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A White Heron and Other Stories
Sarah Orne Jewett was born in Maine and lived there for much of her life. These surroundings are at the heart of her work, reflecting the landscape, characters, and even the dialects of the people that lived around her.
The writing of Sarah Orne Jewett captures life at the end of the nineteenth century in the fading coastal towns and peaceful rural backwaters of the Northeastern United States. In a subtle combination of romance and realism, she not only celebrates the beauty of nature but also documents the hardship of life at that time. The stories provide colorful and touching insights into the world of her characters.
A sound introduction into the work of a great chronicler of country life, this collection includes the following short
• A White Heron
• The Gray Man
• Farmer Finch
• Marsh Rosemary
• The Dulham Ladies
• A Business Man
• Mary and Martha
• The News from Petersham
• The Two Browns
The book was first published in 1886 and has been completely reset and reformatted for this new edition.
The writing of Sarah Orne Jewett captures life at the end of the nineteenth century in the fading coastal towns and peaceful rural backwaters of the Northeastern United States. In a subtle combination of romance and realism, she not only celebrates the beauty of nature but also documents the hardship of life at that time. The stories provide colorful and touching insights into the world of her characters.
A sound introduction into the work of a great chronicler of country life, this collection includes the following short
• A White Heron
• The Gray Man
• Farmer Finch
• Marsh Rosemary
• The Dulham Ladies
• A Business Man
• Mary and Martha
• The News from Petersham
• The Two Browns
The book was first published in 1886 and has been completely reset and reformatted for this new edition.
126 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2013
60 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Orne Jewett
395 books174 followersSarah Orne Jewett was an American novelist and short story writer, best known for her local color works set in or near South Berwick, Maine, on the border of New Hampshire, which in her day was a declining New England seaport.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 3, 2014
I was waylaid by this book. I've been looking for a children's program from the 80s about a boy who finds a heron (or some such fowl) in a marsh (I don't remember much more of the program than that), and an internet search led me to the short story, A White Heron. It was fairly obvious that this short story was not related to the program I was seeking, but I was intrigued, so I purchased the collection of short stories by Jewett, thinking I really might only read the story in question. However, I liked the heron story enough to read another story, "The Gray Man", and Jewett's prose style and storytelling were both so enjoyable that I just had to read everything in this collection.
The way Jewett builds for the reader her marshy rural settings or her New England towns, people and all, reminds me of Sherwood Anderson's small-town Midwest or Thomas Hardy's Wessex--not in the material but in the technique. Jewett is capable of showing and evoking both sorrow and humor in turn, without resorting to extremes either of maudlin or slapstick; she even manages to satirize the most risible of human foibles without being mean-spirited. I was particularly interested in how she portrayed old age and the experience of aging. I can't say just why or how, but that was a new experience for me in reading. Best of all, she simply made me laugh.
CS Lewis once said of the poet Edmund Spenser that to read him was to grow in mental health. I felt the same reading Jewett's stories, as though I were bathing in some richly nourishing pool or enveloped in comforting and restoring amniotic fluid, waiting to be born renewed and fresh again back into the world.
Short stories are not something I've given much time to over the years, but I've come to realize lately how often I've truly enjoyed short stories when I've read them, and I plan to make an effort to read more widely in the form.
The way Jewett builds for the reader her marshy rural settings or her New England towns, people and all, reminds me of Sherwood Anderson's small-town Midwest or Thomas Hardy's Wessex--not in the material but in the technique. Jewett is capable of showing and evoking both sorrow and humor in turn, without resorting to extremes either of maudlin or slapstick; she even manages to satirize the most risible of human foibles without being mean-spirited. I was particularly interested in how she portrayed old age and the experience of aging. I can't say just why or how, but that was a new experience for me in reading. Best of all, she simply made me laugh.
CS Lewis once said of the poet Edmund Spenser that to read him was to grow in mental health. I felt the same reading Jewett's stories, as though I were bathing in some richly nourishing pool or enveloped in comforting and restoring amniotic fluid, waiting to be born renewed and fresh again back into the world.
Short stories are not something I've given much time to over the years, but I've come to realize lately how often I've truly enjoyed short stories when I've read them, and I plan to make an effort to read more widely in the form.
December 12, 2011
There was something magical about this book of short stories. It's not a fancy, high-flying magic, nor a showy, complex magic. It's a simpler magic--of things that are so normal and everyday, but that we have so swiftly forgotten, that it almost cannot be called magic at all. These stories were written, after all, between 1886 and 1900. But that's what makes them so picturesque, so quaint, so easy to fall in love with: they're of a time we've stepped away from, certainly, and there's very few occasions where any of us are able to again set foot into an understanding of what it's like to live in the world that Sarah Orne Jewett described in these little ditties.
Personally, I have. I have spent a great deal of my youth out in the mountains in my grandmother's home, in the thick of a forest, isolated from most people and towns. I've lived in that tender environment for months at a time, tending the house, stoking the fire and building it up when it dies down, cooking food on the stove top or above the fireplace. I've weeded the pebbled driveway and tended the garden, picked the harvest and had nothing more or less to do than rise, work, talk, and sleep--all to repeat it again the next coming day. And there's peace that comes with living life like that. That, I feel, is what embodies so much of this book.
Every short story written here is a story about the relationships between various peoples, and it shows through the simplicity and intimacy of a lifestyle that we've almost forgotten today, in this world where connections are expected, and intimacy is taken for granted--if it exists at all. We do not speak--we type. We do not absorb--we skim and summarize. We do not search for meaning--we take facts and leave the rest to the dust. This a book that involves the dusting of shelves, the walking to another's house just to say hello and share in some conversation and a meal. Where things are old-fashioned, but where they hold a delicious intimacy that we're starved for today, even in the simplest of interactions that are portrayed in this book. And not all of these people are friends! And sometimes I sat back in wonder at the fact that two people who did not quite like each other were still able to go places together and hold conversation, even when they disagreed on a point of great importance. It's amazing to see how you didn't have to be soul mates or exact replicas of one another in order to be the closest of companions, even a wonderfully appreciated friend. Just the magnitude of what is conveyed in this series of stories is incredible to me, and while the tales are not brimming with chaos and drama, the everyday is all the more wonderful because it's the everyday, and because it's something that... for the most part... we've forgotten or moved beyond today. It's something that, I'm afraid, we've almost lost.
To this day I look at my best friend and I say to her, "What a shame. When we were younger, and we lived within the same town, we never took advantage of that closeness. We were never together. We never spent time with each other. And now, all these years later, it's barely satisfying enough to spend hours on the phone, to webcam with each other, or to send messages back and forth on our messengers. I wish you lived right next to me! So I could come over whenever I wanted to see you! So that I could just walk right across town and say, 'Can I spend the night with you? I could really use the time away from home right now.' But that's no longer possible. And I wish, I wish we could do that now." I long to be able to do what these women did in these stories. I long for the ability to lead a life that it's all computers and technology, but would allow me to make a home for myself, to read, to do, and to spend time with those nearest to me when I wanted to. I miss the face-to-face of an actual conversation. I miss being able to see, touch, smell, and hear my friends. I miss the intimacy. I miss everything that this book has.
And this is perhaps why this book has become so gentle a weight in my heart, and why it's stirred up such feelings of contentment and softest admiration. It soothes the soul, and rests the mind. Some, perhaps, might find it slow to read because of this. Others may even deem it dull. But perhaps that's only because they've never had a chance to experience what this book contains. And, I'm afraid, many people will react to it in this way because they do not quite comprehend these feelings that stir in those who have experienced this type of lifestyle before. It is a far cry different than life today, that is true. And perhaps that's the problem, even where it's the solution. *Smiles* Nonetheless, it's a book that I feel is worth the reading.
I will say only one other thing before I finish my remarks on this book of short stories. At the beginning, before we ever read the story, there is a part where we get a slight biography about the author, Sarah Orne Jewett. It tells of our author as a woman who was sickly as a child, and who loved her home and community so dearly that she wanted to preserve it in her writings. She lost her father--who she admired greatly--and found solace in the companionship of Annie Fields, who was probably the reason for her focus on female friendships in most of her stories. Seven years before her death, she was in an accident that ended her ability to write, and in the end, this amazing woman who struggled through so much in her life, died of a stroke, only in her 50s. I think the peace and love that she conveys in these stories, that beauty that she's able to show so gently to us as readers, is much of who she is. Her very soul is portrayed in these words, and that's why they can evoke such feelings of depth and warmth in those of us who even understand a smidgeon of what it is she's trying to defend, and what she loves so dearly.
All in all, it was a lovely, serene read. If you're ever in the mood to read nothing too chaotic or dramatic, and want a change of pace, then this might be the book for you to look into. As I said, it's a far cry from what most things are written about today, but it's an endearing book nonetheless, in its own special way. Though I doubt it's for everyone, I think it's something that was worth the read, even if others may not feel the same way. This is the kind of book that some will enjoy, and others won't. So make sure to check it out somewhere else first before you go ahead and buy it. ^_^ Though I really do hope others find this just as enjoyable as I did.
Personally, I have. I have spent a great deal of my youth out in the mountains in my grandmother's home, in the thick of a forest, isolated from most people and towns. I've lived in that tender environment for months at a time, tending the house, stoking the fire and building it up when it dies down, cooking food on the stove top or above the fireplace. I've weeded the pebbled driveway and tended the garden, picked the harvest and had nothing more or less to do than rise, work, talk, and sleep--all to repeat it again the next coming day. And there's peace that comes with living life like that. That, I feel, is what embodies so much of this book.
Every short story written here is a story about the relationships between various peoples, and it shows through the simplicity and intimacy of a lifestyle that we've almost forgotten today, in this world where connections are expected, and intimacy is taken for granted--if it exists at all. We do not speak--we type. We do not absorb--we skim and summarize. We do not search for meaning--we take facts and leave the rest to the dust. This a book that involves the dusting of shelves, the walking to another's house just to say hello and share in some conversation and a meal. Where things are old-fashioned, but where they hold a delicious intimacy that we're starved for today, even in the simplest of interactions that are portrayed in this book. And not all of these people are friends! And sometimes I sat back in wonder at the fact that two people who did not quite like each other were still able to go places together and hold conversation, even when they disagreed on a point of great importance. It's amazing to see how you didn't have to be soul mates or exact replicas of one another in order to be the closest of companions, even a wonderfully appreciated friend. Just the magnitude of what is conveyed in this series of stories is incredible to me, and while the tales are not brimming with chaos and drama, the everyday is all the more wonderful because it's the everyday, and because it's something that... for the most part... we've forgotten or moved beyond today. It's something that, I'm afraid, we've almost lost.
To this day I look at my best friend and I say to her, "What a shame. When we were younger, and we lived within the same town, we never took advantage of that closeness. We were never together. We never spent time with each other. And now, all these years later, it's barely satisfying enough to spend hours on the phone, to webcam with each other, or to send messages back and forth on our messengers. I wish you lived right next to me! So I could come over whenever I wanted to see you! So that I could just walk right across town and say, 'Can I spend the night with you? I could really use the time away from home right now.' But that's no longer possible. And I wish, I wish we could do that now." I long to be able to do what these women did in these stories. I long for the ability to lead a life that it's all computers and technology, but would allow me to make a home for myself, to read, to do, and to spend time with those nearest to me when I wanted to. I miss the face-to-face of an actual conversation. I miss being able to see, touch, smell, and hear my friends. I miss the intimacy. I miss everything that this book has.
And this is perhaps why this book has become so gentle a weight in my heart, and why it's stirred up such feelings of contentment and softest admiration. It soothes the soul, and rests the mind. Some, perhaps, might find it slow to read because of this. Others may even deem it dull. But perhaps that's only because they've never had a chance to experience what this book contains. And, I'm afraid, many people will react to it in this way because they do not quite comprehend these feelings that stir in those who have experienced this type of lifestyle before. It is a far cry different than life today, that is true. And perhaps that's the problem, even where it's the solution. *Smiles* Nonetheless, it's a book that I feel is worth the reading.
I will say only one other thing before I finish my remarks on this book of short stories. At the beginning, before we ever read the story, there is a part where we get a slight biography about the author, Sarah Orne Jewett. It tells of our author as a woman who was sickly as a child, and who loved her home and community so dearly that she wanted to preserve it in her writings. She lost her father--who she admired greatly--and found solace in the companionship of Annie Fields, who was probably the reason for her focus on female friendships in most of her stories. Seven years before her death, she was in an accident that ended her ability to write, and in the end, this amazing woman who struggled through so much in her life, died of a stroke, only in her 50s. I think the peace and love that she conveys in these stories, that beauty that she's able to show so gently to us as readers, is much of who she is. Her very soul is portrayed in these words, and that's why they can evoke such feelings of depth and warmth in those of us who even understand a smidgeon of what it is she's trying to defend, and what she loves so dearly.
All in all, it was a lovely, serene read. If you're ever in the mood to read nothing too chaotic or dramatic, and want a change of pace, then this might be the book for you to look into. As I said, it's a far cry from what most things are written about today, but it's an endearing book nonetheless, in its own special way. Though I doubt it's for everyone, I think it's something that was worth the read, even if others may not feel the same way. This is the kind of book that some will enjoy, and others won't. So make sure to check it out somewhere else first before you go ahead and buy it. ^_^ Though I really do hope others find this just as enjoyable as I did.
Read
December 19, 2017A White Heron - young Sylvy is asked to find a white heron by a young scientist who wants to hunt the bird. (4 stars)
The Dulham Ladies - given the alarming state of their hair, the Dobin sisters have decided to take matters into their own hands as they head to the main street of the industrial town of Westbury. (3 stars)
Miss Tempy’s Watchers - after miss Tempy dies, her two old friends, Mrs. Crowe and Sarah Ann Binson, are holding wake during the night and remember her. (3 stars)
Miss Peck’s Promotion
The Courting of Sister Wisby
The Town Poor
The Passing of Sister Barsett
Miss Esther’s Guest - miss Esther Porley has takes part in the 'Country Week' project so she's expecting an elderly woman from the city, when aged Mr. Rill shows up. (4 stars)
The Guests of Mrs. Timms - miss Pickett and mrs Flagg accept an invitation to go to the city as mrs. Timm's guests where things do not go as expected. (3 stars)
The Foreigner - Mrs. Todd relates to her sumn1er visitor the brief stay in Dunnet Landing of "Mrs. Captain Tolland" some forty years earlier. (4 stars)
The Dulham Ladies - given the alarming state of their hair, the Dobin sisters have decided to take matters into their own hands as they head to the main street of the industrial town of Westbury. (3 stars)
Miss Tempy’s Watchers - after miss Tempy dies, her two old friends, Mrs. Crowe and Sarah Ann Binson, are holding wake during the night and remember her. (3 stars)
Miss Peck’s Promotion
The Courting of Sister Wisby
The Town Poor
The Passing of Sister Barsett
Miss Esther’s Guest - miss Esther Porley has takes part in the 'Country Week' project so she's expecting an elderly woman from the city, when aged Mr. Rill shows up. (4 stars)
The Guests of Mrs. Timms - miss Pickett and mrs Flagg accept an invitation to go to the city as mrs. Timm's guests where things do not go as expected. (3 stars)
The Foreigner - Mrs. Todd relates to her sumn1er visitor the brief stay in Dunnet Landing of "Mrs. Captain Tolland" some forty years earlier. (4 stars)
December 3, 2011
I remember visiting the LM Montgomery museum in Bala Canada and having my attention directed to a strange kitchen appliance. After many guesses the guide gleefully revealed the object was a raisin seeder. Here was a device that was absolutely necessary in a Victorian kitchen. It was funny to think that a raisin from California could travel all this way only to require one last step before using. Like the raisin seeder it was hard not to get swept up by the novelty of these stories. These short stories by a woman who never married (outside of Boston) work hard to illustrate life of women living and working in the countryside, battling the slow encroach of city life and the modern era. All of this adds up to be rare, but hardly exotic. Like the raisin seeder Sarah Orne Jewett didn't write about the poor, widowed, quaint country folk or dying to be anything other than utterly necessary. These stories about women who exist at the very edges of society show they are heroes who hold themselves up and do everything they can with dignity.
November 5, 2024
There were three stories I liked a lot but more that seemed like exercises in the rural Maine speech of farmers and poor townspeople than stories— all dialogue without any plot. I still would like to read at least one of Jewett’s novels. Willa Cather admired her writing and her lifestyle (she had a “Boston marriage,” with a female life partner).
December 8, 2019
This is a great book my favourite of the stories is a white heron. It was so real just feeling the atmosphere created by the the words the author used. It is also such a great source for a lot of literary devices especially some I learned with my English teachers.Though, it was a bit difficult to understand some text.
February 23, 2018
This small collection of local color and characters in New England is a classic that preserves a way of life in the late 19th century. From a child saving a white heron, to a ghost story I was captured by the people, the dialects and the fairly ordinary circumstances and settings of each story.
August 4, 2019
I love the world that Sarah Orne Jewett creates through her characters and natural scenery. Some stories are almost all dialog between characters, and the dialect can be hard to read through, but otherwise this book was very enjoyable.
October 31, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I liked this book, didn’t love it.
Of the ten stories it contains, A White Heron (which I had previously read), The Dulham Ladies, Miss Esther’s Guest and The Foreigner were my favorites.
The stories mostly had to do with women visiting other women, women helping others less fortunate, illness and sometimes death.
I wish I had chosen to read this one before the much more enjoyable and uplifting The Country of the Pointed Firs, her best known work.
I liked this book, didn’t love it.
Of the ten stories it contains, A White Heron (which I had previously read), The Dulham Ladies, Miss Esther’s Guest and The Foreigner were my favorites.
The stories mostly had to do with women visiting other women, women helping others less fortunate, illness and sometimes death.
I wish I had chosen to read this one before the much more enjoyable and uplifting The Country of the Pointed Firs, her best known work.
December 20, 2024
Comforting and kind, but also deeply human. I was very surprised by how much I liked this collection of stories by Sarah Orne Jewett. I would recommend to anyone on the look out for nice and comforting stories which contain a bit of that winter vibe but also the cozy holiday spirit.
They’re set generally in the marshy coast land of Maine. I love the sympathetic yet honest way Jewett describes old people in her stories.
They’re set generally in the marshy coast land of Maine. I love the sympathetic yet honest way Jewett describes old people in her stories.
June 26, 2021
These stories have a feel that reminded me of Wendell Berry, and rightly so, as I recently found out that Jewett was one of his influences. This is a really delightful collection of short stories, full of sorrow and kindness and the absurdity of humanity. Jewett's treatment of her characters is gentle, even when unflinchingly looking at their flaws. She's an author I'll be seeking out in future.
November 30, 2021
A wonderful storyteller, whom I had never read before. It is said she inspired Willa Cather. Her stories, set in New England, feature nuanced characters in a simple setting. The women -- from young girls to elderly widows-- are complicated, rife with contradictory feelings, and depth. Thanks to my book group for recommending!
February 14, 2024
I read this short collection of stories mainly for the first story, A White Heron. That one I give 5 stars and others in the book between 3-4 stars. So overall rating 4 stars.
I love stories told with a strong connection to nature and Jewett's stories remind me of Wendell Berry's. Apparently, she was an inspiration for him.
I love stories told with a strong connection to nature and Jewett's stories remind me of Wendell Berry's. Apparently, she was an inspiration for him.
July 14, 2023
Another collection of stories by Ms. Jewett. The Two Browns was the least appealing of the stores. Her fiction based in the country is better, especially when woven with her wry sense of humor. Characters are where she shines. Still one of my favorite 19th century American writers.
October 21, 2024
Assigned during a writing course in college, this short collection stuck with me. A personal favorite, the title short story captures a young girl’s emotional conflict between protecting a rare bird and gaining acceptance in the adult world, set against the beauty of rural New England. Great for fans of nature writing, coming-of-age themes, and classic American literature.
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November 23, 2020So good!
Read
December 12, 202012.12.2020
May 1, 2021
Homey stories looking at character, faith, and charity through multiple lenses. The author writes a complete picture of human nature and humans in nature.
October 24, 2022
criminally underrated
October 9, 2023
Marsh rosemary
June 16, 2024
woman against industrialization
December 26, 2024
she walked so willa cather could run
June 15, 2016
1.PENGUIN Lv2
2.80min
3. white heron/girl/man/animals/forest/secret/shooting
4.a The shy girl came to the house in the forest from the town. She often walks in the forest with her cow. One day, she met a young man and they became friends. He likes shooting birds and he was looking for white heron because he wants to shoot it. The girl knew about the white heron. However she never tell about it because she don't want to shoot it.
b. He was her first friend, so she liked him but she also likes white heron. I know her feeling. She don't want to tell a lie to him maybe but she kept her secret to protect white heron. I think her decision is right.
5. I like this story because there were a lot of nature and I can understand her feeling so much.
2.80min
3. white heron/girl/man/animals/forest/secret/shooting
4.a The shy girl came to the house in the forest from the town. She often walks in the forest with her cow. One day, she met a young man and they became friends. He likes shooting birds and he was looking for white heron because he wants to shoot it. The girl knew about the white heron. However she never tell about it because she don't want to shoot it.
b. He was her first friend, so she liked him but she also likes white heron. I know her feeling. She don't want to tell a lie to him maybe but she kept her secret to protect white heron. I think her decision is right.
5. I like this story because there were a lot of nature and I can understand her feeling so much.
December 14, 2020
Great coming of age tale that if you haven't read this, or perhaps even heard of the author; you should grab it. It is full of imagery and classical literature motifs, it is a novel that holds up to the test of time and along with 'The Awakening' by Kate Chopin, is the pinnacle of women empowering themselves and allowing their sexual being, become as dominant as that of any man. It is a great read; a great, great read.
August 26, 2015
Little gems of short stories! Jewett masterfully creates well-limned portraits of simple but captivating rural New England characters of around the late 19th C, mostly through capturing the essence of a personality through dialogue. Lovingly-drawn character sketches - I will be looking for more of Jewett's writings to read.
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January 26, 2016I really enjoyed this book first of all it is short which is a goo thing and it is a very detailed story. It is a 3rd person limited like it say she or he or they. The story tell what is inside the main characters head and describes what she is thinking and feeling. This book say what she needs and hat she had to do
February 23, 2016
Farmer Finch was probably my favourite on the list of short stories. I think that was an exceptionally enjoyable tale especially when you figure out who the title actually referrs to. This sould be followed by A Marsh Rosemary and The Business Man. The rest aren't too bad either though. Decent enough endings.
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August 6, 2011Like other local colorists, Sarah writes of lowly commonplace lives. Her grasp of the written word for even the most mundane weed places her in the likes of Tolkein for descriptive ability.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews