Evered

by Ben Ames Williams

The story of "Evered" follows the life of the titular character, Evered Barefoot, from his childhood through adulthood. Set in rural New England, the novel explores Evered's experiences growing up in a small town and the challenges he faces as he comes of age.

As the narrative unfolds, readers are introduced to Evered's family, friends, and the community in which he lives. The novel delves into themes such as love, ambition, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships as Evered navigates the ups and downs of life.

"Evered" is typical of Williams' works, which often featured richly drawn characters, vivid descriptions of New England landscapes, and poignant storytelling. The novel offers readers an intimate and immersive portrait of a bygone era, as well as insights into the hopes, dreams, and struggles of its characters.

125 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Ben Ames Williams was born in Macon, Mississippi to Daniel Webster Williams and Sarah Marshall Ames on March 7, 1889. Just after his birth, he and his parents moved to Jackson, Ohio. Because his father was owner and editor of the Jackson Standard Journal in Ohio, Ben Williams grew up around writing, printing, and editing. In high school he worked for the Journal, doing grunt work in the beginning and eventually writing and editing. He attended Dartmouth College and upon graduation in 1910 was offered a job teaching English at a boy’s school in Connecticut. He telegraphed his father seeking career advice, but his handwriting was terrible and his father mistook “teaching” for “traveling” and, not wanting his son to become a traveling businessman, advised him not to take the job. Richard Cary says it later saved Williams from “a purgatory of grading endless, immature English ‘themes’” and propelled him “toward a career as one of the most popular storytellers of his time”. Right after graduation he took a job reporting for the Boston American.

Williams worked hard reporting for the local newspaper, but only did this for income; his heart lay with magazine fiction. Each night he worked on his fiction writing with the aspiration that one day, his stories would be able to support himself, his wife, Florence Talpey, and their children, Roger, Ben, and Penelope. He faced many rejection letters in the beginning of his career, which only drove him to study harder and practice more.

Williams was first published on August 23, 1915 in The Popular Magazine with his short story “Deep Stuff.” After that his popularity slowly grew. He published 135 short stories, 35 serials, and 7 articles for the Saturday Evening Post during a period of 24 years. After the Post took him, other magazines began eagerly seeking Williams to submit his fiction to their magazines.

Williams is perhaps most famous for creating the fictional town of Fraternity, located in rural Maine. 125 of his short stories were set in Fraternity, and they were most popular in the Post. Maine is also the setting for many of his novels.

Williams died of a heart attack in 1953.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[W H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in 1921 but is set somewhat earlier in a rural America prior to the automobile era. It is easy to read and for me the attraction was the background to the plot, being the time and place of small town life, hard agricultural toil and also the turn of phrase of the protaganists. I saw this as a superb faded snapshot of a time long gone. The storyline is quite convincing, dealing with the relationship of a strong-willed farmer and his family and his neighbours, following a tragic incident.