The Lady of Big Shanty

At a crowded New York club, Billy Holcomb's woodland experience draws the attention of men accustomed to city life. Holcomb, a young man from Moose River, arrives on business and joins a luncheon arranged by his friend Randall. Conversation turns to the axe accident after which Holcomb carried Thayor to medical help. The grateful banker hopes to return to the woods with him as a guide, bringing the prospect of country life into the club's talk.

At Big Shanty Camp, that prospect produces very different feelings. Alice Thayor regards the place as an unwanted home, and the sound of the rushing brook deepens her distress during a sleepless night. Margaret looks out on the same setting with tears of happiness. F. Berkeley Smith's novel places these contrasting responses within an adventure story about the pressure wilderness exerts on human ambitions. Readers can follow its detailed social scenes and forest descriptions for their account of how surroundings shape personal expectations.