The Opened Shutters

An old disagreement still colours the exchanges between Judge Trent and Martha Lacey when Clara Louise Burnham opens this novel. Martha worries over the judge's battered hat, while he remembers her refusal of his proposal and talks about marriage with his new assistant, John Dunham. Their competing views of a shared past give the opening its humour and establish a world where affection can sit close to irritation.

Along the shore of Casco Bay, Sylvia Lacey faces a more immediate test of feeling. Her aunt Martha arrives by sailboat near the Tide Mill, bringing back memories of a painful encounter. Sylvia's struggle to answer gently turns a family visit into an examination of resentment and kindness. The coastal setting, with its rocks, firs and tidal waters, gives this love story a particular atmosphere. Readers drawn to domestic fiction can follow the contrast between sharp conversation and the private effort to change a response.