Kate Bates is another Gene Stratton-Porter unsung hero in the tradition of Elnora Comstock, of A Girl of the Limberlost, and Freckles and Laddie, of books of the same name. As the youngest child, and female, in a large prosperous farm family, she has been designated as her mother's helper in old age. Kate finds this unfair since all of the brothers have been given land and the older sisters sent to teacher training. With the help of a nephew and sister-in-law, she defies her parents, becomes a teacher, leaves home. Her real ambition, however, is to own and cultivate a large farm. After rejecting the easy path to her dream, she suffers through a bad marriage but ultimately acquires her land and achieves happiness.
- ISBN10 0253211387
- ISBN13 9780253211385
- Publish Date 22 October 1997 (first published 1 October 1997)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 9 March 2023
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Indiana University Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 352
- Language English