The Homesman: A Novel

<b>IN PIONEER NEBRASKA, A WOMAN LEADS WHERE NO MAN WILL GO</b><br> <br>Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Tommy Lee Jones, <i>The Homesman</i> is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s American West. It celebrates the ones we hear nothing of: the brave women whose hearts and minds were broken by a life of bitter hardship. A &quot;homesman&quot; must be found to escort a handful of them back East to a sanitarium. When none of the county's men steps up, the job falls to Mary Bee Cuddy - ex-teacher, spinster, indomitable and resourceful. Brave as she is, Mary Bee knows she cannot succeed alone. The only companion she can find is the low-life claim jumper George Briggs. Thus begins a trek east, against the tide of colonization, against hardship, Indian attacks, ice storms, and loneliness - a timeless classic told in a series of tough, fast-paced adventures.<br> <br>In an unprecedented sweep, Glendon Swarthout's novel won both the Western Writers of America's Spur Award and the Western Heritage Wrangler Award. A new afterword by the author's son Miles Swarthout tells of his parents Glendon and Kathryn's discovery of and research into the lives of the oft-forgotten frontier women who make <i>The Homesman</i> as moving and believable as it is unforgettable.