Silence, and other stories by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
"Silence, and other stories" by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman is a collection of short stories written in the late 19th century. The book gathers New England local-color tales that probe women’s inner lives under social and spiritual strain; the opening piece centers on Silence Hoit and her lover David Walcott amid a frontier raid and its aftermath. Expect historical settings, moral tension, and keen psychological realism. The opening of the collection follows
Silence in wintry Deerfield as her forebodings are fulfilled by a French and Indian attack: households barricade doors, women melt pewter into bullets, Goodwife Sheldon and her child are found slain, and captives—among them David—are driven toward Canada. Left behind, Silence’s mind fixates on him, calling his name over the north meadow through months of rebuilding and rescue attempts; when David finally escapes home, she cannot recognize him until the ostracized Goody Crane contrives a moonlit sign that breaks her trance. The book then turns to “The Buckley Lady,” introducing Persis Buckley, a beautiful coastal girl whose family, after a visit from grand strangers, begins grooming her for gentility—freeing her from toil, dressing her finely, and teaching her polite accomplishments—while the household quietly sacrifices to elevate her. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins, 1852-1930 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 06040024 |
| Title | Silence, and other stories |
| Original Publication | New York: Harper & Brothers, 1898. |
| Contents | Silence -- The Buckley lady -- Evelina's garden -- A New England prophet -- The little maid at the door -- Lydia Hersey, of East Bridgewater. |
| Credits | Jack Janssen and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories, American |
| Subject | New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 76948 |
| Release Date | Sep 29, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 446 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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