This is a rich, compassionate and compelling novel, loosely based on the true story of a community, which illuminates a small, but vivid, chapter of nineteenth century America.
The tiny rural backwater of Dogtown nestled on Cape Ann and hugging the Massachusetts coast line, is a place that is reputedly dying, but its few remaining inhabitants show an enduring spirit that keeps a small flame of life alight. For here, in this forgotten hamlet, lives a cast of dignified, yet utterly eccentric characters. Black Ruth is one of only two Africans still living in the area; she dresses as a man, speaks to no-one, and continues her craft as the local stonemason, casting love and care over the stones she hews. Mrs Stanley is blousey, blonde and the local madam; a woman of total self-absorption, who cares nothing for her young grandson, coming of age amid the sights and sounds of a wretched rural brothel. Oliver Younger, a man with ambition, overcomes a cruel and miserable childhood to marry the woman of his dreams and create a family infused with love. At the centre of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent woman, generous and wise, but also heartbroken and lonely, whose taboo love for Cornelius, a former slave, burns at the core of her soul.
Anita Diamant is a prize-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe Magazine and Parenting. She is the author of the bestselling novels Good Harbor and The Red Tent, which was named Book Sense Book of the Year. She has also written a collection of essays, Pitching My Tent, and six nonfiction books about contemporary Jewish practice. She lives in Massachusetts.
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