The wife of notorious William Henry Handy Plumer--the Bannack Sheriff hanged by Vigilantes, Electa Bryan Plumer has much to offer readers. This incredibly detailed and fast-moving historical novel presents a portion of Electa's life just prior to meeting Plumer, her courtship with Plumer, and the short period of time she was Plumer's wife. This is a love story from a woman's perspective, set in the early 1860s Gold Rush West, and deeply entrenched in Idaho Territory (Montana) history and lore. The events of the Civil War and the "settling" of the frontier West are just two of the fascinating historical threads working their way through Electa's incredible personal saga of exploration, adventure, love, and loss. "By providing her schoolteacher protagonist with a portable writing desk, the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the novels of George Eliot, and the notion that "the observations of a woman" traveling west along the Missouri should be "no less interesting than those of Clark and Lewis," novelist Diane Elliott has made Electa Bryan a credible narrator whose decision "to record the whole of it" affords readers a new perspective on one of the most famous--or infamous--incidents in Montana history. Rich in the details of everyday living--riverboat travel in the midst of the Civil War, women's work on the Sun River government farm, married life in Bannock's Yankee Flats--and sprinkled with the comings and goings of such familiar figures as Granville Stuart, Johnny Grant, and Sidney Edgerton, Strength of Stone invites a willing suspension of disbelief and serves as a strong reminder that life, love--and even history--are all a matter of perspective." –Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith, Women in Waiting in the Westward Movement -- Review As the Civil War rages on, the gold fields and open valleys of the frontier Rocky Mountains fill with treasure seekers, fugitives, and missionaries. Twenty-year-old schoolteacher and adventurer Electa Bryan finds her way to the Sun River Government Farm to "civilize" the Blackfeet and help her married sister with family life. She also finds herself becoming entangled with the notorious Bannack, Montana sheriff William Henry Handy Plumer. Plumer's true character and how he meets his fate are but two of the mysteries unraveled in this beautifully imagined, meticulously researched historical novel based on real-life Montana characters. Above all, Strength of Stone is a love story, one told through journal entries and letters, which brings vividly to life Electa's experience of adventure, love, and loss. (6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 382 pages) Diane Elliott has published poetry and short stories in literary magazines and received awards from the Montana Institute of the Arts, the National Book Club, and the Mary Brennen Clapp Memorial Poetry Contest. Her multi-media script Impersonating Bernie was written for and produced by the Montana Ballet Company. She resides in Bozeman. 13 MAY 1862 EVENING I am over excited and cannot sleep. That's just as well, as today I purchased a small writing table. It's a cunning thing-this box that holds paper and writing equipage. It is constructed with a slanted hinged lid that one may write upon, and has a lock to keep the contents from spilling. I filled it with tablets and lead pencils. My desire is to record this moment with an eye toward the future. We (that is my brother-in-law James Albin Vail, sister Martha Jane, their two children Mary Eliza and Harvey, and myself), are about to embark on a wilderness adventure. We have been hired by Lincoln's new Blackfeet Indian Agent, our very own Reverend Reed, to manage the Sun River Government Farm. We are to replace Agent Vaughn and his hirelings, who either have or are about to abandon the farm, which was established in '59 to civilize the Blackfoot, the Piegan and the Blood Indians. We shall be traveling deep into the Dakota Territory following the trail Clark and Lewis first recorded. As Mr. Vail and I are certified teachers we hope to be able to teach the natives a bit more than agriculture and catechism. And I plan to record the whole of it with an eye, I hope, toward eventual publication. Personally, I can't help but think that the observations of a woman would not be less interesting than those of Clark and Lewis, and as I am one of the first women to take this trek, I do believe the task falls to me. Used Book in Good Condition