Town Father: Or, Where Graceful Girls Abound

by Kevin Brennan

Three hundred independent-minded women in 1880s California have embarked on a seemingly impossible journey: to establish a town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada composed exclusively of women. The only way for the singular town of Hestia to succeed, though, is for a second generation of residents to come along, and the women imagine there must be, somewhere in the country, a benign and willing gentleman who can help them. In short, a Town Father.

Set against the rough-and-ready backdrop of Gold Country, Town Father chronicles the occidental adventure of Hestia's choice, Henry O'Farrell, as he comes to believe in the women’s feminist dream, living their trials and tragedies at their side. Rosella Kimball (architect), Lucien Thorpe (poet, philosopher), Maisie Grace (markswoman), Tilly Swan (builder), and the object of his private affections, Avis Honeycutt (executive) -- along with 295 other utopian trailblazers -- may not be his wives, but they are his loves. Hestia, named for the Greek goddess of hearth and home, is where he was always meant to be.

The only question is whether society at large will let them all live in peace…

Genres: Historical Fiction

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2015

About the author

Kevin Brennan is the author of seven novels, including Parts Unknown (William Morrow/HarperCollins), Yesterday Road, and, coming in May '22, The Prospect. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Berkeley Fiction Review, Mid-American Review, Twin Pies, The Daily Drunk, Sledgehammer, Fictive Dream, Atlas and Alice, LEON Literary Review, MoonPark Review, Atticus Review, and others. He's also the editor of The Disappointed Housewife, a literary magazine for writers of offbeat and idiosyncratic fiction, poetry, and essays. Kevin lives with his wife in California's Sierra foothills.