"Study of the writing life, works, impact, and landscape of a West Texas writer. Though Rushing considered herself a regionalist, her seven novels of the Texas Rolling Plains, published between 1963 and 1984, enjoyed a wide national audience"--Provided by publisher.

Walnut Grove, the first of Rushing's six West Texas novels, is the story of John Carlile's passage into manhood when the century was young. His story is connected intimately to the growth of the town of Walnut Grove and to the good and evil that are always present. In those days cotton was taking the place of cattle, and farmers like John's father gambled that they could live off the soil. When a prolonged drought threatens to make the struggle hopeless, John's passionate attachment to the land is underscored by the fear that he might have to leave it. The establishment of the first school opens new horizons for John and also sharpens his sensibilities. The building of the railroad brings the greatest change of all. For some it means prosperity. But with the arrival of the work gangs come temptation, tragedy, and conflict, all touching John closely. On the very day that Walnut Grove celebrates the opening of a through line, a culmination of heroic and disillusioning events forces John to a crucial decision about his life and his future.

"Reared in isolation by her father and now completely alone on the prairie, Mary Dove fears one thing. When the inevitable stranger rides in off the Plains, she does what she always promised - she shoots. As remorse and compassion overcome fear, Mary Dove tends to the wounded stranger. What follows is their tentative discovery of each other and a story groundbreaking in its day. The mother Mary never knew was African-American. And so completely has she been sheltered that she has no inkling of what society would so cruelly teach her. Archetypal in their blamelessness and suffering, and yet so credibly West Texan, Mary Dove and her cowboy, Red, are no less than mastery of character and place."--BOOK JACKET.

Reared in isolation by her father on the Western prairie, Mary Dove has been taught to fear only one thing. One sparkling October day it happens. The inevitable stranger rides in off the plains, and Mary Dove does what she had always promised her father she would--she shoots. Yet compassion overcomes Mary's fear. In remorse, she tends to the wounded stranger, and what follows is their tentative discovery of each other and a love story that weaves universal and timeless themes. The mother who died before Mary Dove could know her was African-American. And so completely has Mary Dove's father sheltered her that she cannot begin to comprehend what society would so cruelly teach her. Archetypal in their blamelessness and in how deeply they must suffer for their love, Mary Dove and her cowboy, "Red" Christopher Columbus Jones, are so thoroughly West Texan that they prove Rushing's mastery of character and place. "Get away," she said "Now I ain't gonna hurt you," he said, "and I don't want to know nothing about you that you don't want to tell." He came a step closer. "Stop right now," she said, "or I'll shoot." "You wouldn't," he said. He was so nearly right. She believed what he said--or nearly. But she had been afraid so long. And wasn't it a law of God to do what your father said? She trembled, looking into his smiling blue eyes. It would have been easier if he had been preparing to pounce, like the panther, or striking, like the snake. The rifle barrel dropped, a little. "I knew you wouldn't," he said, taking another step towards her. "I have to," she said, and with a terrible struggle to hold the gun steady, she fired.

Granny Albright's time has come and relatives have gathered to say goodbye to the matriarch. Linda Kay has recently married into the family, and tries to do her part to help. But when Cousin Herman arrives, feelings of resentment and heartaches from the past come to the surface.

The vast, disparate region called West Texas is both sparsely populated and scarcely recognized. Yet it has given voice to a surprising number of women writers who have left more than a faint impression on its hardscrabble terrain and consciousness. These writers do much more than evoke the land and its celebrated skies. Often with humor and alw...