Prolific writer Helen R. Hull (1888-1971) offers a portrait of rural American women's lives over three generations, from the Gold Rush in California in 1849 to World War I. The men of the novel's family go off to war and to make their fortunes - leaving the women, 'islanders', to run the farm and care for their families. "The New York Times" called "Islanders" (1927) "a novel of power, freshness, ideas...As the history of a brave, clear-thinking, self-reliant woman, it is fascinating."