National Network for Equitable Library Service

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…