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Stolen scripts, a rocky coast, and a suspicious town: how can a young screenwriter protect her work and her name?
In Ruth Fielding Down East by Alice B. Emerson, Ruth carries her ambitions into the world of motion pictures. Her scripts belong to her, but keeping what she has made becomes a fight. On the northeastern coast, her livelihood and her good name are at stake.
At Beach Plum Point, a solitary hermit draws his neighbors’ suspicion. Ruth wants to understand him, not simply follow the talk. With loyal Helen Cameron and her brother Tom beside her, she faces a seaside mystery that calls for patience, courage, and a refusal to give up.
What you’ll discover
- A writer standing firm Follow Ruth as she fights to protect the scripts born from her work and imagination.
- Mystery beside the sea Explore a rocky shore where a lonely man's way of life invites uneasy questions.
- Friends who stand close Meet Helen and Tom Cameron, whose loyalty gives Ruth allies when trouble comes.
- The early movie world Step into Ruth's working life as a young woman writing stories for the screen.
- One more short chapter Enjoy clear scenes and fresh worries that keep this friendly adventure moving.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love a friendly mystery with a spirited heroine, gentle humor and a wartime setting. It will please fans of early moving pictures and loyal friendships.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The missing pages threaten Ruth's work
- Friends offer a way forward
- Ruth makes room for Bella
- Helping someone steadies Ruth's nerves
- A discarded scrap becomes a clue
- Ruth recognizes her stolen story
- Being right still leaves Ruth alone
- Ruth holds steady under pressure
- Action helps Ruth face uncertainty
Who’s who
- Ruth FieldingA young screenwriter and Red Cross veteran who loses her finest scenario and is determined to find out who took it.
- Tom CameronA captain in the army and Ruth's loyal friend, who plans the road trip to cheer her up.
- Helen CameronTom's twin sister, quick with a joke and a teasing remark, who stands by Ruth even when she grumbles.
- Jennie StoneCalled Heavy, a cheerful and plump college friend who fears ants and ghosts and is engaged to a French colonel.
- Colonel Henri MarchandA French officer, spy and actor who is learning American slang and loves Jennie.
- Mr. HammondPresident of the Alectrion Film Corporation, who is filming Ruth's Seaside Idyl and offers a prize for a good script.
- Bella PikeA fourteen-year-old girl who is proud of her actor father and longs to find him.
- John the hermitA mysterious man who lives in a shack on Beach Plum Point and wants the prize money for his scenario.
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Ruth Fielding Down East in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Ruth Fielding Down East
by Alice B. Emerson · 1920
A thunderstorm strikes a riverside summerhouse, leaving screenwriter Ruth Fielding without her prized scenario.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
A girl sits in a vine-covered summerhouse beside a river, a gold-mounted pen in her hand and her best work spread on the table. A storm rolls in over the hills.
Ruth Fielding Down East at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 40 min2 h 10 min fast, 3 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 38,400 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1920by Alice B. Emerson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A storm empties the summerhouse table
The story opens on a hot summer afternoon at the Red Mill, the farm where Ruth Fielding grew up. She sits in a summerhouse above the Lumano River, marking up the typed pages of a new scenario. Dark clouds gather, but she is too busy to watch them.
Then a car horn sounds. Tom Cameron arrives in his racer with his twin sister Helen. Ruth runs out to greet them and leaves her papers, notebooks and gold pen on the table. The wind arrives, and everyone hurries into the farmhouse. Ruth races back to the summerhouse. The table is bare.
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Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- English
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Emerson, Alice B. Ruth Fielding Down East. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-fielding-down-east.
Emerson, A. B. (2026). Ruth Fielding Down East. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-fielding-down-east (Original work published 1920)
Emerson, Alice B. Ruth Fielding Down East. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-fielding-down-east.
@book{emerson2026ruth,
author = {Emerson, Alice B.},
title = {Ruth Fielding Down East},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-fielding-down-east},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is Ruth Fielding Down East about?
It follows Ruth Fielding, a young screenwriter, after her new scenario vanishes from a summerhouse. Her friends take her on an automobile trip to a Maine film camp, where she finds a clue and has to prove what happened.
Who is Bella Pike in Ruth Fielding Down East?
Bella is a fourteen-year-old girl whom Ruth meets at the Drovers' Tavern. She is proud of her actor father, mistreated by her aunt, and helped by Ruth, and she reappears later at the movie camp.
Do I need to read the earlier Ruth Fielding books first?
No. The story gives short reminders of Ruth's past adventures, including school, college, film work and Red Cross service, so a new reader can follow the action and the friendships without the earlier volumes.
The author
Alice B. Emerson
Collective pseudonym for children's writers
Alice B. Emerson is the name under which the Ruth Fielding series was published. Like many series for young readers in the early twentieth century, the books appeared under a shared pen name and were written by hired authors. The series follows Ruth from the Red Mill through school, college, film work and war service.
More by Alice B. Emerson
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