Wingfield's Hope: More Letters from Wingfield Farm

by Dan Needles

Walt Wingfield jumped off the corporate ladder of his Bay Street investment company to embrace the simple life on a hundred-acre farm in the sand hills of Persephone Township. In a series of letters to the editor of the local newspaper, Walt describes his struggle to make ends meet and gain acceptance in a community that distrusts anyone from the big city. His Letters from Wingfield Farm chronicle the modest successes and spectacular defeats of his first three seasons on the farm.Wingfields Hope finds Walt in his fourth season, married to Maggie, the girl next door, and balancing the expenses of the farm with a part-time job at his old firm in the city. He should be happy, but Persephone Township faces an uncertain future. The voices of the old rural community are slipping away. Can they be preserved or will they be lost forever? Can the community move forward or will they always be paralyzed by feuds and rivalries?In creating Persephone Township, Dan Needles has brought to life a marvelous rural community, populated by eccentric philosophers, wily survivors, rascals, cranks and modest heroes. Walt Wingfields brave attempt to embrace a less complicated world constitutes the signal triumph of a clear-eyed spirit over human frailty and natural adversity.

198 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a series of letters by the fictional Walt Wingfield to his editor. Walt is a city boy who has embraced the simple country life in the fictional Persephone Township. The eccentric characters and the wild and twisted plots had me laughing out loud many times throughout the book. It is an absolutely entertaining and fun read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing calms me better than a well written farm or dog story. Though not usually a fan of the letter writing format, this works perfectly for this story. The premise of someone from away finding their place within a new community is one that resonates with me every time.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and rewarding page-turner from one of my favourite humourists. No one else can maintain a constant pitch of relentless conversational hilarity quite like Dan Needles.