Sarah Orne Jewett

Novels and Stories

Deephaven • A Country Doctor • The Country of the Pointed Firs • Dunnet Landing stories • selected stories and sketches

This volume contains three novels by Sarah Orne Jewett, Deephaven, A Country Doctor, and The Country of the Pointed Firs, as well as a selection of 28 stories and sketches. Four of the short stories continue the story of The Country of the Pointed Firs and are placed in a separate section immediately following that novel. The short pieces are otherwise arranged in chronological order.

Deephaven had its beginning in three sketches Jewett published in the Atlantic Monthly: "The Shore House" (Sept. 1873); "Deephaven Cronies" (Sept. 1875); and "Deephaven Excursions" (Sept. 1876). With the encouragement of William Dean Howells, editor of the Atlantic, she revised, rearranged, and expanded the sketches for book publication. The novel was published in Boston by James R. Osgood and Company in April 1877, and reprinted from the same plates at least five times. An illustrated edition was prepared in 1894 with a few minor revisions in wording and punctuation, many of which may have been made by an editor or typesetter. The text printed here is that of the first edition.

A Country Doctor, published in Boston and New York by Houghton, Mifflin and Company in September 1884, was never serialized; no other edition appeared during Jewett's lifetime. The text printed here is that of the first edition.

The Country of the Pointed Firs was serialized in four parts in the Atlantic (Jan., March, July, and Sept. 1896). Jewett revised, expanded, and added chapter titles for book publication. Houghton, Mifflin and Company published the book in Boston and New York in November 1896. This edition went through several printings, but though Jewett wrote four additional stories using the same fictional town, Dunnet Landing, and the same characters, she did not include these later stories in the book. The text printed here is that of the first edition.

The four Dunnet Landing stories appear here in the order in which they were written. "The Queen's Twin" and "A Dunnet Shepherdess" appeared first in the Atlantic (Feb. and Dec. 1899), and were then revised for inclusion in The Queen's Twin and Other Tales, published in Boston and New York by Houghton, Mifflin and Company in 1899. The texts printed here are those of the book edition. The other two stories were never collected in a book by Jewett. The text of "The Foreigner" published in the Atlantic (Aug. 1900) is printed here. "William's Wedding," left unfinished, was published posthumously in the Atlantic (Aug. 1910), and that text is printed here.

Posthumous editions of The Country of the Pointed Firs, prepared by others, included these last stories as part of the book; but since Jewett herself never did, the four stories are published in a separate section in this volume.

Most of the other 24 stories and sketches selected for inclusion in this volume appeared first in periodical form and then were slightly revised by Jewett for inclusion in her collections of short stories. The texts printed here are taken from the collections, which were usually published soon after the pieces appeared in periodicals. Three of the stories and sketches were published only in book form, and two had their only appearance in periodicals. Five stories, "The Dulham Ladies," "Marsh Rosemary," "A White Heron," "Miss Tempy's Watchers," and "The Town Poor," were slightly revised after their first book appearances for inclusion in Tales of New England (1890), but because many, though not all, of these revisions appear to have been made by editors and typesetters, the texts of the first book publication are printed here. The following is a list of the stories and sketches, giving their periodical publication dates as well as the title of the book used as the source for the text in this edition. All of Jewett's collections of stories were published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

• "An Autumn Holiday" (Harper's Magazine, Oct. 1880), Country By-Ways, 1881.
• "From a Mournful Villager" (Atlantic Monthly, Nov. 1881), Country By-Ways, 1881.
• "An October Ride," Country By-Ways, 1881.
• "Tom's Husband" (Atlantic Monthly, Feb. 1882), The Mate of the Daylight, and Friends Ashore, 1884.
• "Miss Debby's Neighbors," The Mate of the Daylight, and Friends Ashore, 1884.
• "The Dulham Ladies" (Atlantic Monthly, Apr. 1886), A White Heron and Other Stories, 1886.
• "Marsh Rosemary" (Atlantic Monthly, May 1886), A White Heron and Other Stories, 1886.
• "A White Heron," A White Heron and Other Stories, 1886.
• "Miss Tempy's Watchers" (Atlantic Monthly, March 1888), The King of Folly Island and Other People, 1888.
• "A Winter Courtship" (Atlantic Monthly, Feb. 1889), Strangers and Wayfarers, 1890.
• "Going to Shrewsbury" (Atlantic Monthly, July 1889), Strangers and Wayfarers, 1890.
• "The White Rose Road" (Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 1889), Strangers and Wayfarers, 1890.
• "The Town Poor" (Atlantic Monthly, July 1890), Strangers and Wayfarers, 1890.
• "A Native of Winby" (Atlantic Monthly, May 1891), A Native of Winby and Other Tales, 1893.
• "Looking Back on Girlhood," Youth's Companion, January 7, 1892.
• "The Passing of Sister Barsett" (Cosmopolitan, May 1892), A Native of Winby and Other Tales, 1893.
• "Decoration Day" (Harper's Magazine, June 1892), A Native of Winby and Other Tales, 1893.
• "The Flight of Betsey Lane" (Scribner's Magazine, Aug. 1893), A Native of Winby and Other Tales, 1893.
• "The Hiltons' Holiday" (Century Magazine, Sept. 1893), The Life of Nancy, 1895.
• "The Only Rose" (Atlantic Monthly, Jan. 1894), The Life of Nancy, 1895.
• "The Guests of Mrs. Timms" (Century Magazine, Feb. 1894), The Life of Nancy, 1895.
• "Aunt Cynthy Dallett" (Harper's Bazaar, Jan. 11, 1896, titled "The New-Year Guests"), The Queen's Twin and Other Tales, 1899.
• "Martha's Lady" (Atlantic Monthly, Oct. 1897), The Queen's Twin and Other Tales, 1899.
• "The Gray Mills of Farley," Cosmopolitan Magazine, June 1898.

This volume presents the texts of the original printings chosen for inclusion here but does not attempt to reproduce features of their typographic design, such as display capitalization of chapter openings. The texts are printed without change, except for the correction of typographical errors. Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are often expressive features, and they are not altered, even when inconsistent or irregular.

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