Adventures of a California Woman in the 20th Century

The Adventures of a California Woman in the Twentieth Century is a personal story of how a girl grew up in one environment and came to maturity in another, how she found love and fulfillment after certain false starts, and how, like the woman in the Book of Proverbs, she became the valiant woman, praised by all at the gates of the city. And through it all, Dorothy Lord Moore remained a kind of 1920's girl, which is to say, something of a flapper all her life: fun-loving, independent, making up her own mind, but never prematurely judging others, aligned with a wide range of friends, who were both like her and very different.

Mothers and daughters have a special relationship. There are certain things about life that only a mother can teach a daughter, and there are certain satisfactions in life that only a daughter can give her mother. This is why, most likely, Janet McKnew has so lovingly and skillfully edited her mother's memoir. Dorothy Lord Moore belonged to a generation of women who, whatever else happened, made the best of things: a generation born into the optimism of the Edwardian era and the exuberance of the 1920s, but forced to face the Depression and the Second World War as well.

Because she lived a long and active life, Dorothy Lord Moore was on hand to enjoy all this alongside the next generation of American women who were exploring for themselves the possibilities and the limitations of the American Dream, California style.

From the Preface by Dr. Kevin Starr, Professor of History at the University of Southern California; California State Librarian Emeritus; and author of the "Americans and the California Dream" series. In 2006, Dr. Starr received the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush for his work as a scholar and historian.

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