17 h 20 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 17 h 20 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does freedom mean when the prairie offers a fresh start, but custom and marriage still hold a woman back?
In The Wind Before the Dawn, Dell H. Munger places a woman's struggle for freedom, identity and survival on the Kansas frontier. Wide sky and tall grass promise room to begin again. Yet shelter is scarce, neighbors are distant, and the work of staying alive leaves little room for choosing how to live.
The struggle reaches beyond the land. Law, custom and marriage limit a woman's independence, while hardship tests her sense of self. What remains when familiar supports fall away? With its slow, weathered mood, this frontier novel draws attention to the daily demands of endurance and the distance between open country and personal freedom.
What you’ll discover
- The prairie’s double promise Enter a Kansas landscape where the hope of a fresh start meets exposure and hardship.
- A woman seeking freedom Follow a struggle for independence shaped by the limits of law, custom and marriage.
- Identity under pressure Explore what it means to remain yourself when familiar supports no longer hold.
- The weight of survival Feel how distance, scarce shelter and hard land narrow the space for personal choice.
- A slow, weathered mood Settle into a frontier story that gives hardship and endurance room to be felt.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love frontier fiction, strong women at the center of a story, and close portraits of marriage, farm life, and small-town talk.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A swarm threatens the family's hopes
- A teacher gives hope a direction
- The Hornbys offer another kind of home
- Teaching helps Elizabeth find her footing
- Courtship carries an early warning
- Keeping peace leaves Elizabeth less freedom
- Friendship reminds Elizabeth of herself
- Money determines whose wishes matter
- Freedom needs honesty and a voice
Who’s who
- Elizabeth FarnshawA poor farm girl who loves books and learning, and who wants a home built on honesty and fair dealing.
- Luther HansenHer steadfast boyhood friend, a Swedish farmer who listens, tells her the truth, and asks nothing for himself.
- John HunterA college-bred newcomer who farms by his own rules, loves order and appearances, and wants a wife who obeys.
- Josiah FarnshawElizabeth's stubborn, hot-tempered father, who rules his farm and family and hates being questioned.
- Susan HornbyA reading farm wife who takes Elizabeth in and shows her a marriage of trust.
- Nathan HornbySusan's good-hearted husband, a plain farmer who wins a seat in the legislature he cannot manage.
- Hugh NolandA cultured young man with a weak heart who comes to farm and gives the Hunter house its warmest hours.
- Mrs. HunterJohn's refined, critical mother, who wants the house run her way and prizes appearances.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Wind Before the Dawn
by Dell H. Munger · 1912
A Kansas girl on horseback watches a cloud of locusts fall, and dreams of a life far from the dry prairie.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
Picture a fourteen-year-old girl on horseback in August, circling a herd of cattle under a blazing Kansas sun. The light grows dim, silver flecks begin to fall, and a living cloud of grasshoppers drops onto the prairie.
The Wind Before the Dawn at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 55 min7 h 50 min fast, 11 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 141,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1912by Dell H. Munger
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A swarm of grasshoppers drives the cattle north
The story opens on a blazing August day on the Kansas prairie. Fourteen-year-old Lizzie Farnshaw rides around her father's cattle, counting the hours until she can go in. Luther Hansen, a lanky Swedish farm boy, tells her that his family has sold out and is leaving for Minnesota.
While he fetches her a drink, the sunlight turns strangely dim. When he returns, silver flecks are falling from the sky. They are grasshoppers, and within minutes the land is covered. The cattle panic and run, and the two children follow. The insects strip every green thing, and a field of ripe flax is shaken empty of seed. That flax was the money Lizzie's mother counted on for a trip to see her dying mother.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1912
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 11 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Munger, Dell H. The Wind Before the Dawn. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-before-the-dawn.
Munger, D. H. (2026). The wind before the dawn. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-before-the-dawn (Original work published 1912)
Munger, Dell H. The Wind Before the Dawn. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-before-the-dawn.
@book{munger2026wind,
author = {Munger, Dell H.},
title = {The Wind Before the Dawn},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-before-the-dawn},
note = {First published 1912}
}
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What is The Wind Before the Dawn about?
It follows Elizabeth Farnshaw from a poor Kansas farm childhood through schooling, marriage, and motherhood. The novel shows her search for a home built on fairness, honest talk, and a share in the family's money.
Who is Elizabeth Farnshaw?
She is the heroine, a farm girl who loves reading and learning. She teaches school, marries John Hunter, and slowly finds her own voice. Friends such as Luther Hansen and Susan Hornby help shape her.
What does the grasshopper plague mean in the book?
The swarm in the first chapter is the real plague that struck Kansas farms. It sets the tone of drought, debt, and struggle, and it shows how one disaster can reshape a family's plans.
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