13 h 4 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In the Maine woods, timber promises wealth—but the forest holds a power no owner can claim.
In King Spruce, A Novel, Holman Day takes you into the north woods of Maine, where winter logging feeds the spring rivers. Crews live in camps, fell and trim trees, and haul logs over snow. Behind every load stands hard, skilled work in a landscape of enormous trees and harsh weather.
The struggle reaches beyond the logging camps. Timber owners compete to hold and profit from great stands of spruce, while the men working for them face the rough demands of the trade. Day, a Maine writer and newspaperman who knows this country, brings ambition and natural majesty together in an adventure where land means wealth.
What you’ll discover
- The forest as king Enter woods that offer fortunes yet remain stronger than the people seeking them.
- Life in winter camps Follow logging crews through the demanding work of felling, trimming, and hauling timber.
- A contest for timberland See how ambition gathers around the question of who controls the great spruce stands.
- From snow to river Trace the seasonal movement of logs from winter woods toward the spring waters.
- Maine through local eyes Discover a lumber country shaped by its workers, its owners, and its immense trees.
Who will love it
For readers who love regional adventure, American history, and stories where work and landscape shape the plot. The Maine logging woods offer ambition, rivalry, river drives, and the contest for valuable timberland.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The spruce forest is the stage
- Logging is hard, skilled, dangerous work
- Ambition drives the contest for timberland
- Nature is both prize and power
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 13 h 4 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Roi Épinette, roman in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Roi Épinette, roman
by Holman Day · 1908
In Maine's logging woods, ambition and rivalry fuel a contest for timberland, where great trees decide every fortune.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The spruce forest is the stage
The novel is set in the north woods of Maine, where spruce was cut in winter and sent downstream in spring. Day knew this country well, and he writes of it with a local man's eye. The forest is vast, cold and hard to cross, and it sets the terms for everything that happens.
Timber was the money crop of the region. Land that looked like wilderness was in fact property, and owners fought over its boundaries, its cutting rights and its profits. A story built on such land is a story about power as much as about trees.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Roi Épinette, roman
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is King Spruce about?
It is an adventure novel set in the Maine logging country. It deals with timberland, the lives of woodsmen, the river drives and the ambition and rivalry that surround the valuable spruce forests.
Who wrote King Spruce?
Holman Day wrote it. He was a Maine journalist, poet and novelist who knew the lumber country well and set many of his stories in the woods and on the coast of his home state.
What does the title King Spruce mean?
Spruce was the valuable timber that drove the Maine lumber trade. Calling it king suggests both its wealth and its hold over the people who cut it, sell it and fight for control of the land.
The author
Holman Day
1865–1935 · American writer and editor
Holman Day was an American writer and editor, born in Vassalboro, Maine, in 1865. He worked in journalism and wrote novels and poetry. His novels include King Spruce, published in 1908, and The Landloper, published in 1915. He later lived in California and died in Mill Valley in 1935.
More like this
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in adventure
See all
Free
Free
Free
