Herbs and Apples [Paperback]

Helen Hooven Santmyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1987

Herbs and Apples, the novel Helen Hooven Santmyer wrote at the height of her youthful creative powers, is the work that many critics have loved even more than . . . And Ladies of the Club. Laced with nostalgia as well as timeless insight into human character, Santmyer's enchanting novel is as contemporary today as the day it was written. HC: Harper & Row.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Before Santmyer began her monumental ". . . And Ladies of the Club," she had produced this semi-autobiographical novel, which was published in 1925 while she was studying at Oxford. Now reissued, unrevised, it seems very old-fashioned indeed. In Derrick Thornton, her alter ego, Santmeyer creates a sometimes insufferably high- and singleminded young woman, who determines early on that she will be a great writer. Derrick's childhood and her friendships in the fictional town of Tecumseh, Ohio; her coterie of friends when she goes East to college; her few years as a career woman in New York; the death of her fiance in WW I; and her decision, when her mother is dying, to renounce her ambitions and return home to take care of her younger siblings, are the main events in a narrative that generally fails to elicit the reader's emotional involvement. In her leisurely, lyrical descriptions of small town life and the Ohio countryside, the author has a sure touch that charms. But most of the book is overwritten and stilted, almost turgid in its earnestness and philosophical musings, and the dialogue lacks vivacity and credibility. This novel is a curiosity, but not an engaging read. 50,000 first printing; 50,000 ad/promo. October 30
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Mass Market Paper (April 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312906013
• ISBN-13: 978-0312906016
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,246,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful tale of an earlier, simpler time, October 1, 2003

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herbs and Apples (Paperback)

Helen Hooven Santmyer became somewhat of a cult heroine in the '80's when her book "And the Ladies of the Club" was published during her old age. Knowing that makes this book, her first published in 1925, even more poignant. "Herbs and Apples" is semi-autobigraphical and while the story revolves around its main character, Derrick, it is narrated by one of her best friends, Sue. Derrick is from a rather well-to-do family in the small fictional town of Tecumseh, Ohio. She is a bright girl and is always the nominal leader among her group of friends. They look up to her because of her intelligence and philosophical view of life as well as her writing talent. She and her college friends proclaim their motto to be "Down with Matrimony, up with Art, Fame before Forty or bust. These idealistic women all plan to become famous or important for something, but, as Derrick discovers, Life has a few surprises in store and reality does not always allow a person to follow her dreams. Although the book seems to be about a simpler time, the struggles and attempts to find one's self are certainly as serious and difficult as any in our current time. This book is full of beautiful language and descriptions of Derrick's world, both internal and external. It is a wonderful read for those who like to contemplate life and purpose.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Twist on a Cliche, January 29, 2000

By 

Marcy L. Thompson (Sammamish, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herbs and Apples (Hardcover)

This book is well worth reading, especially if you liked ...And Ladies of the Club. It's a less amibitious book, but a finely wrought one. It takes all the cliches of the coming-of-age novel and transcends them at the same time as it sheds a new light on them. The main character is entirely believable, as is the resolution of her dilemma.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stands the test of time., December 29, 2003

By 

Nina M. Osier (Randolph, ME USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herbs and Apples (Hardcover)

Derrick Thornton, a girl growing up in a small Ohio town before the First World War, swears to herself that one day she'll be a great writer. Encouraged by a mother who sacrificed her own budding artistic career to bear and rear a family, young Derrick goes off to college - moves, with several of her chums, into a New York City apartment - and goes to work for a newspaper. As the War to End All Wars rages, she publishes her first poems, works on a play, and discovers that she's in love (despite her best intentions otherwise) with a childhood friend.

All that sounds tame, doesn't it? A typical coming of age novel, feminine style. Yet in reading this first novel by the author of ...And Ladies of the Club, I found myself reminded over and over again of just how much social upheaval my grandmother's generation (which happens to also be Derrick's generation) created during its young adult years. While I don't agree with Santmyer's generalizations about women's ambitions vs. those of men, her characterizations are vivid and the story she tells is compelling. First published in 1925, this book stands the test of time very well indeed.