I wish more people knew about Sarah Horton Cockrell. By her husband's side, she helped build Dallas. And when he died, she did even more, always respectful of the limitations of the 19th century and yet breaking all the rules. She built the first bridge crossing the Trinity River, ran the ferry, built the second bridge, ran a flour mill, owned most of downtown, built the first hotel and then rebuilt. The list goes on--all of this as a widow raising four children.
This book is an interesting hybrid, almost a fictionalized biography. Castleberry chose to write this, the only full-length biography, of Cockrell as a series of letters by her to various family members. At first, it really seemed to work--it was a way for Castleberry to get inside Cockrell's head. And yet. . .
Some of the letters were repetitious. Many, many paragraphs spent with Castleberry providing context for Cockrell's era. Lots and lots of context that didn't feel natural at all. There was a lot of Dallas name-dropping too (how many street names can you find in the text?), and while it makes sense that she would know these people, it also felt forced.
I know Cockrell left behind plenty of primary sources, and it would have been nice to hear some of her story in her own words. As a historian, I was extremely frustrated with trying to tease out information for a speech I gave a few weeks ago that included Cockrell. My wish is for a more traditional biography or a more graceful fictionalization.
Recommended highly for my Texas friends or anyone interested in women's history, just for the sake of learning more about Sarah.