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Etched in Granite: A Historical Novel

(Etched in Granite Historical Fiction Series #1)

M.J. Pettengill (Goodreads Author)

4.38 · Rating details · 56 ratings · 12 reviews

"I smiled when I thought about him lyin’ alone in that field with his bones picked clean. Live free or die... I finally understood."

The year is 1872. The Civil War has ended,
leaving behind a nation torn and economically depressed. "Etched in Granite" is a harrowing account of life and death on a rural New England Poor Farm – a tragic, yet triumphant novel that tells a ...more

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Kindle Edition, 459 pages

Published July 14th 2015 (first published July 2nd 2015)

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· 56 ratings · 12 reviews

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Apr 06, 2016 Jeannie Kilburn rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

I cried a lot of tears with this story but I very much enjoyed it anyway. It took place generations ago in the country where my ancestors lived. I recognized slang that my Dad used and names from my family history but as this was a fiction i don't expect it was about them. However it makes me think and wonder if any of my family was ever unlucky to have been in a poor farm. ...more

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Mar 01, 2016 lynn rated it really liked it

After finding a pauper's field in her town, the author went about the process of trying to "unearth" the names behind the numbered graves. This research emboldened her to writ this novel about the possible lives of some of those she was able to name. An interesting story that draws you in as it grows. Many of us heard about the 'poorhouse' but did any of us really know what that meant? ...more

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Jul 31, 2017 Patty rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-favorites

Having added this book to my list some time ago, I had deleted it off because none of the libraries I have access to had it. Then, upon joining my local library near my summer home, it was prominently displayed and I couldn't resist taking it out on loan. What a good move...

Etched in Granite is situated very close to where I spend my summers now in a border town to Ossipee, NH. The author's spark for writing this came from discovering the numbered graves of those who were at the County Farm or P ...more

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Jul 06, 2017 Stephanie Porusta rated it it was amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this book and the story that takes place very close to where I live. It is amazing how much we don't know about the landmarks around us. I loved that the story was told from several points of view which gave it so much depth. I was excited to learn there is a sequel coming later this year ('17) - I will definitely be reading it! ...more

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Feb 23, 2016 Kathy Weithman rated it it was amazing

Halfway through, I could not put it down. So caught up in the believable characters and their difficult lives. M.J. brings the reality of times to life, make sure to have tissues available. Loved it!

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Jul 28, 2019 Peter Murray rated it really liked it

Living for 5 years in England for five years taught me the value of history. In the current climate that we live in today, I have had a fear that history is not nearly as important as it was. Along comes, MJ Pettengill and her book "Etched in Granite" to give us up that we are still connected to the past. "Etched in Granite" is a compelling and sometimes a dark look at the way people lived at the Poor Farms.
"Etched in Granite" is the story of Abigail Hodgdon, who is condemned to the poor farm, Living for 5 years in England for five years taught me the value of history. In the current climate that we live in today, I have had a fear that history is not nearly as important as it was. Along comes, MJ Pettengill and her book "Etched in Granite" to give us up that we are still connected to the past. "Etched in Granite" is a compelling and sometimes a dark look at the way people lived at the Poor Farms.
"Etched in Granite" is the story of Abigail Hodgdon, who is condemned to the poor farm, when both her parents pass away under tragic circumstances. Her father is killed during the civil war and her mother dies when the family farm burns down. Abigail is left distraught and blames herself for leaving her mother's death. The night of the fire, left her mother alone to attend a barn dance and meet her love Silas Putnam. What only her sister knows is that Abigail is pregnant with Silas' child and that night she planned to tell him, but when the farm burned down, she was forced back to the farm to try and save her mother.
Miriam and Moses Blake take her in to live with them. Moses is a kind man, who runs the Poor Farm. After a time Abigail discovers Miriam is a tyrant. Miriam treats Abigail more like a servant than a boarder and things become hard for her there.

Once, she reveals to both of them that she is pregnant with another man's child, they send her to the Poor Farm. The conditions of the Poor Farm are wretched. The harsh treatment the inmates receive is horrible. Among the filth, death and sleeping on bed sacks, from the women and men that run it is horrible. Among the filth, harsh treatment, the death around her and poor sleeping conditions, Abigail somehow manages to survive with the help of an Indian woman named Nellie Baldwin. Nellie has been condemned to live there after her husband died in a mill accident. To make matters worse, Abigail, she has to deal with seeing Silas there every day, since he is the Foreman who runs the Poor Farm. Most of the story deals with their undying love for one another, that neither of them can act upon.
The book moves quickly. I found that I could not put it down. There were times, I found myself on the edge of my seat.
What I loved about the book, was the way MJ Pettengill cleverly told the story. The story is through the eyes of three people, Abigail, Silas, and Nellie. Each chapter is a diary of each character's day. Chapters move fluidly as they are interwoven. Nellie's story was the most compelling to me as she drifts in and out of flashbacks to tell the story of her life and then her day. ...more

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Nov 18, 2020 David rated it it was amazing

I live in Ossipee NH. just down the street from this cemetery. I have walk thru it and wondered about its history. Saw a blurb on facebook about this book. Purchased it for my kindle and looked forward every chance i got to read. Now I know how these poor souls ended up with just numbered stones. Thank you M.J. Pettengill for all your hard work..loved it

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Mar 10, 2020 Nance rated it really liked it

Good writer. I liked this story right up until the last seventy-five page’s or so when it became very unrealistic to me and the ending? Sorry, no, wouldn’t have happened, imo.

I love that the author researched and found as many names as she could of the people buried in the graveyard. A wonderful tribute.

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Aug 23, 2019 Frank Settineri rated it it was amazing

Excellent, excellent, excellent! The story, the descriptions, the characters are etched in my mind. I was disappointed with the ending, although in retrospect it reflected real life at the time of the story.

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Jun 22, 2020 Amy Hietapelto added it

Poignant historical novel illuminating a part of history in the late 1800s of which little is often known. Character development is superb. Sad yet hopeful.

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May 17, 2020 gail Baker rated it it was amazing

OMGosh, it’s a long time since a book brought me to tears. So, be prepared with tissues, you’re gonna need them.

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Nov 01, 2020 Amy rated it liked it

Interesting New England history. Well-researched fiction.

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About M.J. Pettengill

M.J. Pettengill

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Mj Pettengill, historian and author of the Etched in Granite Historical Fiction Series, focuses on cultural narrative and traditions, historical and intergenerational trauma integration, ancestral healing, and social welfare development.

She is that woman in the woods, one who carries nuts and seeds in her pocket, hand feeding birds, chipmunks, and other critters. She creates in her woodland studi ...more