Inspired by the author' s irrepressible grandmother, A Woman of Independent Means is a bestselling novel about Bess Steed Garner, a determined woman at the beginning of the twentieth century. At a time when women had few choices, Bess inherits a legacy— not only of wealth but of determination and desire. Following the novel' s success, the story was adapted into an acclaimed one-woman show starring Barbara Rush, and this audio presentation is Rush's tour de force performance of that play. Told entirely through letters, the action follows Bess' life from 1899, when she is in the fourth grade, to her death in 1977. What evolves is a moving portrait of a memorable character.