Pembroke (Cassandra Editions) [Paperback]

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cassandra Editions | Publication Date: May 1979

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III When Cephas Barnard and his wife and daughter turned into the main road and came in sight of the new house, not one of them appeared to even glance at it, yet they all saw at once that there were no workmen about, and they also saw Barnabas himself ploughing with a white horse far back in a field at the left of it. They all kept on silently. Charlotte paled a little when she caught sight of Barney, but her face was quite steady. " Hold your dress up a little higher; the grass is terrible wet," her mother whispered once, and that was all that any of them said until they reached home. Charlotte went at once up-stairs to her own chamber, took off her purple gown, and hung it up in her closet, and got out a common one. The purple gown was part of her wedding wardrobe, and she had worn it in advance with some misgivings. " I dunno but you might jest as well wear it a few Sundays," her mother had said; " you're goin' to have your silk dress to come out bride in. I dunno as there's any sense in your goin' lookin' like a scarecrow all the spring because you're goin' to get married." So Charlotte had put on the new purple dress the day before; now it looked, as it hung in the closet, like an effigy of her happier self. When Charlotte went down-stairs she found her mother showing much more spirit than usual in an altercation with her father. Sarah Barnard stood before her husband, her placid face all knitted with perplexed remonstrance. " Why, I can't, Cephas," she said. " Pies can't be made that way." " I know they can," said Cephas. " They can't, Cephas. There ain't no use tryin'. It would jest be a waste of the flour." " Why can't they, I'd like to know 2" " Folks don't ever make pies without lard, Cephas." " Why don't they 2" " Why, they w...

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Much of the strength of Mary Wilkins Freeman's work comes from its deep grounding in nineteenth-century New England culture. With a cool eye, she saw the eccentricities, pride, and religious self-righteousness of those who lived around her and used it in her work, sometimes lovingly, sometimes with scorn. Pembroke combines both these attitudes in its depiction of several young and older couples. Barnabas and Charlotte are engaged to be married; one night Barney enters into a heated political discussion with Charlotte's father and is ordered from the house. He swears he will never return, even if that means giving up Charlotte. Barney's sister, Rebecca, falls in love with William Berry, but her mother forbids the relationship. So Rebecca sneaks out to see him, with disastrous results. Sylvia Crane has kept company with Richard Alger every Sunday night for twenty years, but he has just never managed to ask her to marry him. Time and again these couples come close to happiness; time and again one or both of them shove it away. It might be easy to dismiss these people, but Mary Wilkins Freeman makes sure we understand that they are just that - people - who deserve love, even as they hold off the world at arm's length. Through their lives she lets us see what it is like to be cold, inside and out, when there is warmth to be had. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852-1930) was born in Randolph, Massachusetts, and died in Metuchen, New Jersey. Among her published regional short fiction and novels are A Humble Romance and Other Stories, A New England Nun and Other Stories, Jane Field, and The Portion of Labor. In 1926 she received the William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for distinction in fiction. That same year, she and Edith Wharton were among the first women to be elected to membership in the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Charles Johanningsmeier is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He is the author of Fiction and the American Literary Marketplace: The Role of Newspaper Syndicates in America, 1860-1900. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Pub (May 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915864711
• ISBN-13: 978-0915864713
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,470,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Insight into Different Personalities in a New England Town, December 7, 2011

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elm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pembroke A Novel (Kindle Edition)

Set in the New England, this story revolves around Mr. Barnabas Thayer and his future bride Miss Charlotte Barnard. Mr. Cephas Barnard orders Barnabas out of his home when they have an argument, breaking his engagement with Cephas's daughter, Charlotte. The books does a good job showing all the different personalities within their families affected by the breakup. Well written and shows insight into the various lives of couples.

I was a little surprised to find the story a little depressing but I was still intrigued to keep on reading and to find out happens to everyone involved in this small town. At times I just wanted to shake Barnabas and tell him to stop being stubborn and prideful. A book one can read in a couple of hours.