Ruffles on my Longjohns

by Isabel Edwards, Isabel

Witty, whimsical, this is a firsthand account of homesteading in the remote Bella Coola Valley. For a woman in a world of men, isolation had a very special meaning. She coped - lovingly, laughingly - and regales the reader with her memories.

Genres: Biography, Memoir, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

Published July 10, 1981

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a terrific retelling of pioneer life in the Wild West of 1930. I really admire women who can pick up stakes in civilization, head into the unknown, and build a life where uncertainty, danger, and hard-work are commonplace. Isabel Edwards recounts her life with a beautiful flow.

[Katherine.samson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked One Mans Wilderness you'll love this. Great pioneering woman looking back on life. Very relaxing to read.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Not a gripping novel - each chapter is like a mini story. But it's a charming insight into life in the BC "wild" in the early '30s.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book about homesteading in the Bella Coola valley in the 1930’s. What a resilient woman the author is and what a remarkable pioneer. Now I am planning to visit that area.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! This woman's life was amazing!

[C_Kayaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sitting in my Alaskan cabin, in the middle of the winter.... this book helped me so much with perspective! Also helped me be thankful for what we have, even in the midst of our winter struggle to melt snow for washing dishes, etc. These people were the real deal pioneers! Thoroughly enjoyed reading about their lives.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about homesteading in the wilderness of British Columbia starting in the 1920s. Ever since reading all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a child, I thought I wanted to go live in the wilderness in a log cabin. I think that this memoir, with all the vicissitudes of their life finally cured me of that.

[Allison Hibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4.5
I grew up annually watching One Man's Wilderness with my Dad, and I zoomed through the second half of this memoir just so I could pass it on to him to read immediately. It feels like a time capsule and is well-written.

[Kay Schrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding autobiography of pioneer life in British Columbia. Strong, courageous, but still very human and susceptible to failure and tears as we all are. A story of a young couple who braved the wilds of 1930's BC in search of a more solitary life. Many adventures, hardships, laughter and tears.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relaxing read. An interesting story without big highs or lows, but a fascinating look at early life in the Chilcotin.

[Jess Paloposki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Life in the wild sounded adventurous and a lot of times hard. Isabel tells her stories well. You feel like you are right there with her.

[comrade mum · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - Recommended by a friend but just couldn’t get myself to care about the protagonist 🤷🏻

[Hanna Municipal Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book club discussion on this book was interesting! Many loved the story. It was an excellent representation of frontier life in British Columbia. Some readers found the writing style difficult to follow. The sentences were quite long and tended to run on. The author tended to wander from subjects some of the time, but focused too much on details the next. For example, the part about the gentleman's morning routine during the fishing season was not needed for the story. The cow getting sick during the cattle drive also seemed to drag on. Having said that, there were some aspects of the story our readers would have enjoyed more detail on. The cannery and fishing village was very interesting. It would have been wonderful to learn more about those subjects.

Overall, Isabel Edwards is a resourceful woman of strong character. How she managed to endure, and thrive, under those conditions is remarkable. Many taking part in the discussion felt the isolation and harsh climate would have been unbearable.

We recommend this as a book with a strong story. The style of writing makes the book easy to read for a short time, leave and take the book up again, without losing place in the story. It would be excellent for reading out loud under time constraints.

Resilient Canadian author!

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book about homesteading in Canada.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in awe of this book. Isabel wrote masterfully and with meticulous detail about her experiences as a homesteader in the wilderness of British Columbia in the early thirties into the fifties. The self-motivation, brilliance and sweetness of this woman was riveting to read about. Her husband was heroic too: successfully performing surgery on critically injured men in the wild, making complicated machinery from scratch, generally being an expert in all things, as well as being a modest, kind man. This book is a wonderful reminder that living in tune with nature is the greatest panacea. It was a joy to read about this couple's ascetic adventures.

[Staci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book! It was a little bit slow to read because it is written with such detail. The adventures Isabel had homesteading in the Bella Coola Valley were fascinating. This book was like sitting and listening to a grandmother "spin yarns" (as Isabel would say) around a fire.

[Leslie Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an autobiography of a woman and her husband who lived out in the wild and roughed it all their lives. It was interesting because I will probably not ever be exposed to such danger from wildlife, and I felt like I could experience a little of it vicariously.

[Toesnorth's mom]

good