The Train to Estelline

Lucinda Richards Trilogy #1

by Jane Roberts Wood

Together for the first time as a classic Texas

The Train to Estelline

A Place Called Sweet Shrub

Dance a Little Longer

The Lucinda “Lucy” Richards trilogy, spanning the years from 1911 to the 1930s, has everything good books should a variety of landscapes, characters of all ages and social classes, an overall tenderness that never lapses into sentimentality, and a sense of the comic amidst the tragic. Lucy is feisty, funny, and completely open-armed about life. Josh passionately confronts danger and greed and prejudice with courage and humor and, sometimes, with bare fists. Even the minor characters are so rife with color that you first turn the pages quickly to see what they will do next and, then, you turn them slowly so as to savor each page of this remarkable trilogy.

“I have longed for a wider world, a great adventure. And now it’s here. I’m so happy I can hardly breathe.” So ends seventeen-year-old Lucinda Richards’ diary entry for August 17, 1911, starting her job as the new school teacher for the White Star school in the Panhandle. Jane Roberts Wood brings to this delightful and affecting epistolary novel a tender touch and a wry sense of humor.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Novels

209 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book long ago and think of it every year as I drive through Estelline on my way to Colorado. The book is written as letters and diary entries, which I love. The format works really well. It's a fun, light read. It's not quite as "gentle" as I usually prefer my books, but compared to most books these days, it would be rated G.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Train to Estelline years and years ago and remembered almost nothing about it now except that it was a touching, haunting book of West Texas. I was right in that recollection. Schoolteacher Lucy Richards took the train from Bonham, Texas, where my own ancestors, including my mother, are buried, and headed west to Estelline to teach at the White Star school in 1911. The book is formatted entirely in letters or diary form, and it is through these that the reader meets Lucy's students, the people near White Star, the family back in Bonham, and a few other interesting people woven in just for the fun of it. Even for a schoolteacher protected by the school board, Lucy still envy still encounters pathos, murder, natural death, and accidental death, not to mention strange occurrences such as rescuing a student from a well only to find he was in the well to get tequila hidden there. Rich with relationships and life, the Train to Estelline is about living on the prairie as it really was I the early Twentieth Century - not quite as hardscrabble as we might think but still dusty, lonely, and ruled by the rifle. It's a true Texas book. Now I have to make a side to Estelline next time I'm out that way just to get a feel for that part of the country.

[Jaynie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the unique format: the entire story is told in the letters and diary entries of a young girl who has "gone west" to become a teacher for a small town. I would have given it a better review because of two things: first, I really hated the ending. Second (and arguably I shouldn't hold this against the book/the author) the sequel is written in the normal fashion. It was the perfect book to read as I was visiting a friend whose husband was in the hospital because you could easily read one letter at a time as distractions arose. (I was distracted A LOT). This book was written by my friend's former college professor, with whom she was well pleased (to replay a common phrase). Easy to read; you really don't need a map of Texas or a dictionary to make sense of the story. I thought the author's use of historic words and language was interesting. I hope the heroine....well, better not to spoil it for you, just in case you pick up this 1978 jewel!

[Treasure Island Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book in the Lucy Richards Arnold series. This is an absorbing epistolary novel. It could easily stand alone without the sequels. Lucy takes the train to a desolate part of Texas in the early nineteen hundreds to become a schoolteacher. She is barely eighteen, but finds she has a talent and love for teaching. At first, she tells herself she will try it out for awhile, and then return to her mother's house if it doesn't suit her. When she starts to spend serious time with Bob Sully, her mind changes.

[Sandra Munger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was our book club book last month. It's the story of a young woman who left her home and became a teacher at a small school near Estelline TX. The ups and downs of a rural school teacher with multiple levels of students. It is written in the form of letters and diary entries and includes her possible love story. She learns to drive but wrecks the car. By the way, at the time she was not allowed to get a car loan because she was a woman. Her brother was going to have to sign for her.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. An easy quick read with depth and wholesome too!

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshingly fun and light read.

[Karen Hiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite books!

[Josephine Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Texas Story. The story begins when Lucinda Eliza Richards decides to move away from home, to make use of her normal school teaching. She is seventeen, ready to become an adult and see what the rest of the world is like. This takes place in July 1911, ends May 1912, a period of eleven months. So many young girls taught in one room schools before they got married. Usual in this time and place. She sends in an application, is accepted. Lucy lines in Bonham, north east Texas, so different from Estelline, far west Texas. Yes, there is an Estelline. Lucy has led a sheltered life, close to her mother and aunt, two sisters, a brother, a close knit family. Her father died recently, her mother has to manage the family's hardware store. Her unmarried aunt keeps house.

Lucy will soon know what adult life is about. The book is written in letters to all, mother, aunt, sisters, best friends, diary. Not a way of writing I like particularly, but Ms Wood does a good job of Lucy's letter writing.

That part of west Texas is flat, bleak, treeless, very little rain. So many good things happen, but so do many bad things. The people are very poor, farms not productive. There are two families that are doing well, but is it come by honestly.

Lucy wants to be a good teacher and she becomes one. She gets to know the children and their parents. She wants a piano, these kids need music badly. A piano is delivered, Lucy doesn't know who donated the well appreciated gift. She attempts to start a library, she asks for donations of books, she writes home for donations of used clothes. A teachery is built, another well needed gift. The teachers boarded with families, but these people were poor, had many children, couldn't really afford another person in their homes. Where was the money coming for this residence?

Lucy invited her younger sister, Katie, to come live with her and take a teaching job. Not a good idea.

The book is somewhat violent and depressing. Lucy is pushed quickly into being a grown up. So much poverty, dying, being born, unhappy marriages. Those who should have been close to her deceive,others kind and caring. Some dislike others who are different. Some seem too good and competent. I have read "A Place Called Sweet Shrub" a long time ago.

This is a good book about a young teacher living on the frontier over one hundred years ago.

[The_Old_Brick · Rating 5 out of 5]

POSITIVE
1. Consists of letters from the main character to her family and friends back home. It works. The spirit of these letters is reminiscing. It works.
2. Very readable. I finished in two days.

NEGATIVE
1. Of course, the contemporary woman author covers the obligatory feminist and LGBQT topics. If only a contemporary woman author could write without a compulsion to indoctrinate.
2. Basically one voice throughout the entire book: the main character. Eventually becomes monotonous. Its tone a tad whiny.

OVERALL
Book #1 of a trilogy. I will definitely read A Place Called Sweet Shrub and Dance a Little Longer.

Set in 1911-12, The Train to Estelline shows the persistence of many distasteful characteristics of American culture still prevalent today. Racism. Classism. Insensitivity to the plight of neighbors. Token generosity.

[Melinda Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In late summer of 1911, Lucy Richards, a nearly eighteen-year-old, boarded a train for Estelline, Texas. She was on her way to a teaching job in a one-room schoolhouse. She would be teaching fifteen students. She was to receive $42.00 a month with room and board, and was to attend church every Sunday.

As Lucy teaches and boards with two families and teaches poor students, she senses a real conflict between ranchers and railroaders. She also notices racial injustice. Her romantic notions of adventure and independence are tempered by the harsh, windblown land of a Texas prairie, and old-fashioned morals. Lucy represents a young lady's dreams and emotions. I was impressed by her resiliency. This story was easy to follow and down-to-earth.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally read this, and now I am hooked. Just ordered the rest of the trilogy and can't wait. Long years ago, I dismissed it as a sweet little old lady book. I now am that audience, loving this epistolary short novel. Set on the plains of West Texas, an independent teenager strikes out on her own as a schoolteacher. She could have been my grandmother who followed that vocation when all that was needed was to be an upright, unmarried female with an 11-grade education and a slip of paper teaching certificate.

Lucinda Richards encounters a full range of life during her first year: isolation, prejudice, poverty, ignorance, adultery, murder, births, deaths, betrayal, love, hate, and--of course--a good dog. The ending is natural but open-ended, as befits a series.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the book and the writing style of the author. Told in epistemological fashion, it is the story of a young teacher heading out to the wilds of “West Texas” from the more comfortable East Texas town of Bonham. She is off on an adventure and experiences life with verve and determination, meeting loss and tragedy along the way. She is fearless when advocating for the education of her students.

This is the first in a trilogy and I can’t wait to read the other two!

Thank you to Jane Roberts Wood for writing such an engaging book and to my Texas book club member who nominated this book.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not something I would’ve picked up normally, but because my grandma taught in a one room schoolhouse, and my husband’s uncle (her former student) recommended it for me I gave it a chance. It was actually a really good read! Once I started, I couldn’t put it down! Really interesting, easy read for my teacher friends.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and fun, can't-put-this-one-down kind of book! I had read it decades ago and remembered how it ended, but still had a great read (and three late nights) getting there. I highly recommend this book!

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I originally picked up this book because I was familiar with the locations (Bonham, Estelline, Henrietta) in Texas not realizing it was a trilogy. The story was intriguing and the ending definitely signaled this was the start of a series.

[Lorlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet look at early Texas

[Sandy Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about the local area in 1911 and 1912! It was interesting to read a book of letters. I look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose this book could also have been called "Lucy's world" it really is about how Lucy sees the world she inhabited and how she deals with the way she thinks things should be and then how they are.

I Love the name Lucy, we had a pooch for 18 years called Lucy and I must have said the the name thousand's, of times and never got sick of saying it.

It was a charming story set in the early twentieth century, I loved the character Lucy for her spunk and intelligence. You could really see how seventeen year old Lucy would end up being a wonderful and intelligent forty year old.

The Teacher Lucy was committed to her students and really had a very mature and loving attitude to them. Although, I do believe that was as far as her maturity went, other characters were much harder to decipher as they were coming from the seventeen year old Lucy's eyes. I knew right away Lucy's sister was going to nab Bob, now why was that so obvious? Stupid sister wonderful Lucy, and boring Bob.

How on earth was that nasty deed ever going to be reconciled by the two sisters, I don't think those family happenings ever get fixed. And what about Bob when he finds this plump baby thats gestation was six months? Gee, the behind scenes drama.

Even though it was suppose to be a coming of age book, some of the issues would be life altering for Lucy, her sister and Bob.

What will Lucy decide? Her expectations of her loved and wild sister? to the realisation of her devious act of stealing her Bob.

I believe Lucy was very lucky to have escaped his charms, the mother sounds awful and he sound insipid.

Ok, so what was this book about? I think it was a charming way to introduce a reader to that time frame in Texas, and to show the mind of a young girl that takes the plunge to move a long way from home to take up a teaching position, and in many cases young men close to her own age, I thought it did that well. The format of writing this book through letters to people certainly got you into Lucy's head.

I suppose, the unfortunate part is I actually dislike using letter form to create dialogue and build a character, that form of writing just seems easy, and many ways too restrictive for the reader. I have always felt it restricted any character development, as you only ever viewed the character from one persons point of view, although that is me and it is no fault to the book, as this really was about Lucy. It is obvious Josh was going to play a larger part in Lucy's life, and I wondered how old he was? he seemed to be caste through Lucy's eyes as too old for her, almost father like.

You can also see how this book was going to be a series as there was so much in it that was left undone or unresolved. I almost would buy the other book just to find out what happens with Bob and the sister, and who does Lucy end up with? It was a nice light read and it was fun to be able to just relax over Lucy's drams and not think of my own.

[Bria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Train to Estelline is a historical fiction piece set in West Texas in the early 1900s from the point of view of a young woman setting out on her first adult adventures. Within the first few pages I had decided I didn't like this book: the main character was already gushing that she had just (today) met the man she was destined to marry and the writing style-- jumping between letters and diary entries (all of which were short in length and description)-- was too much for me. I felt like I was reading a worn out dirty rag, but I continued on and was pleasantly surprised in the end. I grew to enjoy all the characters, who all had character flaws, but also lovable traits. I still don't like the writing style. You can't do both letters (to multiple recipients) and diary entries. That just doesn't work for me. And I still think that the writing overall isn't descriptive enough and requires the reader to infer a lot of things. I think I have a good imagination, but I need a decent plot to imagine around! All in all, I may consider looking up the rest of the series. I want to know what happens next with some of the characters.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy goes on a great adventure on the train to Estelline...at the ripe age of 17, she becomes a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. She has to contend with critters in her school, parents who don't appreciate education, students who must babysit younger siblings...and she finds her calling.

Told through letters and diary entries, this book forces us as readers to fill in the blanks, and see beyond Lucy's words to the heart of the story. Lucy loves Bob, but his mother, the rancher's wife, wants more for her son than a schoolmarm...Lucy never sees Bob's weaknesses for what they are: signs of a poor partner for life.

This book begins and ends on the train, and sets the stage for the next book in the trilogy. I see Josh becoming much more important...he knows they should be together, we know it -- he just needs to convince Lucy!

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure the diary/letter format works as well as a straight narrative, in either first or third person, would. But overall, nice coming of age story in early 20th century West Texas. One thing I liked very much was the way the narrator is really in her world: whenever explanations are given for differences, the differences are between what she is accustomed to and what she finds. So often works of historical fiction slip in elaborate descriptions of what would have been entirely ordinary items, for the benefit of us ignorant readers. This one doesn't. I liked it well enough that I will look for the following books.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read which takes place in letters (the first being Clara Callan by Richard Wright). Unlike that book though, this book is entirely told through letters Lucy writes to various people, and in that sense I felt some of the story is inferred. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but did somewhat affect the plot.

With that being said, Lucy is still a fast, enjoyable read about a young woman who takes on a school in Texas in the early 1900's.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read! Read this trilogy almost 20 years ago. Remember staying up all night reading after hubby and babies were asleep. The main character Lucy, was such a spitfire. Throughout the trilogy, she goes thru a number of trials which strengthens and shapes her demeanor. The book is narrated in diary form.

[Karetchko]

I read this during my first year as a teacher and related to so much of it. There are two follow-up books, and both are good as women's literature, but the main character isn't teaching anymore so I didn't like them as much.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book just after reading The Lemon Jelly Cake and this one suffered from the comparison. The time period was the same, but this one wasn't as compelling. I had planned to ready the two sequels; I'm glad I didn't buy all three at once because I'm not interested enough to read more.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick read about a young schoolteacher in West Texas during the early 1900's. The story is told through her letters home to family and friends.
It's a good book to pick up for a light, enjoyable read.

[Mary Vermette · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a young woman leaving home in 1911 to teach in Bonham. Written as a letter between the main characters and others. Once you get used to this style its original and insightful as to life in Texas in 1911.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entrancing story of the indomitable Lucy who, at 17, leaves home for her first teaching job and the adventures that follow. Easy-to-read young adult novel that gives a good picture of life in rural Texas in the early 1900s. First in a trilogy.

[Tevilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a texas story told through letters of a school teacher to her mother and others. It takes place in the early 1900's. I didn't expect to like it this much--I found it charming and engaging. It is the first in a trilogy and inwillmread the next one to see if it holds true.