Set in 1900, 1910 and 1922, Liberty Island brings together the overlapping stories of Anna, spinster author of a popular children’s book, and her niece Julia, who is exuberant, wild, and never seems to fit comfortably into her environment. Rounding out the main cast are Julia’s mother, Elizabeth (Anna’s sister), who has a calm accepting demeanor, and Lillian, Elizabeth’s often domineering mother-in-law.
The island of the title is off the coast of Maine, and it is where young Julia and her friends were encouraged to run free, play, and make up stories without restrictions. It is also a place of retreat into adulthood. Anna bases her novel on this idyllic island. Apart from that, both these women are governed by the rules of society and New England conventions. Many subjects are off limits for conversation, and secrets are kept.
The novel moves between Maine, Boston society, and the heady radicalism of New York’s intellectuals; Julia goes to Barnard College and tries to find a place and friendship in this bohemian enclave.
Hume excels at capturing the playfulness of children, and the impact of WWI at home and on men who return damaged, along with the liveliness of the Roaring Twenties. In a time of set expectations for women that were loosening, Anna and Julia must each figure out who they are and who they want to be.
I found it a wonderful multi-faceted novel and would have enjoyed these two women in real life. Given its similar period, and the issues it explores, Liberty Island is a great companion piece to the TV series, My Brilliant Career. Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)
For an engaging interview with Virginia Hume about mothers and daughters in her novel, see this article from the Portland Press Herald.
My Brilliant Careeris a 6-part series based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Australian writer, Miles Franklin. Sybylla leaves her dirt-poor family and goes to stay with her grandmother, ostensibly to find a husband, but in her mind to experience more of the world and to become a writer or an actor. Unsophisticated and untutored in the ways of society, she is exuberant, unruly, audacious, and initially, a trial to all her relatives. Except perhaps her flaming red-haired Aunt Augusta, or Gussie, a feminist and somewhat kindred spirit.
Her grandmother’s steward, Frank, is okay and becomes a friend, but when Sybylla is attracted to neighbor Harry Beecham, she’s warned off. Rounding out the local folk are the maid Betty and her sister Nell who is a horse trainer and a very good one! Nell too is unconventional, but she catches the interest of drover Charlie.
I vaguely recall seeing the 1979 movie version of this novel, but looking at its trailer, this new version goes above and beyond in its rollicking approach. Like the Bridgerton series and others, it employs contemporary songs as a backdrop for the 1901 historical setting. Some may find these songs intrusive, but I think they add to the flavor in a positive way. The Chief Penguin and I have now watched half the series and are totally into it. Fun and highly recommended!
Miles Franklin (wikipedia.com)
Author Miles Franklin held a series of jobs throughout her life, but she also wrote and published other novels and short stories, was encouraging to beginning writers, and had a great impact on Australian literature. She lived in the United States for a time but then returned to her native country. Franklin died in 1954 at the age of 74. (~JWFarrington)
READING
Heather by Caitlin Mullen
Author Mullen (us.macmillan.com)
I saw the crime novel, Heather, on several lists of promising new fiction, and when a friend also recommended it, I decided to give it a try. It’s multi-layered with two different time periods and two set of characters, one in the present, the other in 1991 or thereabouts. Callie Hauser is the new chief of police in a small town in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. She grew up there with an unknown father and a mother with addiction issues who occasionally disappeared. The job, a promotion, is completely different from her undercover work in narcotics in the big city.
In her early days on the job, Callie arrests Jenna, her estranged mother. This triggers reflections on her own past, lingering questions about the long-ago death of an abandoned baby, and the re-opening of a cold case. The case leads back to twin sisters in a dysfunctional family and the unknown man or men who used them and abused them. Callie’s closest friend is Jane, and she adores Jane’s little daughter Opal, but she has doubts about Jane’s husband and also wonders why her predecessor keeps hanging around her office and staff. How does all this connect to the past, or does it?
One almost needs a chart to keep track of the cast of characters, but I found the book compelling and disturbing simultaneously. Recommended!
DINING TIDBITS: SOPHISTICATED ITALIAN FARE
Ports of Italy (Boothbay Harbor)
Ports of Italyhas two Maine locations, the seasonal one here in Boothbay Harbor and a year-round venue in Rockport. The menus are the same. Ports offers excellent Italian fare, many levels above a red gravy dive, and is one of our favorite local restaurants. Dishes we particularly enjoy are veal scallopini with wild mushrooms and the chicken cutlets with shitake mushrooms, tomatoes, and olives in a white wine butter sauce. Also of note are agnolotti in a parmesan cream sauce, spaghetti a la vongole, caprese salad, and asparagus with butter and parmesan.
Upon special request in advance, they can also provide veal saltimbocca, veal cutlets with prosciutto and sage leaves; their rendition is the best we have ever had anywhere (including in Manhattan!) There are usually a few specials such as swordfish or salmon or an appetite-worthy veal chop.
Caprese salad in a parmesan basket
Ports is open for dinner only and very popular. Seating is on their inside porch, in the bar, or in the adjacent dining room. Wines are available by the glass or bottle as well as a standard array of cocktails. We will enjoy eating here a few more times before we leave Maine!
SIBLINGS IN THE POSTWAR DUTCH COUNTRYSIDE : The Safekeep by Yael Van der Wouden
Van der Wouden (theguardian.com)
Published in 2024, The Safekeep was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and selected for many best-book-of-the-year lists. It’s 1961, fifteen years after the end of WWII, and Isabel lives alone in the house she shared with her parents and her two brothers, Louis older, and Henrik, younger. She follows a strict daily routine, seldom goes out, seems to have no friends, and interacts only with her maid, Neelke, and a few assorted relatives. Her closeted single life reminded me of some of Anita Brookner’s characters.
Louis, who specializes in short term relationships with one woman after another, brings his latest girlfriend, Eva, to the house for tea. Isabel’s initial response to Eva is strong and very negative. But Isabel allows Eva to stay with her when Louis must go abroad for work.
Torn up by emotions she doesn’t understand, Isabel’s control breaks and, with Eva, she acts on long-suppressed desire. But there is more to each woman’s past yet to be revealed after Eva leaves. Bringing together the significance of one’s home, the sobering realities of life for Jews after the war, and the desire for connection with another, it’s a powerful, erotic, and compelling novel. Highly recommended!
This is Van der Wouden’s first novel. For more about the books that inspired her journey to becoming an author, check out this article in TheGuardian. (~JWFarrington)
A LOLLIPOP: Last Letters of Sally & Walter by Cammie McGovern
Cammie McGovern has written several books for children and young adults, but the LastLetters of Sally and Walteris her first novel for adults. Sally is a new resident at Golden Grove, a senior retirement community, and she is anxious about making friends and fitting in. A retired schoolteacher, she ventures forth to join the Scrabble Club, only to discover it mostly disbanded with organizer Walter eager for a game. He’s a bit of a curmudgeon, but they hit it off, and he coaches her and encourages her to enter a Scrabble tournament.
Scrabble is an early, fun focus of this novel, but both Sally and Walter have adult sons with issues they must confront. As Sally and Walter’s friendship deepens, they must also learn to trust each other enough to share honestly about their past lives and the health challenges each faces.
McGovern realistically captures what it’s like to move to a senior community, and the novel is thoughtful, tender, funny at points, and even sweet. If you like Scrabble, you’ll enjoy it, and if you’re over 70 with an open mind, you’ll find yourself cheering on Sally and Walter. Recommended! (~JWFarrington)
A Woman of Substance, based on the novels of Barbara Taylor Bradford, is a new 8-part series. Call it the TV equivalent of a beach read; it’s full of high drama like a soap opera. In 1911, Emma Harte is a poor, mistreated attractive young maid who works for the rich, yet dysfunctional, Fairlie family. In the 1970s, as the series opens, Emma Harte is a dynamo in Manhattan, extremely rich and the successful head of Harte Enterprises.
The series traces Emma from her poor beginnings and her misguided love for Edwin Fairlie, to opening a dress shop and then a food emporium, to her vow to succeed and get revenge on the entire Fairlie family. This family is no gem. Adele Fairlie has mental issues, her husband Adam is dallying with his sister-in-law Olivia, older son Gerald is feckless and a gambler, and only younger son Edward seems somewhat solid.
The Chief Penguin and I watched the entire series in the course of a week. It’s wild, not subtle in the least (plenty of sex and abuse to go around) but still fun entertainment. With her drive and her determination, you can’t help but root for Emma, even though she’s bent on destruction. The Emma Harte series ultimately consisted of eight novels published between 1979 and 2021. I recall reading at least the first several of them.
Rockland, an hour or so north of Southport, is a charming town with some intriguing little shops and a variety of small restaurants plus a movie theater. We usually head up here for just the art museum and lunch, but we should really return sometime and dally in the shops. Maybe next year.
The Farnsworth Art Museum is home to an expansive collection of art by several generations of the Wyeth family. Lots of paintings and drawings by Andrew Wyeth, but also the works of his father, N. C., and his son, Jamie. This year’s featured exhibit, while presenting some of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings, focuses on the role his wife Betsy had in selecting buildings to rehab as homes or studios and her hand in designing the interiors. The exhibit is entitled, By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth. It’s a different approach to the collection, but I didn’t find it as engaging or successful as some other recent exhibits.
I was more interested in the walls that showcased works by other Maine artists, lesser-known ones in some cases, who visited Maine or were part of one of the several art schools or artist colonies that sprang up in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies. Some of these artists had works in the 1913 Armory Show or were exhibited at other small galleries in Manhattan. The three paintings below were painted in Maine between 1926 and 1928.
Whitecaps, Beatrice Whitney Van NessWave, Night, Georgia O’KeeffeCity of Bath, Marguerite Zorach
On the lower floor, we reveled in the color and energy of the works of Portland-based sculptor Benjamin Spalding. Go Bang! showcases several of his life-size figures constructed of wood, metal, and paint. They are lively, unusual, and eye-catching. Diva Dancer 2 is poised at the entrance to this gallery and shown below.
Diva Dancer 2, Benjamin Spalding, 2026
I was also struck by Alex Katz’s sculpture of a cow. I like his flat portraits that are often boldly colored with minimal detail. His cow is made out of cut aluminum, then painted, and appears 3-dimensional. It’s unmissable in the gallery!
Cow, Alex Katz, 2006
No visit to the Farnsworth is complete without time in their lovely gift shop crammed with note and greeting cards, art pencils, books, cocktail napkins, and toys for kids. Across the street is 365 Gallery, their larger shop and design space where one will find paintings for purchase, elegant glassware, and currently, a few ceramic pieces on display.
A short walk and a few blocks down the main street and then left on Lindsey Street is Waterworks. It’s a pub located in an old building that was once part of Rockland’s water system (hence the name) and has a cozy and welcoming vibe. There’s lots of dark wood, a long bar, and scattered tables for four or eight; it would be especially nice on a cold winter’s night.
The menu encompasses everything from fresh lobster rolls to chowder and fish to more traditional fare such as quesadillas, linguine, salads, and sandwiches. After visiting the art museum, our group of four lunched here. A couple of us skipped seafood in favor of a Caesar salad with chicken or New England style Shepherd’s Pie.
The other two were happy with fish and chips with slaw and fries and a chopped salad with hard-boiled egg, almonds, and blue cheese dressing. Whatever you crave, there’s bound to be something to tempt your palate. Usually when we come here, the dining room is slightly full; this day, every table was soon occupied with even a group waiting in the wings. It was just a Wednesday in July—high summer.
