My Dearest Husband:

Financial woes, child-rearing, and employment concerns sound like modern problems, but Lizzie and Berte Ingels faced those same troubles in 1893 and faced them halfway across the nation from each other. Their letters invite today's readers to share the challenges and the joys of life on an Ohio River farm in Victorian times. Elizabeth Riggs, their granddaughter, has woven the letters into a narrative that tells their story. As a senior in high school in 1885, Lizzie kept a journal which vividly describes her studies and commencement as well as her adventures on the Ohio that year. She later treasured Berte's romantic notes during their engagement in 1890. The letters, the journal, and the pre-nuptial notes together provide a window into a time gone by. Lizzie and Berte never made the history books, but their words make history come to life.