Deephaven

Two young women from Boston, Kate Lancaster and her friend Helen, spend a long summer in a quiet Maine seaport that has seen livelier days. Through their eyes Sarah Orne Jewett gathers a series of gentle sketches: retired sea captains with stories of distant voyages, aging widows, fishermen, and the slow rhythms of a coastal town slipping out of the wider world’s attention. Her first book, published in 1877, it shows the close observation and tenderness for ordinary lives that would make her one of the finest regional writers in American letters. There is little plot here, only a place and its people, drawn with real affection. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.