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

by Linda Lawrence Hunt

In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant and mother of eight children named Helga Estby was behind on taxes and the mortgage when she learned that a mysterious sponsor would pay $10,000 to a woman who walked across America.

Hoping to win the wager and save her family’s farm, Helga and her teenaged daughter Clara, armed with little more than a compass, red-pepper spray, a revolver, and Clara’s curling iron, set out on foot from Eastern Washington. Their route would pass through 14 states, but they were not allowed to carry more than five dollars each. As they visited Indian reservations, Western boomtowns, remote ranches and local civic leaders, they confronted snowstorms, hunger, thieves and mountain lions with equal aplomb.

Their treacherous and inspirational journey to New York challenged contemporary notions of femininity and captured the public imagination. But their trip had such devastating consequences that the Estby women's achievement was blanketed in silence until, nearly a century later, Linda Lawrence Hunt encountered their extraordinary story.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Book Club, Travel, Adventure, Womens

307 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an AMAZING story that was almost completely lost! Helga and her daughter WALK across the United States in 1896 in order to win $10,000 to pay their mortgage and save their farm. The fact that she left 7 children at home (the youngest was 2yrs) with her husband (recovering from injury) shows how desperate she was to save the farm, but also what an independent courageous woman she was. Stepping out of the cultural norms of acceptable female behavior at the time put her in the midst of some of the most well known political and social upheavals our country has seen.

The story of the walk is amazing. What makes this book unforgettable is the fact that the story was almost lost because of Helga's family's reaction to her trek. Reading this book will make you think about stories in your own family. It will make you wonder if there are missing stories that need to be told. It will give you a greater appreciation for how each person's story adds to our collective history and how important it is to share the easy and painful stories. This book made me appreciate my own personal history and the personal histories that make up my country.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the title and synopsis of this book. As it turned out, it was my own little endurance journey to finish it, but the interesting bits made the high-school-history-report style of the writing tolerable. This was an interesting story, I just wish there was a better version of it. Hunt repeatedly emphasized (in a preface, an introduction, a forward, and an epilogue, I believe) the great tragedy that was the intentional "forgetting" of Helga Estby's cross-country walk by her embarrassed family. Etsby actually wrote her own book about her experience (never published) which her family destroyed after her death. Okay, no doubt that is unfortunate, but Hunt seems not to consider the possibility that Estby was anything other than a hero. She blames the family's lack of pride in their matron's accomplishments on Victorian-era stigmas regarding women and their role in society. But, I think it's more likely that Estby was selfish, and a little too keen on the idea of getting something for nothing (she sued the city of Portland when she fell off the sidewalk, with language grieving her pain and suffering that would make the most unscrupulous personal injury lawyer proud). Also, she pretty much did straight up abandon her family, so while her walk is impressive, and her various encounters are interesting to read about, I don't think this is the one-sided story Hunt portrays.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book,amazing feat! (and feet)
This woman walked from Washington State to NYC in the late 1800s with her teenage daughter - WALKED!.
Many times there were no roads, and no towns to stop in.
They were allowed to have only five dollars in cash each.
They had to shoot at men who bothered them.
And in the end...
Nah, read it. It's good!

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a book that would make a great film. A farm family in Eastern Washington is facing foreclosure. A mysterious patron offers Helga Estby, our heroine, the opportunity to win $10,000 (about $200,000 in today's dollars) if she can walk from Spokane to Manhattan collecting signatures from mayors along the route and modeling a new reform costume, an outfit that exposes the ankles. Helga and her 18 year old daughter Cora set out, armed with revolvers and pepper spray, following the railroad tracks across the West, through the Mid-west and onto New York. It's 1896 and the country is still in the throes of economic chaos following the panic of 1893. There is a heated Presidential campaign in progress featuring the laid back Wm. McKinley and the young firebrand William Jennings Bryan who rails against America's Wall Street masters. Helga, a Norwegian immigrant, who has birthed nine babies, and Cora walk twenty-five miles a day stopping in towns to offer interviews with the local papers and selling portraits of themselves to raise cash for the venture. Most of the documentation of this historic walk has been destroyed for reasons that evolve out of the story. Ms. Hunt has done a masterful job of historiography in bringing this amazing adventure to light and, at the same time, painting a picture of the United States in 1896.

[SmartBitches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

In 1896, Helga Estby went for a walk with her seventeen-year-old daughter, Clara. They started off from Spokane, Washington, and ended up in New York City. The story of that walk is the topic of the nonfiction book, Bold Spirit: Helga Estby’s Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America.

Hunt’s book is wonderfully written, managing to make Helga’s life and the trip come to life despite not having much in the way of hard facts to go on. The writing is conversational. Hunt writes with a warm tone, as though she and Helga were friends. Hunt also manages to convey a great deal of emotion and interest without constantly falling back on “She must have thought…” speculation. She also does a good job of explaining why the rest of the family resented the walk so much.

I don’t want to spoil what happens entirely, but it’s not a story in which everyone triumphs. Helga’s family refused to ever speak of the trip and after Helga died, her children burned her notes and memoirs. While most modern readers will see Helga’s walk as laudable, her family viewed it as shameful, partly because of tragedies that took place at home while she was away.

I actually found the events before and after the walk to be the most interesting, possibly because they were the most detailed. At various points, Helga lived in a dugout, fought a fire, moved to the city, and sued the city for an injury she sustained while falling on a broken curb. After the walk, Helga became an artist and a suffragette. The walk itself could be a bit monotonous, although the chapter in which they get lost is terrifying. I was amused that of all the items they could possibly bring, one of the very few things they carried for 3000 miles was Clara’s curling iron. It came in handy when they met Native Americans, who found it fascinating.

I had so many feelings about this story, and so many questions. I wanted to know more about Clara, for one thing. Who was Clara’s father? The identity of the sponsor remains a mystery. Why was the prize money offer so sketchy? Sometimes I felt anxious, sometimes I felt triumphant, and frankly at some points the book is just horribly depressing.

But above all, I have one hopeful thought about this book: may we all have people in our lives like Helga’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren who insist on telling our stories.

- Carrie S.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want this book to end. I was deeply enthralled with this story about Helga's life - a seemingly ordinary life yet extraordinary because she challenged the Victorian limitations that even women themselves embraced. This is a book about how families "silence" a story. Helga's story was silenced within her family and, yes, even by Helga herself. Her grandchildren did not even know what small miracle she accomplished. Helga's autobiography that she had painstakingly, secretly written in her later years was found after her death by her daughters and subsequently burned - their resentment and anger still simmering after all those years that Helga left her home and family to traverse this country on foot. I felt somewhat frustrated that Clara's, the daughter who accompanied her, story is not told. What happened to her and why didn't she protect her piece of family history. This book will make you think about your own family history and what mysteries lay undiscovered. This book will make you appreciate the opportunities women have today because of women like Helga Estby.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can a story of a woman and her daughter walking across the country in 1897 nearly have been lost to history?
Author Linda Lawrence Hunt does an amazing job bringing this story to our awareness. There's heartbreak at almost every turn - not the least of which is that the letters and Helga Estby's autobiography telling of her adventures which would have been so fascinating were destroyed by her family who were ashamed of her for undertaking such an "unfeminine" adventure. The fact that Hunt manages to flesh out the story, including what led up to Helga's decision and the backdrop against which it unfolded, is a credit to her researching skills.

[Kari Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten how much of this biography is deeply sad, this poor family! But what guts this woman had, especially considering the restraints on women at the time. Also I am noticing this time around how strangely similar our current political/economic problems are to the period the book takes place in, ie bank failure, repossesions, the 'worst of times' kind of speeches from political candidates. In a way its comforting to know that everything thats happening now happened then, and somehow people came through it.

[Terri Ehrlich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this book 4.5 stars, but that option is not possible. I rounded up to counter someone else who will give it 4 for the same reason. This story is fascinating on so many levels. I live in Spokane, so there is the local interest. But the main draw is the issue of societal expectations of women and the consequences for those who dare go beyond the norm. Women in history are often disregarded, and their experiences and contributions are ignored, often to the detriment of future generations. Add to that the resentment of a family, and it's a wonder any shred of the tale existed. Helga's walk so went against the beliefs of her contemporaries that the story was almost entirely lost. The loss of history is a tragedy, and this tale is no exception. I was so enthralled that I read the book in two sittings!

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fascinating true story of a woman and her daughter who walked by themselves from Spokane, WA to New York City in 1896 in hopes of winning a cash prize and saving their farm from foreclosure. The author does an excellent job in chronicling their odyssey and describing for modern readers the intense social, ethnic and familial forces that coalesced and lead to the silencing of Helga Estby's story within her family for several generations. As I read about the Estby family's financial struggles and the heart-wrenching details of the horrible economic situation the country was going through I could not help but reflect that there's nothing new under the sun! In that sense it was an inspirational story to me because Helga definitely took matters into her own hands and went against the ethnic, societal and religious norms of Victorian times in order to do so. For this daring, she was severely punished by her family --some of whom went so far as try and erase her story after she died.

Book reads like a well-written term paper. I enjoyed it very much.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this whole book in one day on a long flight to San Francisco... And was so glad I did! It is a must-read for everyone, but especially those interested in feminism and American history. The story seems almost to crazy to be true, and it was an absolute page turner!! I will be recommending this to all my friends. The only reason why it doesn't have 5 stars is because there were some sloppy grammar mistakes that drove me nuts, but it was always on a punctuation level so it only slightly distracted from the story. As a historian, Hunt couldn't be more careful and fair in her portrayal of this story. I think this would be a really compelling read for high school students, too!

[Erin Bottger (Bouma) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This remarkable story of an amazing woman captured my interest. Immigrant Helga Estby lives a life of courage, determination and sacrifice and we follow her from Norway at 11, to Michigan. Pregnant, she marries at 16 and the family moves on to pioneer life on the Minnesota-Dakota border where more children are born. Tornadoes, cyclones and epidemics then drove the Estby family further west, to Spokane Falls in Washington, State. In 1896, Helga and her oldest daughter traverse the U.S. (Spokane to Manhattan) on foot in order to meet a challenge that would allow her large family to save their farm while her carpenter husband was disabled.

Helga, and her daughter, Clara, in accepting the wager attempted "something no unescorted women before them had ever accomplished. They must undertake the hazards of crossing a continent still made up of vast stretches of wild frontier country and lofty rugged mountain passes; traverse through several Indian reservations; weather the potential ravages of blistering heat and freezing snow; walk unprotected from the threat of sudden cyclones, tornadoes, forest fires, or flash floods; resist unsavory men tempted to rob, rape or even kill them; and survive in wilderness territory unscathed from... wild animals. To avoid getting lost, Helga planned to follow the railroad tracks. This meant they must negotiate long, high trestles crossing over swift rivers. And they would be wearing full-length Victorian dresses until they reached Salt Lake City."

The arduous trek with assorted privations and threats also required that the two women don and promote a light-grey flannel "reform dress" outfit with skirts that fell several inches below the knee, leggings and a jacket. The respectability of this costume presented a formidable challenge at the time.
"Both the thought of women riding bicycles and daring such a radical change on dress set off stiff resistance in some circles. The Rescue League of Washington formed to fight against women riding 'the devil's agent' and wearing bicycle apparel. The organization launched a national crusade to ask clergymen and women to suppress the bicycle craze because of its vulgarity."

Through her travels eastward, Helga was exposed to more liberal attitudes toward women in the far West and political currents in the presidential election year the two were following. Although Helga's diary and record of the trip was unfortunately destroyed, in each city, they visited the local newspaper and Linda Lawrence Hunt has artfully woven these interviews and stories together, along with a few letters, to tell Helga's tale. She also researched the route (a good map provided) the period, and the personalities in the story.

This historic effort by Helga Estby has been "forgotten" for a number of reasons: the sponsor's default, the struggle to return home, the alienation of Clara, and the family's shame. The final chapter "A Reflection on the Silencing of Family Stories" I found interesting and valuable. "The gathering and sharing of the rag-rug remnants of our family's lives give a gift to the next generation, a community of memory in a highly mobile world... Capturing the hopes, challenges, actions, disappointments, successes, pains, and joys inherent in every family gives children roots and wings... A collage of memories grow, giving the heart solace and healing, and the stories go on for generations... telling the children the stories of parents and grandparents lives, can prove to be a pivotal resource in a young person's life, as David Bahr recognized in remembering his great-great grandmother, Helga." (David, a student, brought Helga to Linda's attention in 1984 in her 8th grade class)

[Patrice La Vigne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the real-life stunning account of a mother and daughter’s walk from Spokane to New York in 1896. Here’s the thing though, Helga’s walk was a silenced story that nearly went untold for reasons that don’t make sense in this day and age (women had no voice back then, remember?). The author initially heard about it from a storytelling contest entered by an 8th grader, who happened to be the great-great grandson of Helga Estby. She had to reconstruct the pieces of the puzzle without well-documented primary resources because Helga’s original letters, diary and even manuscript about the journey were all disposed of because her children condemned their mother’s actions. There were eyewitness accounts and short newspaper articles, but so much of the story remains a mystery and is left to speculation. Nonetheless, I enjoyed learning about her story and it made me think about how many life stories of humble, ordinary people (especially women) are lost in history.

[Brenda Clough · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hops around in an irritating way, flashing back and then forward. The author is handicapped by a lack of any material from the progatonist herself.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Helga Estby or her walk across America in 1896 and there is a very sad reason for that but here she is -forever in print. The saddest part of this story is that because it was lost and people did not hear about this amazing feat (remember people died by the 1000s while traversing the Oregon Trail and this mother daughter team walked only armed with red pepper guns), women may have taken a few steps backward in their quest for equality.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to recap this story (I figure that's what the synopsis already provided by Goodreads is for), but I will say this book hit me.
In my head, I understand the country was a different place then-- women's suffrage was in its earliest infancy.
But I was still astounded by the reaction Helga Estby received (not positive) not only from her community, but her own family ... for merely doing the only thing she could think of in order to save her family's home and farm.

Some of the ideology and quotes, from that time period, which particularly jumped out at me:

A popular health writer and prestigious doctor, Weir Mitchell, argued that a young woman's "future womanly usefulness was endangered by the steady use of her brain."

"Woman was created to be a wife and a mother; that is her destiny.... She was born to be queen in her own household, and to make home cheerful, bright and happy," expressed Orestes Brownson, a male social reformer of the era. "We do not believe women, unless we acknowledge individual exceptions, are fit to have their own head."

The most disturbing and maddening part of this is the fact that upon Estby's death, her own children burned her handwritten memoirs of that cross-country trek-- humiliated and embarrassed by their mother's inappropriate behavior.
That censorship cost us not only a first-hand account of a woman's perilous journey across a rather wild country, but even more grievous-- it cost Helga Estby her freedom of creativity.

"Censorship silences," states Tillie Olsen in her groundbreaking book, Silences, where she addresses the circumstances that often stifled acts of creation. She explores unnatural silencing, the thwarting of something that is struggling to come into being. "Where the gifted among women (and men) have remained mute, or have never attained full capacity, it is because of circumstances, inner or outer, which oppose the needs of creation."

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1896 Helga Estby, a Norwegian immigrant living in Spokane, Washington, and her daughter Clara set out to walk across America. They were attempting to win a wager of $10,000 put up by a wealthy New York sponsor, who was aiming to demonstrate that women were not the weak and feeble creatures that society believed them to be. They were not allowed to beg for rides or lifts, and they had to work for their food and clothing in towns along the way. Helga left behind her husband and seven children in Spokane, in an attempt to win the $10,000 and save their farm from being foreclosed.

This is an extraordinary read, all the more so for having been buried for nearly a century. Helga's family were so angry and resentful at what they felt was her abandonment and her more than year-long absence that they never talked about her remarkable achievement. Her papers were burned by her daughters after her death, and it was only the chance discovery of some newspaper clippings by a daughter-in-law that the story was remembered at all.

There is a lot of speculation in this book - Hunt had to rely largely on newspaper accounts to fill in the story, as nothing Helga herself wrote has survived, and so there is a lot of 'filling in the cracks' in this book. She delves quite deeply at the start into the lives of Norwegian immigrations and the pioneer settlers, a subject which is interesting enough in its own right. Helga went through some truly trying experiences, conceiving a child out of wedlock, being a pioneer wife in a sod house on the prairie, suffering a serious accident, undertaking innovative surgery to restore her health, and finally taking on such an immensely dangerous and risky adventure. She comes across as a truly remarkable woman, courageous, daring, confident, self-sufficient, and it's a crying shame that her story has been silenced until now.

[Agneata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at the last moment in the fiction section of the used book store. It is not fiction rather, a story the family of Helga attempted to silence and forget. They almost succeeded. To win money to save the family farm, Helga and her daughter walked unescorted across America in 1896.

Much was lost though when Helga's children burned all her papers, including the story of her and her daughter's walk across America. The author, Linda Hunt, researched and was able to bring Helga's story to book form. You have the feeling that something fantastic was lost though in not being able to know the full story.

I did not care for the analyzing and almost preaching tone in the last chapter. Overall though, having very little to work with she did a great job of telling Helga's story.

[Sally Kuhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book! I have been reading mostly historical fiction and hankering for more straight history. This book has the story arc and adventure of a novel, but it is underpinned by academic research and analysis. It was so timely to read about women considering matters such as the economic debates of the presidential campaign (1896), the different levels of women’s rights in various states, and the problem of being forced by the “code” of the day to wear excessively modest clothing which adversely impacted their social and economic development. Comparison to current events in October 2022 were thought-provoking and a little discouraging.
I also loved comparing Helga’s story to that of my own great-grandmother who also arrived in Washington from Norway at about the same time, and who also felt compelled to embark on an uncertain journey to provide for her family. These women had gumption and their stories are inspirational!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story of a woman who walked across America with her daughter on a wager (which was never paid). Her family never forgave her, since two of her kids died while she was trying to get home. Like, her kids burned her writings when she died so that no one could read what she remembered of it. Luckily her grandchildren were not so cranky, so generations later they inspired this historian to tell the story and place it in context with history and the tendency to lose the stories that society doesn’t want to hear.

It was interesting reading this after The Shining Girls because Helga would have shone; her ability to keep handling what life kept throwing was amazing but also not seen as unusual, until her journey.

[Sheri S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ - I came across this title in a newspaper article and thought I'd give it a try. It was pretty interesting because it highlights women's rights and the silencing of women's stories while telling the story of one woman's (with her daughter) walk across America. The story takes place in the mid-1890's during the lead up to the McKinley presidential election. The observations recorded during the walk, both pertaining to the election and observations, in general, were fascinating. The author closes the book with a discussion about why family stories are often silenced. Helga's story is definitely an interesting one!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This woman was so boss. In this book Linda Hunt recounts the forgotten story of Helga Estby’s walk across America. While much of the actual historical record of the trip has been lost, Hunt gives a compelling portrait of ordinary life in America in the late 1800s. In fact I found the window into the time period in some ways more interesting than the actual details of Helga Estby’s journey, which had to be scraped together from newspaper articles. I thought it was interesting read, especially since I’m from Spokane area.

[Gracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like unsolved mysteries. They are just not something that appeals to me. So, on my own, I likely wouldn't have read this book that, at it's heart, is a big ol' unsolved mystery. But it was selected for my book club, so read it I did.

Honestly, the entire book just made me feel like there was some f*ckery afoot, but I couldn't tell how/where. Was the book fake? Did the author make up a supposedly well-researched historical account of something that just never happened? I don't think so and besides, there is a Jane Kirkpatrick book on the same subject.

So that leaves the mysterious Eastern party that supposedly proposed this trip and Helga herself. Not having any real information on either of their motives makes the whole thing feel sus as hell. Like the math just isn't mathing here. And, of course, we can't have any real information because Helga's family completely obliterated any evidence they had of the walk. And the Eastern party was "a secret." But, Helga didn't walk alone. What about Clara??? In the book her story ends with "she went to college and into a lifelong career in finance" (I'm paraphrasing) and that's it. Again, sus.

I do appreciate why the author wrote this book. I agree that it's important to have the story of average, everyday people told. And I did like the discussion of the historical events occurring at the time. But I just couldn't like this book. Between the unsolved mystery and how often my sense of justice was offended, it was a hard read.

[Kate Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing true account of courage and persistence! I'm glad Helga Estby's story is finally being told. The book is appealing, with fairly short chapters, numerous photos from the time period, and plenty of opportunities to reflect on the ways our country is both different and the same as it was in 1896. A major difference, and one frequently encountered, is society's attitudes toward women. Example 1: when Helga wears a "reform" style dress (mid-calf instead of ankle-length skirt, over leggings or boots), many people are shocked at her "immodesty". Example 2: on the cross-country walk she visits the home of William Jennings Bryan, who was running for President that year. Bryan's wife Mary had studied law but "she never dreamed of practicing it." Instead, she saw it as a way to help her husband.
Another difference is helplessness in the face of serious infectious disease, specifically in Helga's life, diphtheria. Many families saw their children fall ill and could do nothing to save them.
Regarding similarities between then and now, most noticeable was income inequality and the suffering of the poor. Helga experiences this herself and sees it in many people she meets as she walks.
The book ends with an additional chapter on how we tell--or don't tell--family stories. Overall, the book gives readers a fascinating story while offering much to ponder.

[Amy Tratt]

I am not usually a big fan of non-fiction but I couldn't put this book down! Very well-researched and written, this is a story that almost wasn't told! Fascinating details and heart-breaking consequences of Helga and Clara Estby's walk from Washington State to New York in 1896.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing story!

[Tari Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably actually give the book 3 1/2 stars if it were possible. I really liked the information laid out in the book (although at times it was a bit redundant). The author gave some interesting background regarding Helga and her family. This glimpse into who Helga was helped me to understand why she might have taken on such a challenge. It is a real tragedy that Helga's notes and manuscripts were destroyed. It would have been so insightful to have been able to read them. I would have loved to have known what Clara's thoughts on the journey were as well. I don't want to give anything away, I will say though, that the ending somewhat surprised me. Mrs. Estby was an incredibly strong woman and this book goes a long way to showing us that side of her. I think I would have preferred a historical fiction telling of the tail, however, I am very glad I have read this and learned about Helga and Clara's accomplishment.

[Evon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author makes interesting considerations about reasons our stories are lost after sharing the nonfiction account of a woman and daughter walking across the united states in the late 1800's.

[Zelda Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim after reading my cousin's review of it, and, while it's not a typical read for me, I really couldn't put it down.

It is at once a story of determination and triumph, independence, bravery and great sorrow. Sadly, it is also a story that had almost entirely been erased from history but for the efforts of Helga's living ancestors and the dedication of Ms. Hunt for weaving together this historically accurate tale of women's courage in the Victorian era. In the book's forward, Ms. Hunt appropriately describes her efforts to reconstruct the story of Helga and Clara's walk as a "rag-rug history," a concept that many who strive to uncover the mysteries of untold histories can understand completely.

Bold Spirit tells the story of the life of Helga Estby, a Victorian woman of Norwegian descent who, as many American women at the turn of the 20th century, live and contend with realities of life on the American frontier. As a wife and a mother, Helga and her husband are homesteaders determinedly traveling west in search of a place that they can comfortably call home. It lands them in a rather comfortable life as the family (now with eight children) settles in Spokane Falls (now Spokane), Washington. Regardless their seeming success amidst adversity, the Estby's were not immune to the effects of the Long Depression as it made its way west. Soon, Helga's husband Ole finds himself without work and the family's property faces foreclosure.

Desperate to help her husband provide for their family, Helga takes interest in an opportunity from a mysterious Eastern investor to award $10,000 to a woman who can successfully traverse the continent on foot, from Washington to New York. In the late-period Victorian era, women were still seen as the inferior gender and it was fashionable for women to be fragile and frail, even to the detriment of their health. It was unheard of for women to have the physical or emotional strength to take on such a journey, but Helga was a strong and determined woman ahead of her time and her family was in dire need of financial assistance.

The story proceeds to follow the at once harrowing and heartening journey of Helga and her oldest daughter, 18-year-old Clara, as they leave their family (Ole and seven children) to challenge the prevailing mindset of the time surrounding the capabilities of the female gender and attempt to provide for their family's future.

The story is also a testament to the importance of recording family history, not only as a way of keeping memories alive for a family's descendants, but also as a record of what life was like for ordinary individuals, as well as extraordinary examples like Helga and her daughter, and their place in the history of humankind.

I would definitely recommend this quick read as a fascinating glimpse into the lives and roles that women played in Victorian Era America, and into the heart-wrenching story of two women who were brave enough to break the mold.

[Jesi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a firm believer that buried in every family is a story. Some stories are heroic, some are tragic, some tell of great loves, others of great losses. Unfortunately, many of these stories are lost to time due to lack of preservation. Sometimes people close to the situations are embarrassed by them. Sometimes they assume no one else would be interested. Bold Spirit tells of a story that was almost lost forever when the family of Helga Estby purposely burnt Helga’s memoires. Only a few newspaper articles saved from the ashes by Helga’s daughter-in-law and hidden away are left to remember Helga’s historic feat.

Bold Spirit is the true story of Helga Estby, a Norwegian immigrant, who walked from Spokane, Washington to New York City in the late 1800’s. When Helga was thirty-six years old, her family was suffering under a recession and fighting the foreclosure on their farm. This desperation to save her home and to keep her husband and nine kids from starving, led Helga to accept a wager from a wealthy person in the NY fashion industry. This sponsor wanted to promote shorter skirts, which would show a woman’s ankles (not really, the women wore high boots) and would allow more freedom of movement. The sponsor promised Helga $10,000 if she would walk from Spokane to New York wearing the new shorter skirt. This would promote the new fashion as well as support the growing women’s right movement. Helga was only allowed to leave her home with $5 and was expected to earn her way across the country by selling pictures of herself. She had seven months to complete the trip.

So, on a cold Spring morning, Helga and her daughter, Clara, set forth on a walk which would take them across the country. They used the local newspaper in each town that they stopped in to promote their walk and to drum up picture sales. (It is this public record of small town newspaper articles which made writing this book possible.) Along the way, Helga and Clara learned about the American Spirit and hospitality. They lost their prejudices of the Native Americans. They learned the physical strength that women possessed.

I don’t want to give anything away. Let’s just say, her kids at home were not happy about their mother traipsing all over the country while they were suffering at home. These children burnt Helga’s memoires and forbid mention of Helga’s great journey. Besides providing a snapshot of American history, Helga’s story taught me the importance of preserving our family histories.

Overall, I give Bold Spirit…

Plot – 3 ½ bookmarks
Character Development – 2 bookmarks (This is low mostly because very little first-hand information on Helga exists. The author had to piece her together through our sources.)
History – 4 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Tilda Swinton (Helga)