Considered a "regionalist" writer, like Kate Chopin and fellow New Englander Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman spent almost half a century living in New England. A prolific and renowned writer, she had to deal with a new aspect of popularity: celebrity.

This collection shows Freeman's many modes -- romantic, gothic, and psychologically symbolic -- as well as her use of pathos and sentimentality, dry reserve, and humor, satire, and irony. These last are most vividly expressed in The Jamesons, sketches of village life published here for the first time since the turn of the century. Other stories center on questions of women's integrity, courage, and, often, privation; explore cultural constructions of masculinity; and dramatize the interconnection of rural New England with modern culture and commerce.

Contents:

• A New England Nun
• A Village Singer
• A Gala Dress
• The Twelfth Guest
• Sister Liddy
• Calla-Lilies and Hannah
• A Wayfaring Couple
• A Poetess
• Christmas Jenny
• A Pot of Gold
• The Scent of the Roses
• A Solitary
• A Gentle Ghost
• A Discovered Pearl
• A Village Lear
• Amanda and Love
• Up Primrose Hill
• A Stolen Christmas
• Life-Everlastin'
• An Innocent Gamester
• Louisa
• A Church Mouse
• A Kitchen Colonel
• The Revolt of “Mother”