Editorial Reviews
From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister
Much of the strength of Mary Wilkins Freeman's work comes from its deep grounding in nineteenth-century New England culture. With a cool eye, she saw the eccentricities, pride, and religious self-righteousness of those who lived around her and used it in her work, sometimes lovingly, sometimes with scorn. Pembroke combines both these attitudes in its depiction of several young and older couples. Barnabas and Charlotte are engaged to be married; one night Barney enters into a heated political discussion with Charlotte's father and is ordered from the house. He swears he will never return, even if that means giving up Charlotte. Barney's sister, Rebecca, falls in love with William Berry, but her mother forbids the relationship. So Rebecca sneaks out to see him, with disastrous results. Sylvia Crane has kept company with Richard Alger every Sunday night for twenty years, but he has just never managed to ask her to marry him. Time and again these couples come close to happiness; time and again one or both of them shove it away. It might be easy to dismiss these people, but Mary Wilkins Freeman makes sure we understand that they are just that - people - who deserve love, even as they hold off the world at arm's length. Through their lives she lets us see what it is like to be cold, inside and out, when there is warmth to be had. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
This compelling novel centers on three couples whose relationships are thwarted by family strife, repressed emotions, strong-willed pride, and religious self-righteousness.
Pembroke begins with a heated political argument between Barney Thayer and Cephas Barnard, the father of Barney's betrothed, Charlotte Barnard. The angry Cephas throws his prospective son-in-law out of the house and, because of his immense pride, Barney refuses to apologize, even though it means he cannot marry Charlotte. The Thayers and Barnards become locked in a clash of wills, and the broken engagement reverberates throughout the village, ultimately affecting the relationships of two other couples in the town. After years of seemingly interminable suffering, all of the ill-fated lovers are eventually united, but the reunions are bittersweet.
In sharp contrast to the romantic literary tradition, Pembroke vividly depicts characters doomed to inherit the unhappiness of their ancestors. This dramatic and realistic portrayal of rural nineteenth-century New England life and Puritan ethos will reintroduce modern readers to a significant regionalist woman writer.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Pembroke
Pembroke,Freeman Mary E. Wilkins,NCUP,0808400231,Literature: Classics,Non-Classifiable,Nonfiction - General,Literary studies: general,Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects
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