Second Growth
Published on 28. September 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-952143-23-6 (ISBN)
Description
Nearly two decades after her debut novel, Ruth Moore writes a saltier tale of Downeast life in Second Growth (1962). Rife with violent deaths, natural disasters, and even attempted blackmail, the town of Hillville has seen better days. Even the land is exhausted and has given what it can. Residents can no longer fish, farm, or manufacture to earn a good living, so they pick up seasonal work and otherwise rely on government support. When an illegitimate child is born and subsequently lost, the local doctor does what he thinks is best, igniting a series of events that engulfs the entire town, from wild-child Beck Overholt to eighty-two-year-old Clemintina Wilkinson, over the course of six months. Moore, a master of detail, weaves an intricate plot that reveals a craggy underbelly of small-town humanity that rivals Maine's rocky coast.
More details
Edition
Revised ed.
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-952143-23-6 (9781952143236)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Born and raised in the Maine fishing village of Gotts Island, Ruth Moore (1903-1989) emerged as one of the most important Maine authors of the twentieth century, best known for her authentic portrayals of Maine people and her evocative descriptions of the state. In her time, she was favorably compared to Faulkner, Steinbeck, Caldwell and O'Connor. She graduated from Albany State Teacher's College and worked at a variety of jobs in New York, Washington, D.C., and California, including as personal secretary to Mary White Ovington, a founder of the NAACP, and at Reader's Digest. Her debut novel in 1943, The Weir was hailed by critics and established Moore as novelist, but her second novel, Spoonhandle reached great success, spending fourteen weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and was made into the movie, Deep Waters. The success of Spoonhandle provided her with the financial security to build a house in Bass Harbor and spend the rest of her life writing novels in her home state. Ultimately, she wrote 14 novels. Moore and her partner, Eleanor Mayo, travelled extensively, but never again lived outside of Maine. Moore died in Bar Harbor in 1989.