What do you think?
Rate this book
Master of the Vineyard
Her love of books leads Rosemary to the love of her country school teacher. He may be master of the vineyard, but will Rosemary be master of his heart when another woman comes along? Drama and comedy together tell the tale of the trials Rosemary must overcome in her quest for happiness.
- GenresClassics
372 pages, Hardback
First published January 1, 1910
About the author
Myrtle Reed
103 books32 followersMyrtle Reed/Mrs McCullough (1874-1911) was an American author, the daughter of Elizabeth Armstrong Reed and the preacher Hiram von Reed. She sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of Olive Green. She was born in Chicago, where she graduated from the West Division High School. In 1906 she was married to James Sydney McCullough.
She wrote under her own name, but also published a series of cook books under the pseudonym of Olive Green, including What to Have for Breakfast (1905), One Thousand Simple Soups (1907) and How to Cook Fish (1908).
Myrtle was a diagnosed insomniac with prescribed sleeping drafts. She died August 17, 1911 of an overdose of sleeping powder taken with suicidal intent in her flat, called "Paradise Flat" at 5120 Kenmore Ave., Chicago, Illinois. The following day, her suicide letter, written to her maid, Annie Larsen, was published.
She wrote under her own name, but also published a series of cook books under the pseudonym of Olive Green, including What to Have for Breakfast (1905), One Thousand Simple Soups (1907) and How to Cook Fish (1908).
Myrtle was a diagnosed insomniac with prescribed sleeping drafts. She died August 17, 1911 of an overdose of sleeping powder taken with suicidal intent in her flat, called "Paradise Flat" at 5120 Kenmore Ave., Chicago, Illinois. The following day, her suicide letter, written to her maid, Annie Larsen, was published.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 27, 2026
What drew me to this book was that it was written by a woman and published in 1910. It was very well written and the author had a gift for vividly painting the scenes. Really enjoyed the first half of the book and then it started to drag until the last couple of chapters. Loved the humor and misconceptions when the Grandmother was reading to the Aunt from the weekly paper. Also loved the upbeat messaging and lessons learned from those involved in the love triangle although over time guessing their realties wouldn’t be so blissful but who am I am to spoil the fairytale ending.
August 19, 2016
This was a good story, not exactly happy in many spots, but well told and with a satisfying ending.
I debated whether to rate this lower because of some content issues. There were some aspects to the plot that had moral ramifications I did not quite like, such as a married woman finding true love with a man other than her husband and trying to obey her conscience anyway...the characters acted morally in the end, but I did not like the
Thus, if you are a conservative, it might be a book best suited to adults who know not to "play with fire" and can enjoy the good things of the story. I liked it, but I would recommend this last of her books that I've read.
I debated whether to rate this lower because of some content issues. There were some aspects to the plot that had moral ramifications I did not quite like, such as a married woman finding true love with a man other than her husband and trying to obey her conscience anyway...the characters acted morally in the end, but I did not like the
Thus, if you are a conservative, it might be a book best suited to adults who know not to "play with fire" and can enjoy the good things of the story. I liked it, but I would recommend this last of her books that I've read.
November 25, 2024
🖍️ Charming story with delightful writing and believable plot. I enjoyed this. What a talented writer Myrtle Reed was!
📕Published in 1910.
જ⁀🟢The illustrated e-book version can be found on the Project Gutenberg website.
🟣 Kindle.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
🖋️ About Myrtle Reed: Born in Norwood Park, Illinois September 27, 1874. She passed away at her apartment 5120 N. Kenmore, Chicago (suicide) August 17, 1911 and was buried at Graceland Cemetery. 🪦Some more information Myrtle Reed about can be found on this link at Find a Grave .
📕Published in 1910.
જ⁀🟢The illustrated e-book version can be found on the Project Gutenberg website.
🟣 Kindle.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
🖋️ About Myrtle Reed: Born in Norwood Park, Illinois September 27, 1874. She passed away at her apartment 5120 N. Kenmore, Chicago (suicide) August 17, 1911 and was buried at Graceland Cemetery. 🪦Some more information Myrtle Reed about can be found on this link at Find a Grave .
June 8, 2020
This is a classy romantic novel with a little twist. Considering it was written in 1910 by a woman, I thought the views expressed on love, lost love, and the enlightening power of love were a gutsy statement from Ms Reed. I also thought her descriptions of nature were some of the most vivid and lyrical I have read. It’s a slow moving book but just enjoy all the conversations.
August 17, 2021
I was reading a first edition printed in 1910 which made this all the more special. I can see why the entire collection had been re-released, what a beautiful way of writing she had. I loved this book, heart-warming and a joy to read.
May 25, 2021
I found this book in the basement of a very eclectically decorated Air BnB near Duluth! I saw the cover and was so taken by the title, the year, the dedication (To All Who Have Loved in Vain) and I spent the rest of my getaway reading this novel and becoming pretty obsessed with the author Myrtle Reed. Published in 1910, this book has true moments of humor (the scenes between the Grandmother and Aunt Matilda are so strange but so funny) as well as some incredibly gripping sentimentality. The style and language are so fun to live in, i.e., when Alden Marsh (the discontented man who must learn to be the Master of the Vineyard and Master of HIMSELF) asks Rosemary Starr (the self-sacrificing plain orphan who loves to read) if she is cold she replies, "No-I'm too vividly alive to be cold, ever." Wow!
Here's a moment of Reed's prose that inspired me with its complexity and satire:
“In making herself “all things to all men,” she loses her own individuality, and becomes no more than a harp which any passing hand may strike to quick response. To one man she is a sage, to another and incarnate temptation, to another a sensible, business-like person, to another of frothy bit of frivolity. To one man she is the guardian of his ideals, as Elaine in her High tower kept Launcelot's shield bright for him, to another she is what he very vaguely terms “a good fellow” with a discriminating taste in cigarettes and champagne.”
Here's a Grandmother/Aunt Matilda scene as they read from their weekly magazine about "A Lady Traveller":
"What's the good of wearin' a hat if she's got to set with a
bag over it?"
"It doesn't say she's to wear the bag."
"Well, she's wearin' the hat, ain't she? How's she to put
the bag over the hat while she's wearin' the hat without
wearin' the bag too? That's what I'd like to know."
"Maybe it's to put her hat into when she takes it off for the
night," Grandmother suggested, hopefully, though she
was not at all sure. "A person ain't likely to get much sleep
in a hat."
"No, nor in a bag neither."
See? Pretty funny!
This chapter "The Lady Traveller" is one of the many punctuating chapters in the novel that features Grandmother and Aunt Matilda. These chapters are slightly bewildering (but enjoyable) because they do little to move the story forward. Mostly these chapters show how sheltered and uncultured Grandmother and Aunt Matilda are and how mistreated Rosemary is and sometimes serve to show the mores of early twentieth century America:
"'Mindful always of the possibility of accident,'" Grand-
mother resumed, "'it is well to keep one's self as pre-
sentable as possible, especially during the night, when ac-
cording to statistics the majority of wrecks occur. Conse-
quently the experienced lady traveller will not undress en-
tirely, but merely removing a few of her outer garments,
and keeping her shoes within easy reach, she will don a
comfortable dressing-gown, and compose herself for
sleep. Some people prefer to have the berth made up feet
first, but it is always better to have the head toward the en-
gine, as experience has proved that the slight motion of
the train assists the circulation, which should run toward
the feet if sleep is to be enjoyed during the night.'"
Again, this is pretty hilarious ^^^^
Sobering moments like this next one also underline how little we have come in terms of how the responsibility for unwanted "masculine attention" continues to fall on women:
"By wearing dark clothes, preferably her old ones, an
unassuming hat, and no jewelry, the lady traveller may ren-
der herself inconspicuous and not likely to attract mascu-
line attention."
And this--the only time race is alluded to in the novel:
"'It has been said that a porter is a dark gentleman who
has been employed to keep air out of the car, but the lady traveller will find it easy to induce him to open a ventilator or two if he has been properly tipped. Fresh air is very
essential for the true enjoyment of travelling.
"'He can throw many little comforts in one's way—a pil-
low during the daytime or an extra blanket at night,
or——'"
"I don't know," Matilda interrupted, "as I'd care to have
comforts or pillows or blankets thrown at me, night or day,
especially by a man, no matter what colour he is."
By the end of this book I liked Myrtle Reed so much. I consider her to be a truly gifted writer and not just "of her time." I'm sure I'll read more of her work, especially "The Spinster Book" because how could I not?
Here's a moment of Reed's prose that inspired me with its complexity and satire:
“In making herself “all things to all men,” she loses her own individuality, and becomes no more than a harp which any passing hand may strike to quick response. To one man she is a sage, to another and incarnate temptation, to another a sensible, business-like person, to another of frothy bit of frivolity. To one man she is the guardian of his ideals, as Elaine in her High tower kept Launcelot's shield bright for him, to another she is what he very vaguely terms “a good fellow” with a discriminating taste in cigarettes and champagne.”
Here's a Grandmother/Aunt Matilda scene as they read from their weekly magazine about "A Lady Traveller":
"What's the good of wearin' a hat if she's got to set with a
bag over it?"
"It doesn't say she's to wear the bag."
"Well, she's wearin' the hat, ain't she? How's she to put
the bag over the hat while she's wearin' the hat without
wearin' the bag too? That's what I'd like to know."
"Maybe it's to put her hat into when she takes it off for the
night," Grandmother suggested, hopefully, though she
was not at all sure. "A person ain't likely to get much sleep
in a hat."
"No, nor in a bag neither."
See? Pretty funny!
This chapter "The Lady Traveller" is one of the many punctuating chapters in the novel that features Grandmother and Aunt Matilda. These chapters are slightly bewildering (but enjoyable) because they do little to move the story forward. Mostly these chapters show how sheltered and uncultured Grandmother and Aunt Matilda are and how mistreated Rosemary is and sometimes serve to show the mores of early twentieth century America:
"'Mindful always of the possibility of accident,'" Grand-
mother resumed, "'it is well to keep one's self as pre-
sentable as possible, especially during the night, when ac-
cording to statistics the majority of wrecks occur. Conse-
quently the experienced lady traveller will not undress en-
tirely, but merely removing a few of her outer garments,
and keeping her shoes within easy reach, she will don a
comfortable dressing-gown, and compose herself for
sleep. Some people prefer to have the berth made up feet
first, but it is always better to have the head toward the en-
gine, as experience has proved that the slight motion of
the train assists the circulation, which should run toward
the feet if sleep is to be enjoyed during the night.'"
Again, this is pretty hilarious ^^^^
Sobering moments like this next one also underline how little we have come in terms of how the responsibility for unwanted "masculine attention" continues to fall on women:
"By wearing dark clothes, preferably her old ones, an
unassuming hat, and no jewelry, the lady traveller may ren-
der herself inconspicuous and not likely to attract mascu-
line attention."
And this--the only time race is alluded to in the novel:
"'It has been said that a porter is a dark gentleman who
has been employed to keep air out of the car, but the lady traveller will find it easy to induce him to open a ventilator or two if he has been properly tipped. Fresh air is very
essential for the true enjoyment of travelling.
"'He can throw many little comforts in one's way—a pil-
low during the daytime or an extra blanket at night,
or——'"
"I don't know," Matilda interrupted, "as I'd care to have
comforts or pillows or blankets thrown at me, night or day,
especially by a man, no matter what colour he is."
By the end of this book I liked Myrtle Reed so much. I consider her to be a truly gifted writer and not just "of her time." I'm sure I'll read more of her work, especially "The Spinster Book" because how could I not?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2019
Rosemary Starr, an orphan of twenty-five, has spent her whole life waiting hand and foot on her grandmother and aunt, finding her only solace in flighty dreams of romance and escape:
"Oh, dear God in Heaven," she prayed, passionately. "Open the door of the House of Life to me! Send someone to love me and to take me away, for Christ's sake—Amen!"
Her only friend is Alden Marsh, the thirty year old owner of a floundering family vineyard and part-time school teacher who himself dreams of escape. He meets discreetly with Rosemary once a week and lends her romantic literature, such as Jane Eyre and the poetry of Rossetti, which she reads secretly by candlelight.
In this way, a modest but important intimacy is formed between them, though Rosemary always feels her social inferiority. This feeling is not unjustified, especially when the beautiful and refined Mrs. Edith Lee comes into Alden's life and alters the course of his affections.
Thus ensues a melodrama of uncommon wrongheadedness, injected with an indecent amount of throbbing and quivering, the love poetry of Rossetti debased by the trite, melodramatic endearments of Reed's fictional lovers.
Alden is a hopeless chump for a romantic figure. He had known Rosemary a long time, yet 'never before had he thought of her as a woman,' just two minutes before proposing to her! Hardly surprising that he dropped her just as quick when Mrs. Lee showed up.
For her part, Rosemary, who despite her abject passivity and all round listlessness was still supposed to be the heroine, had to learn what love truly is: '"Service, sacrifice. Giving, not receiving; asking, not answering."'
I don't think so.
The humdrum inevitability of a lonely man and woman being drawn together, then apart, then together again (it's hardly a spoiler!) was curiously, though not at all effectively, garnished with uncanny episodes involving crystal balls, tea leaves, portentous dreams and 'fibres of communication perceptible only to a sixth sense.'
Yet for all that it did evoke some pathos, though not necessarily where intended. The ignorant conversations of Rosemary's Grandmother and Aunt offered some genuine comic relief and were easily the most enjoyable part of the book.
"Oh, dear God in Heaven," she prayed, passionately. "Open the door of the House of Life to me! Send someone to love me and to take me away, for Christ's sake—Amen!"
Her only friend is Alden Marsh, the thirty year old owner of a floundering family vineyard and part-time school teacher who himself dreams of escape. He meets discreetly with Rosemary once a week and lends her romantic literature, such as Jane Eyre and the poetry of Rossetti, which she reads secretly by candlelight.
In this way, a modest but important intimacy is formed between them, though Rosemary always feels her social inferiority. This feeling is not unjustified, especially when the beautiful and refined Mrs. Edith Lee comes into Alden's life and alters the course of his affections.
Thus ensues a melodrama of uncommon wrongheadedness, injected with an indecent amount of throbbing and quivering, the love poetry of Rossetti debased by the trite, melodramatic endearments of Reed's fictional lovers.
Alden is a hopeless chump for a romantic figure. He had known Rosemary a long time, yet 'never before had he thought of her as a woman,' just two minutes before proposing to her! Hardly surprising that he dropped her just as quick when Mrs. Lee showed up.
For her part, Rosemary, who despite her abject passivity and all round listlessness was still supposed to be the heroine, had to learn what love truly is: '"Service, sacrifice. Giving, not receiving; asking, not answering."'
I don't think so.
The humdrum inevitability of a lonely man and woman being drawn together, then apart, then together again (it's hardly a spoiler!) was curiously, though not at all effectively, garnished with uncanny episodes involving crystal balls, tea leaves, portentous dreams and 'fibres of communication perceptible only to a sixth sense.'
Yet for all that it did evoke some pathos, though not necessarily where intended. The ignorant conversations of Rosemary's Grandmother and Aunt offered some genuine comic relief and were easily the most enjoyable part of the book.
September 27, 2016
very enjoyable reading, excellent writing for a romantic novel. Could not read too many like this.
From the Bard and Banker library list!
From the Bard and Banker library list!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews