VANISHED ARIZONA Recollections of the Army Life of a New England Woman

Beecher reads the adventures of a nineteenth-century U.S. cavalry wife in the Old West with vigor and aplomb. Taking place first in Wyoming and then Arizona, this memoir describes in graphic detail the grim realities of life in Western forts; it was quite a shock for a New England Victorian lady. Beecher uses a consistent tone but varies pacing and volume when expressing Martha's fear, despair, and dismay. Braving Indian attacks; childbirth alone; and extreme heat, cold, and dirt, Martha remains upbeat, and Beecher's lilting presentation adds more charm to this oral history. Listeners will agree that it is too short. S.C.A. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]