O My America!
Second Acts in a New World
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:6th Mar '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In O My America!, Sara Wheeler explores the journeys of six women who reinvented themselves in 19th-century America, reflecting on their courage and resilience.
In O My America!, Sara Wheeler embarks on a journey of rediscovery, revisiting the United States thirty-five years after her initial Greyhound adventure. This time, she traces the lives of six remarkable women who escaped the confines of nineteenth-century England to forge new identities across the Atlantic. Each woman's story is a testament to resilience and transformation, set against the backdrop of a nation still finding its footing.
Wheeler's companions include Fanny Trollope, whose sharp observations on American society were groundbreaking for her time, and Fanny Kemble, whose powerful stance against slavery challenged the status quo. Through the narratives of Harriet Martineau, Rebecca Burlend, Isabella Bird, and Catherine Hubback, the author highlights the courage these women displayed as they navigated a world filled with both promise and peril. Their journeys reflect a time when women were expected to conform, yet they chose to carve out their paths.
As Wheeler travels from the humid landscapes of Georgia to the majestic peaks of the Cascades, she not only uncovers the historical significance of these women's lives but also reflects on her own experiences and transformations. O My America! is more than a travelogue; it is an exploration of identity, resilience, and the enduring spirit of those who seek to redefine themselves in a new land.
One secret of first-person travel writing is the presence of the narrator as a good companion. It probably cannot be taught – a writer either is or is not sympathetic, amusing, insightful and informative. Sara Wheeler has had it from the off. You want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind. -- Roger Hutchinson * Scotsman *
A true celebration. -- Ruth Scurr * Daily Telegraph *
Bracing and ebullient... This is a fresh and unforgettable picture of the country we have been steadily falling out of love with; a second act indeed. -- Frances Wilson * Sunday Telegraph *
Her latest work, published just ahead of International Women's Day on Friday, is perfect for women who want to shake a fist at the fading light. -- Ginny Dougary * Guardian *
A curious and teasing book... Wheeler is a writer of great composure and energy, and out of these American adventures she fashions something unexpected and compelling, and that is a portrait of a nation under construction. -- Anthony Sattin * Spectator *
She [Wheeler] is terrific company, with a great eye for detail and a feisty voice... This deeply enjoyable book makes you see that the frontier is not what it once was, whether for women or America. -- Bee Wilson * Sunday Times *
Sara Wheeler has always produced books that have proved game-changers, and she has done it again with O My America! -- Giles Foden * Conde Nast Traveller *
A book that is not quite biography or history or memoir of the kind of travelogue for which this writer is justly praised but an oddly successful hybrid of them all… Carefully observed and finely written. -- Kate Colquhoun * Sunday Express *
Wheeler’s is a revealing, inspiring travel book that looks at the past and the present – and ends with a hopeful gaze on the future. -- Tina Jackson * Metro *
Wheeler declares that she had more fun writing this book that all the previous ones, and her pleasure at being in such a place, and in such fascinating company, is contagious. -- Anthony Sattin * Sunday Times Travel *
- Short-listed for Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2014 (UK)
ISBN: 9780099541349
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 21mm
Weight: 269g
288 pages