Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett

by Annie Fields

Originally published in 1911, this early works is a fascinating collection of letters of the period and still an interesting read today. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[Paige Eaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this lovingly comprised collection, “Mrs. A. F.” shows readers, more than 114 years later, the ravenously kind, contemplative, delightfully silly, oft cheeky, nature-adoring, and wonderfully intelligent person Sarah Orne Jewett was. How much better to have the person who she loved the most put all this together two years after her death! Annie gathers all the women and creatives Sarah cherished, weaves them in between international travel and country quiet, and leaves the reader with an extremely honest, poetic account of SOJ in her own words. Annie edited these slightly, but Sarah breathes through so damn clear I swear I hear the cheerful twinkle of her laugh emanating from her writing.

I feel honored to be a guide at the SOJ House Museum (check it out if one finds themself in South Berwick, ME!) and I’m really, really happy I found a copy of this book at our local library. I have been gifted a whole new, fleshed-out view of Sarah and I hope to carry that into future tours for our visitors!

[Bruce Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her comment about the novel Middlemarch, Sarah Orne Jewett had this to say, "...but after all one must read them with patience for the sake of occasional golden sentences, that have the exactness and inevitableness of proverbs." One could say exactly the same of her letters. One reads books of letters in the hopes of revelations, of flashes of inspiration, of insight and wisdom.
One would hardly expect to find a comment on cell phones in a 1908 letter, but that is what Ms. Jewett did. "I have never been able to believe that wireless telephones were a new discovery..."
Apart from her views on literature, books and writing there was one more very unexpected thing: her words of encouragement to a young Ms. Willa Cather. Beautifully crafted, moving stuff.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy regional writers, here is where to start. SOJ lived a full and varied life, from the drawing rooms of artists, authors, and prominent national and international persons. She lived and grew up just 50 miles east of my home and in her stories or sketches as she calls them I hear voices and accents from my childhood. Reading her letters let me see into her thoughts and personality. She was the preeminent woman writer in the State of Maine and her National Register home in south Berwick is open to the public.

[Jennifer Sakash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read her personal letters directly, including descriptions of my local area of her time - such as Berwick Academy and York, Maine, and Portsmouth, Dover, NH.