Hill Country

by Janice Woods Windle

Book Overview

In a novel based on the life of the author's grandmother, Laura Hoge Woods enters the world of Texas hill country politics, where she befriends Rebekah Baines Johnson, the mother of future president... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684866056
• ISBN13: 9780684866055
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 471 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!

Janice Woods Windle proves that lightning can strike twice.. Following her highly successful debut novel, True Women, which was made into a 1997 television mini series, the Texas author has penned Hill Country, a sweeping historical drama fraught with danger, excitement, and love - all the more fascinating because it's true. Drawing from an unfinished autobiography plus a trove of letters and notes, the author has revitalized the indefatigable spirit of her pioneering grandmother, Laura Hoge Woods, an amazing woman who fought marauders, scratched a living from unfriendly soil, raised seven children, counted presidents as friends, and flew with Charles Lindbergh. Much of Laura's grit came from her mother, "Little Mattie," who once pulled down Old Boomer, an "ancient, ten-gauge, double-barreled, shotgun" to protect 7-year-old Laura and her two brothers from hostile Indians. Herman Lehmann, who had been kidnaped by Apaches as a child, was among the intruders. To Laura, he was beautiful, "His hair was golden and long....his body seemed carved from ivory." As a teenager Laura met Herman again, at Eager Mule Creek, her wilderness hide-away. They fell in love, but the gap between Indian life and the white world proved too wide for him to bridge. Wealthy Peter Woods, owner of a large horse ranch and chairman of the Blanco County Democratic Party, became Laura's husband. Through him, she hoped to satisfy her political aspirations - if she couldn't run for office because she was a woman, she decided to be a candidate's wife. When government railroad land was offered for a dollar an acre, Laura and Peter bought. There was one qualifier: a buyer had to build on the land and remain there for six months. Agreeing to live in this new territory while Peter tended their present ranch, she "moved to the last place on Earth....the wild empty lands of Central Texas," where she felt her life was "sliding backwards." In 1894, a violent storm arose isolating Laura and two young sons at the distant ranch. Days of incessant rain made puddles in the cabin, brought creek water to the horse pens, and serious illness to her youngest boy. Despite the blinding torrent, Laura managed to hitch a buggy, cradle the paroxysm seized baby in one arm, hold the other child on the floorboards between her knees, ford a wild river, and drive ten miles for help. After the rigors of wilderness life, she was delighted to move to Blanco, into a stone bungalow overlooking the river. This home, known as "Hanging Tree Ranch" because of its proximity to a lynching she witnessed as a girl, was where Laura lived her glory years. She gave birth to their first daughter, Winifred, and met the young woman who became her lifelong friend, Rebekah Baines Johnson. It was also at "Hanging Tree Ranch" that Peter and Laura entertained Teddy Roosevelt who bought horses for his Rough Riders. Despite initial misgivings about Roosevelt's Republicanism, Laura was

I couldn't put it down!

I loved this book. It saved my life on a long airplane trip recently. I couldn't put it down, and so the bland airline snack and the cramped seats seemed to melt away. It is just a darn good story.

WOW! What a story, what a life!

Janice Woods Windle has done it again! True Women held me spell-bound, and this book is even better! I was so sorry when it was over. What a life Laura Hogg Woods had. Imagine being born in a time when Indian attacks were common, horses were vital means of transportation and cooking was done on a wood stove. Imagine dying at a time when man is about to go up in space, a beloved president is shot while in his car and your best friend's son becomes the president as a result of the tragedy. This author tells the story so vividly and beautifully, she has an amazing gift. I can't begin to praise this story enough---a great read!

Couldn't put it down!

After reading True Women I knew that Hill Country would be another interesting history lesson and I wasn't disappointed! The love that Woods-Windle pours forth from her family tree is told in a way that you want to believe every word to be fact but of course her telling the story in a fashion so artfully done will make me always remember these beautiful people. Little Mattie is such a wonderful mother and Laura is a woman that everyone wants to know. Janice's dipiction of Rebekah Baines Johnson's relation with her best friend, Laura and her son Lyndon is beautifully written. I'm proud to have these two books in my library and to share them with my daughter, sister and special friends.

Gasp! Gasp! I'm still breathless after reading it!

An inner core of steel helps Laura Hoge Wood overcome a childhood fraught with great hardship and danger and takes her to the very portals of history and the U.S. presidency. A woman as uniquely Texan as her environment, Laura has to make an early decision between following her heart or her head in matters of love. That decision shows the mettle which serves Laura well for the rest of her long life. Her pioneer spirit brings her through adventures not for the faint of heart. This book has everything- suspense, romance, mystery, history- that will satisfy even the tastes of a picky reader.