4 h 52 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 52 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a summer’s deepest discoveries come not from adventure, but from learning to listen?
In Sarah Orne Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs, an unnamed city writer comes to Dunnet Landing on the Maine coast to work. Her landlady, Mrs. Almira Todd, is a widowed herbalist whose busy house draws callers. Through her, the visitor begins to know the people behind the village doors.
The old sea trade is fading, but neighbors still depend on one another. A boat trip to Green Island brings the narrator to Mrs. Blackett’s welcoming home. Captain Littlepage longs for someone to hear his strange tale. Through these quiet encounters, Jewett explores how hospitality, memory and work hold a community together.
What you’ll discover
- A warm, watchful guide Meet Mrs. Todd, whose wisdom and sharp eye open the way into village life.
- Kindness on Green Island Visit Mrs. Blackett and William, whose welcome and quiet deeds give care a human face.
- A captain seeking company Listen as Captain Littlepage brings his strange tale and loneliness to the narrator.
- The shape of solitude Hear about Joanna’s life alone on Shell-heap Island, a rocky place in the bay.
- A village in small moments Find a coastal community in boat trips, shared memories and an old man’s story.
Who will love it
Readers who love quiet, character-rich seaside stories and gentle portraits of Maine and women's lives will feel at home here. So will those drawn to gardens, herbs and old songs.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A visitor lodges with an herbalist
- A schoolhouse and a captain's strange tale
- A boat trip to Green Island
- Two old friends and poor Joanna
- The Bowden reunion draws the whole county
- An old fisherman keeps his house for her
- Memory and community are the real subjects
- A book told in scenes, sounds and scents
Who’s who
- The narratorA writer who rents a room and a schoolhouse for the summer and slowly becomes part of village life.
- Mrs. Almira ToddA large, wise herbalist and widow who speaks plainly, loves her mother and guards an old, quiet heartache.
- Mrs. BlackettMrs. Todd's eighty-six-year-old mother on Green Island, light of foot and generous to everyone.
- WilliamMrs. Todd's shy fisherman brother, who avoids visitors but sings sweetly and loves his mother.
- Captain LittlepageA retired shipmaster and devoted reader who longs to share a strange story from the far north.
- Mrs. FosdickMrs. Todd's old friend, a well-traveled visitor who loves talk and remembers the story of Joanna.
- Elijah TilleyAn old fisherman who knits, keeps his late wife's house as she left it and speaks little.
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Le Pays des Sapins pointus
by Sarah Orne Jewett · 1896
A summer lodger in a Maine fishing village learns herbs, island hearts and old sea tales from Mrs. Todd.
Medium level2–5 hours to readfrançais
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In short
What would you do with a whole summer by the sea and nothing to do but listen? A writer arrives in Dunnet Landing, a small harbor village in eastern Maine, to finish her work in peace.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A visitor lodges with an herbalist
The story opens in June. A lone passenger steps off the steamboat at the wharf in Dunnet Landing. Returning after a brief visit a few summers before, she takes a room in the tiny house of Mrs. Almira Todd.
Mrs. Todd is a widow, large and commanding, and her garden is nothing like a normal flower bed. Sage, mint, thyme, balm and wormwood scent the air that blows through the window. Neighbors come to her kitchen door at night with old bottles to be filled.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1896
- Language
- français
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Jewett, Sarah Orne. The Country of the Pointed Firs. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-country-of-the-pointed-firs.
Jewett, S. O. (2026). The country of the pointed firs. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-country-of-the-pointed-firs (Original work published 1896)
Jewett, Sarah Orne. The Country of the Pointed Firs. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-country-of-the-pointed-firs.
@book{jewett2026country,
author = {Jewett, Sarah Orne},
title = {The Country of the Pointed Firs},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-country-of-the-pointed-firs},
note = {First published 1896}
}
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What is The Country of the Pointed Firs about?
It follows a writer who spends a summer in the Maine village of Dunnet Landing, boarding with the herbalist Mrs. Todd and meeting neighbors whose stories of love, loss, the sea and family fill each chapter.
Who is Mrs. Todd in The Country of the Pointed Firs?
Mrs. Almira Todd is the narrator's landlady, a widow and herbalist who brews remedies and spruce beer. She is wise, direct and generous, and she guides the narrator into the life of the village.
What do the pointed firs mean in the book?
The pointed firs are the dark spruce and balsam trees that line the Maine coast. They stand for the place itself and appear like an army waiting by the water, giving the setting a quiet, solemn character.
The author
Sarah Orne Jewett
1849–1909 · American novelist
Sarah Orne Jewett was an American novelist, short story writer and poet. She was born in South Berwick, Maine, in 1849 and lived there for much of her life. Her books include Deephaven, published in 1877, and The Country of the Pointed Firs, published in 1896. She died in 1909.
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