A late 19th-century fiction work that follows a writer's summer stay in a small Maine coastal village, where she becomes immersed in the lives and stories of the local residents. Jewett captures the rhythms of rural New England life through gentle portraits of memorable characters like Mrs. Todd, the herb-gathering widow who becomes the narrator's guide to the community's interconnected relationships and enduring traditions.
THERE WAS SOMETHING about the coast town of Dunnet which made it seem more attractive than other maritime villages of eastern Maine. Perhaps it was the simple fact of acquaintance with that neighborhood which made it so attaching, and gave such interest to the rocky shore and dark woods, and the few houses which seemed to be securely wedged and tree-nailed in among the ledges by the Landing. These houses made the most of their seaward view, and there was a gayety and determined floweriness in their bits of garden ground; the small-paned high windows in the peaks of their steep gables were like knowing eyes that watched the harbor and the far sea-line beyond, or looked northward all along the shore and its background of spruces and balsam firs. When one really knows a village like this and its surroundings, it is like becoming acquainted with a single person. The process of falling in lov…Continue reading →
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