On a windswept island where tides, fishing boats, and summer cottages shape every day, old loyalties are being tested by the arrival of outsiders. Luther Williams, a solitary fisherman with a dry wit and a hidden ache, watches the island change from a quiet, practical community into a fashionable retreat, and his unease suggests that the newcomers stir personal memories as well as local resentment. Around him, the Tibbett household—steady Miss Phosie, sharp-tongued Aunt Phenie, and stubborn sixteen-year-old Ora—buzzes with preparations for Miss Elliott and her niece Gwendolin Whitredge, while gossiping neighbors and Cap'n Ben add warmth, humor, and local color. When Gwen arrives, she is enchanted by the sea, the rocky shore, and the island's spring beauty, even as she and her aunt inspect their unfinished cottage, nicknamed Wits' End. The summer gathering that follows brings games, ghost stories, teasing, and flirtation, but also sharper currents of rivalry and longing. Kenneth Hilary, an artist caught between hope and duty, finds himself drawn to Gwen, only to face jealousy, disappointment, and the painful realization that money and comfort may outweigh love. As the season unfolds, the island becomes a vivid stage for romance, social friction, and the struggle between ambition, affection, and the old ways of life. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.

À propos de l'auteur

Blanchard, Amy Ella

Amy Ella Blanchard was an American writer and editor whose life and career were closely tied to the education and imagination of young readers. Born in the nineteenth century and active during a period when children’s literature was becoming a distinct and influential field, she built a long career writing stories, poems, and books that spoke directly to the experiences of childhood. She also worked as an editor, helping shape the reading lives of generations of children through carefully chosen, morally attentive, and engaging material. Blanchard’s most enduring achievement was her ability to write with warmth, clarity, and sympathy about family life, childhood feelings, play, and the everyday adventures that matter deeply to young minds. Her work often reflects themes of kindness, responsibility, curiosity, and the value of simple pleasures, while also acknowledging the emotional world of children with unusual tenderness. That balance of instruction and delight gives her writing lasting relevance today, especially in a time when readers still value stories that nurture empathy and celebrate the small moments that shape character. Blanchard remains significant as part of the tradition that helped define children’s literature as both entertaining and formative, and her legacy endures in her gentle, humane approach to writing for the young. Readers who enjoy classic children’s stories, domestic scenes, and thoughtful, affectionate portrayals of childhood will find her especially rewarding.