Mary Peters

Maine novels #1

by Mary Ellen Chase

Mary Peters is the first of Mary Ellen Chase's highly acclaimed and best-selling Maine novels, capturing in vivid, compelling detail and historical accuracy a period of transition and turmoil along the coast of Maine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The novel is filled with wonderful details of the natural world, both at sea and on land. It also captures the pervasive changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution as coastal people stood on the brink of a new world, slowly turning from the glorious era of sail to serving the incoming tide of wealthy summer vacationers.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

American educator, teacher, scholar, and author regarded as one of the most important regional literary figures of the early twentieth century.

Mary Ellen Chase received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Minnesota where she served as an assistant professor from 1922 to 1926. She taught at Smith College starting in 1926 until her retirement in 1955.

Chase wrote more than 30 books, many using her cherished Maine heritage as the setting, capturing the unique spirit and chronicling a way of life for generations. Her most famous of these works include Mary Peters, Silas Crockett, Windswept, and Edge of Darkness.

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not many of us Chase fans left, i guess, but if you like Maine, you should seek her out.

[SusanwithaGoodBook · Rating 1 out of 5]

I purchased this book in an independent bookstore in Maine during our travels there last summer. I had hoped for a great story that would give me insight into life in Maine around the turn of the century, but this book was not great. The sentences were well constructed and show effort and talent, but the overall effect when put together was a story lacking in depth and substance. Oft times it felt like looking at the events and people through a telescope - fuzzy on the edges and from a great distance. I never felt connected to the people the way I wanted or understood them the way I wished. It's also horribly depressing. It's right up there with Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. I don't recommend it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book for the way it told of both the Maine I know and the old Maine I’ve imagined, written not long after the times she describes. So interesting to read about the shipbuilding era, small towns in Maine , nature, winter, travel, farming, summer visitors, fears about changing times that still remain true 100 years later. However I was shocked at the end when out of nowhere, with a book that both forgives and gives dimension to all sorts of personalities, that an antisemitic remark is written just pages before the story finishes. I know it’s not uncommon, but it was so jarring to me in a story that had so much to say about acceptance of times and people.

[Stephanie Ziebarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the story seems to be as much about Sarah and John Peters as it is about Mary, I found it a little difficult to discern the point of the novel at first. However, I found myself becoming attached to and inspired by the characters as I advanced through the book. Would be enjoyable to those who appreciate descriptive, gentle fiction.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book, full of descriptions of a Maine sea coast village in the 1880s along with wonderful depictions of nature. Full of sketches of wonderful characters.
The beauty of the rhythms of life and death and how people live their lives.

[MaryKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this at the Maine Maritime Museum last year and finally picked it up recently. It was written in 1934. I thought there would be a bit more depth on the industrial revolution changes - sailing ships that were transitioning to steam or coal powered, horse and buggy to cars. When discussed, it was poignant to think about, but again not very often. The storyline followed the main characters’ lives over multiple decades. Sometimes mired in details, and a big event would occur in the middle of a paragraph or reading between the lines. Same types of life problems and challenges then as there are now.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Mary Ellen Chase book, the first of many of hers.