The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 88, July 1984 - April, 1985 Page: 443
476 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
that may confuse those hoping to follow a single story line. Purists,
those who want to know who remembered what about Claude, would
probably prefer to know exactly what they said and not have to trust
Holland's reconstituted scenes and dialogues. Her accounts of dialogue
between John Holt Kennedy and his peers she attributes to Claude, as
later told to Fred and others, and the meticulous scholar may wonder
at Holland's license and conjecture. Still, the book radiates the life of
East Texas and offers rare glimpses into its rich past. The book may
be best seen as one author's loving presentation of her primary sources,
with necessary background material obtained from a few secondary
works and local written accounts.
Mr. Claude is a welcome addition to the genre of literature based
on oral history. It should be read. Moreover, it should be considered
and analyzed by those who are seeking ways to work personal docu-
ments into publications in the field of local history as the Texas Ses-
quicentennial approaches.
Baylor University THOMAS L. CHARLTON
Willie, a Girl from a Town Called Dallas. By Willie Newbury Lewis.
(College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press, 1984. Pp.
vii+ 137. Preface, photographs. $1 2.95.)
Texas readers have long been familiar with Willie Newbury Lewis's
work. Her earlier books, Between Sun and Sod and Tapadero, are
considered by many to be Texas classics. Willie, a Girl from a Town
Called Dallas is very different from these earlier works. It is a reminis-
cence and autobiography, but, more than that, it is a fascinating study
of human relationships, specifically the relationship between Lewis and
her husband, Will.
Lewis writes at some length about her husband's love of and "fasci-
nation with the beautiful Texas prairies" (p. vii) and how the Pan-
handle environment shaped her husband's character. Lewis herself was
ambivalent about the Panhandle Plains. She saw their beauty, but she
also recognized the disadvantages of life on a West Texas ranch or in
the small town of Clarendon. More congenial to Willie was Dallas, the
home of her childhood and where she also lived most of her adult life.
Her descriptions of Dallas at the turn of the century are charming and
slightly touched with the glow of nostalgia.
Mostly, however, Willie is not about the Panhandle or Dallas but
about the complex relationship between Willie and Will Lewis. Mar-
ried at age twenty to a man twice her age, Willie quickly discovered443
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 88, July 1984 - April, 1985, periodical, 1984/1985; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101210/m1/509/?rotate=270: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.