Insightful and varied look at nineteenth century America

I really enjoyed this window into what nineteenth century America was like from five very different, English, perspectives. This was an age of immigration and exploration and forging new ground. And, like most histories, these five women offer their unique voices when explaining their experiences in a brand new world.

These women were from all walks of life and classes, their views on America were influenced by their personal histories, their ‘places’ in life and the biases that they brought to their writings. Each one had something to say – ranging from practical to philosophical – and together painted a picture of that time in history. I enjoyed them all with Rebecca’s story resonating the most. Through sheer grit and spiritual faith, she and her family overcome each setback to carry on, even when it seemed impossible. Of course, there was a lot going on politically and socially, and their varied opinions encapsulated many feelings of the day.

An entertaining, highly readable book.

Characters of 5 different women travels to the States in search of something. Each has different personalities and from a different background. It started out slow for me and almost have up reading but I try to give each book a chance as you do a friend and books are our friends. Each woman is strong in so many different ways that you will understand and enjoy especially in the time of this book which is 19'00's when men started.to look at women in a different light. Received from Net Galley,to me It's a must read book.🙈🙉🙊

This is a really interesting and well-researched account of five very different Victorian British women, united in their boundless energy, curiosity and sense of adventure, who all travelled extensively in America and wrote about their experiences. The extent of their travels and the courage they needed to cope with the dangers and difficulties they faced certainly gives the lie to any idea that Victorian women were merely passive domestic angels in the house – any one of this group could easily give a man a run for his money. Each chapter is devoted to one of them – Rebecca Burlend, Frances Wright, Fanny Trollope, Lady Emmeline Stuart Worthley and Catherine Hopley. They left behind first-hand accounts of their travel, and their thoughts, opinions and judgements are a joy to read. An enormously enjoyable and entertaining book.

This is an interesting book, comprised of five distinct stories of pioneering and survival, written from women's points of view.: A teacher, an activist, two women from England, and an entrepreneur. Each woman has a different take on life in different parts of America.

I have to admit I read only the intro and the first section, the one about the woman homesteader. The information was not all that compelling, and I think that may be a function of Mullen's synopses. The original documents might hold the interest more. So, sorry, I'm not going to finish the book.

This is a really enjoyable book. It has taken the writings of five English ladies who travelled to America in the nineteenth century and wrote about their experiences. They are from different backgrounds, and saw very different aspects of the country.

Rebecca Burland was the wife of a Yorkshire farmer who moved to the States to make a new and better life for her family. She wrote about her experiences to encourage and inform any English families thinking of following her, and her account is particularly poignant as it provides a snapshot of America in the very early days.

Frances Wright was very concerned about slavery and worked for abolition; her views are quite set before she arrived and she comes over as a strong feminist character.

Frances Trollope needed to write to try to finance her trip - her husband would not/could not send money for her to return to England after her business venture failed, so she had to make her own way for a while. She made herself very unpopular with her observations of American habits and mannerisms.

Lady Emmeline Stuart Wortley was from a much higher class than the others, but comes over as a gentle and charming lady, who had been taught not to criticise her hosts but who makes interesting observations of life around America.

Catherine Hopley is by far the most interesting character. She travels around, working as a governess, and is present for the start of the American Civil War. She makes many interesting observations, talks to key people. She lives in the south, despite having relatives in the north, and presents an unusual view of the southern states, slavery and the onset of war. Her observations come over as very unbiased; she tries to see the facts and does not shy away from the accepted Victorian view, particularly of slavery. Her comparison of the well-fed lives of the slaves she saw with the industrial poor at home is most interesting.

I expected the book to provide the original text, perhaps with a brief commentary, but the author has done much more. He has taken each account and provided relevant back story and setting, and then dissected the accounts. He quotes from the accounts so we can hear the ladies' voices in key passages, but moves the account along so we can see what they did and why. It is extremely well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable and well researched read about 5 very different Englishwomen travelling in the United (or not) States during the early to mid-19th century. Each has her own chapter and there is a good bibliography for each at the end. The author used both biographies and primary sources for his chapters. The description on NetGalley details the individual women so no need to reiterate that. Personally I liked Mrs Burlend best - the redoubtable Yorkshire woman and her family who moved from a tenant farm in Yorkshire to Illinois where they bought their own land and, eventually made a success of it but with huge trials and tribulations before they did so. She wrtoe well about these and the descriptions of frontier life are compelling. Catherine Hopley's story was also particularly interesting both from the author's exploration of who she was in reality as well as her thoughts and impressions of the 'Old South' and slavery while she was a governess to various families. there; not to mention her various attempts to get back the the Union and hence England as she found herself in the middle, literally, of the Civil War.. The other three I personally found less interesting as they were visiting for visiting's sake. I did take a while to read the whole book but find that that is often the way with non-fiction - especially one where there is a lot of detail and thought to consider., as here. Thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this book but it was very, very slow about 70% of the time. Each character was different and their stories were unique.

I'll work on a fuller review, but we close on our house in two days and I wanted to post right after I finished so I didn't forget my immediate thoughts.

A fascinating book following 5 Englishwomen traveling American at different points of the early 19th century. Whether writing with definitive propaganda goals in mind, or merely sharing their experiences of traveling the 'wilds' of America, these five women (Rebecca Burlend, Frances Trollope, Fanny Wright, Catherine Hopley, and Lady Emmaline Stuart Wortley) provide personal insight into the daily lives of both Americans and the English at some of the times when the two peoples seemed furthest apart.

Each lady has a chapter devoted to her writings and experiences, each chapter is a combination of carefully researched biography with fascinating and illustrative quotes from her published works. The reader gets an excellent understanding of the lady's position in English society and how that influenced her views of America (and Americans). While Fanny Trollope (mother of future famous author Anthony Trollope) may be the most famous (and outspoken) writer of the group, I was personally most fascinated by Rebecca Burlend's story. Unlike the other women, who were traveling to visit places and people and recording their observations, Rebecca and her Yorkshire farming family moved to Illinois to begin a new life. Her book, written specifically to let other potential farming immigrants know what to expect, is that of the ordinary person and explores frontier living as none of the others do. Hardworking Rebecca describes the voyage in steerage, steamboat travel up the Mississippi, and the difficulties and successes of establishing a working farm on the Illinois frontier in a way that reminded me of Laura Ingall Wilder's books.

While diaries and detailed letters were common during Victorian England, many women (including those featured here) focused less on the politics and industrial aspects of America and more of daily life: homes, servants, food, fashion, etc. What might have seemed "feminine" or "inconsequential" to men of the time is today what we look for to get a fuller picture of life in America and England during the first half of Victoria's reign. "Birds of Passage" is an excellent book for history lovers searching for fascinating glimpses into ordinary, yet fascinating, lives.

In the first half of the Nineteenth Century travel was becoming easier and the United Staes was exciting place to visit and to settle. This excellent book tells us the story of five women who came to the US and wrote books about it. As the author notes in his introduction, they focused not on big issues like politics, but on the details of life that interest us most these days.

Mullen does a great job with the women he pics out. Each is different from the others and they have differing motives, backgrounds, and ideas. I like that he presents them each without judging them telling us their interesting stories. Criticisms were those of their contemporaries, not of Mullen himself.

I enjoyed it thoroughly.

A fascinating look seen through the eyes of women sharing with us their lives their daily existence their adjustment to their new lives.Highky recommend,#netgalley #thistlepublishing.

This was a fascinating look at what life was like in the 19th century. The women focused on the more mundane aspects of their daily life, but I found them to be intriguing.