Abstract:
PRAIRIE CROCUS IN A MAN’S WORLD traces the beginning career of Helen Vacek, biology professor, at fictitious North Dakota University during 1959 to 1963. Three of five biology colleagues deplore a female on their faculty, two of whom pressure her to leave. Helen, though, confronts each challenge head-on, is part of a revolution in her department, and gains the chairpersonship before acquiring tenure. This novel is a sequel to Prairie Crocus, which covers Helen’s hardship during freshman year in high school. Both novels demonstrate Helen’s personification of a wildflower, the prairie crocus, that persists under adversity and undergoes consistent renewal.