Diana of the Dunes: The True Story of Alice Gray

by Janet Zenke Edwards

In these pages, rediscover the legend of Diana of the Dunes...and learn the truth. In the fall of 1915, Alice Gray traded her life in Chicago for a solitary journey in the remote sand hills of northwest Indiana along Lake Michigan. Living in a fisherman's shack, she measured herself against nature rather than society's rigid conventions. Her audacity so bewitched reporters and a curious public that she became a legend in her own time--she became ""Diana of the Dunes."" Nearly a century later, the story is still a popular folktale, but questions remain. Who was Alice Gray? Why did this Phi Beta Kappa scholar leave Chicago? What happened to her soul mate, Paul Wilson? In this first-ever book about Diana of the Dunes, the mystery of Alice Gray is revealed by those who knew her and through new research. Excerpts from her dunes diary are published here for the first time since 1918. In these pages, rediscover the legend of Diana of the Dunes...and learn the truth.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Biography Memoir

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS MY MOMS BOOK

[Marcia Brineman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book

I was born in Chicago and raised in the suburbs, but only went to the Indiana dunes once with a dear friend from Hobart, Indiana. I remember my surprise when I first set foot as to the complete uniqueness of the dunes. I am so happy to have been able to visit the dunes and this book brought back the memories. Alice was almost as unique as the dunes themselves.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting life.

[Tammy Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an easy read. It seeks to correct misconceptions folks have passed down about Alice Mabel Gray, throughout the generations. One I found interesting was her father was not a well off man but a lower class laborer. This book comes complete with diary excerpts from Alice's own voice. This adds to credibility of the author's uses of sources to provide a fascinating historical narrative. She does not lecture but adds ideas and questions for further exploration of the topic. She also adds some historical context to bring to life the world that influenced Alice. It is difficult to write a biographical work when there are limited sources. I think the author did a pretty good job with what she had. Perhaps in the future, we can find more information that can answer the question of why an intelligent, before her time, woman would leave society for a hermit life in the dunes of Lake Michigan. In this lifetime, it is hard to imagine.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must-Read for Those Who Feel the Pull of Lake Michigan

I found myself in Indiana Dunes National Park driving toward home in Ohio after a work trip in Chicago. While climbing the dunes and doing the "Diana Dunes Dare" I became intrigued by this "Diana of the Dunes" character and her true story. That led me here to this book that I'm so thankful to have found. As someone who loves the wild and often thinks about running away from the city, and having spent many wonderful years of memories in Lake Michigan, her story resonated with me.

[Erin Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the lead up to my vacation with my husband’s family to Michigan this summer! We’re going to be stopping by Indiana Dunes National Park on our trip as well. I’d listened to an episode of the podcast National Park After Dark on Alice Gray and they ladies of the podcast mentioned this book as a research source so I immediately picked it up when I learned we’d making the stop by Indiana Dunes National Park on vacation! Her story is that of intrigue and mystery and I couldn’t have loved this book, Alice’s story and its tie to a National Park more!

[Susie Dodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot -- the descriptions of U. of C., her Chicago neighborhood, the Dunes, etc., all were interesting but I kept waiting for a better explanation of why she went to the Dunes in the first place. I thought the author would uncover why she left her life in Chicago, but instead just kept mentioning a few possibilities.

[Cyndi Harville · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read about a local legend who lived as a hermit in the sand dunes of what would become the Indiana Dunes National Park. A brilliant woman who was frustrated by the poor job opportunities of women in the 1900s. She advocated to stop the industrialization of the Dunes as had happened in Gary, Indiana.

[Vickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A reminder of an old tale retold. It was a quick easy read.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diana is a legend known by most who grew up or have lived in Dunes Country. The book itself is not exactly a page turner, but I found it quite interesting nonetheless.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mainly of local interest, this slim book seeks to tweak the truth from the legends surrounding the life of Alice Gray, the Diana of the Dunes. Makes me want to return to Indiana.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. I can't get enough of Dunes history.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Alice Gray or this story until I saw this book. It's a very interesting read - not at all what I expected.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and the photos are stellar. Review to come tomorrow. Hoping I can do this excellent researched bio credit.

Later: It's not only a recorded and documented look into a early 20th century life of a women who felt she didn't "fit" into society, but is a tremendous effort in photo, art, visuals of the Lake Michigan Sand Dunes area. Now called Ogden Dunes or Indiana Dunes National Park in varying parts. All those who have any connection to Chicago or surrounding states most probably have been there repeatedly. I have. And in varying stages of my life. So I can't imagine what isolation existed there in the 1920's.

Highly educated with strong family background (University of Chicago yet) Alice Gray choose another type of life. Leaving all behind to a solitary hut dune existence in her early 30's. This is the story of her dune life years, associations and a few periods of newspaper (when they were majority population read) exposures.

So many of the readers here are Goodreads women who core much of their fare on fiction chick lit. which often is called historical fiction. Most have a tendency to love the primes who have sensibilities and equivocations not of their eras. This is one women who really did. Totally recommend it. While never skipping the photos either. Because that is the reality of solitary substantiating in a 4 season climate (really any climate would never be easy doing this either) on the body and the mind.

What truly made it a 5 star was the Appendix material beyond the excellent and always dated exactly life story. It was her diary and also the prime essay of her post-graduate degree course that was the very last pages. Writing was extremely different in prose forms then too. But these were fabulous to read. She definitely had mental illness and also a brilliant mind coupled with an effusive and pulsing in reactions nature. The author also does added material with life dates and bios of her 5 siblings and their offspring. Plus those of a handful of important people in Alice's life.

How do you live that way as she did. With whom eventually? Read this one. Nothing like Thoreau, let me tell you.

[Everydayreader1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Alice Gray, a Chicago woman, who left her life there and moved to the sand dunes of Indiana, in 1915, to live a mostly solitary life in an abandoned fisherman's shack. She died there in 1925. The media reported her story with a relentlessness that both confounded and angered her. So much so that she took legal action which she did not live to see completed.

I had never heard of Alice Gray until I read this book. I read it because I've long been interested in people who make the choice to live a solitary life. I found it interesting and well written. A good read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an inexpensive Kindle purchase and a very good read. I know the area of the Indiana dunes so that added to my enjoyment. What a mystery. Why did Alice Gray leave Chicago and live the life of a hermit? Why did she partner with Paul Wilson? There were no answers. The account of her last illness and death was not fully explained either. A pregnancy? Domestic violence? I did not read the "love letters" to L at the end--just felt like it was too invasive into a life in which Alice treasured privacy and solitude.

[Jacquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story of a woman who left all she knew to live a hermit by the shores of Lake Michigan. Based on a true story, this woman is still shrouded in mystery. Was she murdered by her common law husband or a local who despised her? Interesting story, but the writing did not keep my interest. I do not recommend taking it on vacation. If you do, pack another book.

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, easy-to-read, true story about an obviously very intelligent woman who left the big city of Chicago to live a secluded life in the dunes and the media harassment once they discovered her existence. I was disappointed in the author's writing style; the story just didn't flow well for me.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

We vacation in this area every year and loved hearing this story

[Caitlin Wyant · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an incomplete history due to the urban legends that Diana was, therefore, it is hard to follow sometimes and the pacing is odd.

[Sylvia Lorson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredible woman

[Chadd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love me some local history.