there were some logical, and practical reasons, for what she did, but I wanted to feel her heart wrenching as she made that decision. That didn’t happen at that moment in the book. Her emotional reaction was overshadowed by her thinking of the logical reason that she left. Maybe that was her way of coping, but it would have been more realistic to me if she’d had a longer mental debate with herself before landing on the fact that the only way she could handle the impending loss was to look at it with her mind instead of her heart.
I’m not sure how I felt about this book. It was interesting since it was about a real woman, but there were some things that I didn’t like. I liked how Abigail stood up for women. I didn’t like how whiny she came across as. I felt bad for her husband and children though. It seemed like the only thing that mattered to her was the cause for women. Overall, it was a okay read.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
This book is a fictionalized biography of the suffragist Abigail (Jenny) Scott Duniway. She was on a wagon train from Illinois to Oregon in the 1800s. Her mother died and she had a great influence on Abigail.
I enjoyed the first half to three-quarters of the book, but after that, it just seemed to run on and on. It didn’t seem to change very much and I felt that a lot of the book could have easily been eliminated. A lot of it felt more like a history book of details and not truly a story.
The main character, Jenny, seemed like a very self-centered person. Her whole goal in life was to make women equal to men. This isn’t a bad goal, but it seemed like it was put above everything, including her family.
The characters, in general, were not deeply developed. Abigail/Jenny was more developed than the others but even her character seemed shallow.
I thought this was going to be a Christian book since Revell is the publisher. I would not call it a Christian book at all. In fact, I was totally offended by Abigail continually saying “Holy cow chips”. Only God is holy. Pray or church was rarely mentioned and I would not consider Abigail to be a Christian by the way she was developed in the story. This is my opinion and others may not feel this way at all.
Overall I would give this a 3 out of 5-star rating. I probably would not recommend it to anyone unless they were wanting to learn more of the Northwest’s suffragist movement.
I was given this book to read and review through the Revell Reads Blog program. This opinion is fully my own opinion.
This is the first book I’ve read by Jane Kirkpatrick. It is based on a true story set in the 1800s. One of the things I like that this author did was with the list of the characters she has in the front of the book she mentions which ones she completely made up so there is no question. I am not sure why but most historical fiction for me are slow reads even if I am enjoying the book. And I did very much enjoy this book. I would love to know more about the main character of Abigail Scott Duniway and which parts of the book really happened. She was big on women’s rights and was a suffragist. I can see why the author chose to write a story based on her. I would recommend this book.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in order to give an honest review.
“But of course, living held risk, the very act of breathing meant another step into the unknown. How one took those steps would shape the character of those around you….”
This was the first of Jane Kirkpatrick’s books I’ve read so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying this story! Something Worth Doing follows the life of Abigail Duniway, a entrepreneur and suffragist in 19th-century Oregon. I thought the book presented a well-rounded picture of her life and the obstacles she faced. She worked so hard for so many years, facing disappointments and tragedies in her personal life and her work, but she never gave up. The tension she faced between her dedication to her family and her work is something women today can relate to. The balance is hard to find, and we see in her story that she didn’t always make the right choices, but women in the United States wouldn’t be where we are today without her and the cause she advanced.
Parts of the book did feel more like an account of events than an engaging story, but overall it was an enjoyable read. It’s very timely as well, as 2020 marks 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote. Fans of historical fiction and students of history will enjoy this book!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Revell!
First of all, I must disclose that I received this book from the publisher as an ARC. I am not required to give a glowing review of any review at all for that matter.
I have been a Jane Kirkpatrick fan (groupie?) since reading “All Together in One Place”. I became a fan because of her ability to put the reader into the story and become a part of it. Her “writing-voice” is at once entertaining and very descriptive. One can see the landscape and all its color. One feels the emotions the characters are experiencing and understanding thought processes.
In “Something Worth Doing”, we experience the highs and lows, blessings and trials, of one of the country’s first suffragists. This novel comes out at the perfect time to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment. Abigail preferred to use words (in writing and in verbal persuasion), while the women in the East preferred more physical methods. This book is very informative about the life and times of the early Western settlers. While at the same time is very entertaining and has you rooting for the heroine! It also reveals how one person can make a difference if they listen to their heart’s calling.
The wisdom of a mother that is passed down to a daughter that in the end, benefits all of the woman of this country. We need to be grateful for the sacrifices woman like Abigail Scott, and other’s who fought throughout their lives for woman’s rights, including the right to vote.
We follow Abigail from her first year of teaching until the end of her life, through life’s tribulations of joy and sorrow.
God put a wonderful man named Ben in her path, and we journey with them as they survive in the newly established Oregon, through the birth of their children, and with Abigail and her activism, with their extended family and friends.
A book of history, in a way, but also the backbone of what makes this country so special.
You will be page turning, and we know the outcome, but how the war was fought we are along for the ride.
I received this book through LibraryThing and the Publisher Revell. and was not required to give a positive review.