SOURCE: Martin, Abigail Ann. “Bess Streeter Aldrich.” In Bess Streeter Aldrich, pp. 5-41. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 1992.

In the following essay, Martin provides a critical discussion of Aldrich's major works.

“Nebraska,” wrote Bess Streeter Aldrich, “is only the state of my adoption, but I am sure that I feel all the loyalty for it which the native-born bears … while I am not a native Nebraskan, the blood of the midwestern pioneer runs in my veins and I come rightly by my love for the Nebraska pioneer and admiration for the courage and fortitude which he displayed in the early days of the state's history …” (Introduction to The Rim of the Prairie).

Certainly both love and admiration are apparent in Aldrich's finest work, A Lantern in Her Hand (1928). This novel alone is enough to give her a place among distinguished writers of the American West. Her feeling for...