Author Description

"Well-crafted and in-depth, They Dared to Dream has moved women, their experiences, and their contributions to the forefront of Florida's history and heritage. This is a long-overdue and much-needed turning point in understanding our state's past and present."--Canter Brown Jr., coeditor of The Varieties of Women's Experiences "Represents a leap forward in the study of Florida history. Weatherford has done an outstanding job of researching and writing about Florida women, from paupers to queens, elevating their status to a level of equality within the overall story of Florida."--Rodney Kite-Powell, Saunders Foundation Curator of History at the Tampa Bay History Center and editor of Tampa Bay History "Exhaustively researched, well written, and engaging, They Dared to Dream breaks new ground in the study of Florida. Doris Weatherford's ambitious history of women in Florida will be widely read and discussed. From Princess Ulele to Alex Sink, from the role of criollas in Colonial St. Augustine to the struggles of women in the twenty-first century, Weatherford chronicles their lives in the Sunshine State."--Gary Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams In this extensive portrayal of Florida's guiding matriarchs, Doris Weatherford highlights the myriad contributions women have made throughout Florida's history. From the select few who traveled with Ponce de Leon to the state's first female mayor Marion H. O'Brien, Weatherford sheds light on the roles these pioneering women played in the shaping of the Sunshine State. They Dared to Dream reveals the lifestyles and achievements of women throughout landmark moments in history, including Native civilizations before the arrival of European colonists; early Spanish, British, and French exploration, the Ci