National Network for Equitable Library Service

Trained as a nurse and midwife, Elizabeth Evans never wanted to help set up the fledgling town of Aspen Coulee, Alberta, but travels there with her father when he agrees to become the town doctor. Housekeeper at the Evans’ house, Ann Montgomery hoped to keep all her San Francisco secrets locked in her ancient wedding chest. It is 1907, and the Canadian Pacific Railway is driving the engine of the west. Against the fluid backdrop of the Canadian prairies, For a Modest Fee is a story about the women of the era and the expectations that made them the primary caretakers of not only their own families, but of the entire town. A hundred years ago, choices for women were few; married or single, they all stepped into the roles thrust upon them. For a Modest Fee is a fascinating novel that looks at the evolution, in a few short years, of a prairie town from windblown wilderness to a fitting place for flowerboxes and school recitals.