10 h 48 minAudiobook6 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
What does a young woman owe to home when her hopes reach beyond the hills?
In Eliot H. Robinson’s 'Smiles': A Rose of the Cumberlands, the Appalachian hills form the world of a warm-hearted romance. Its heroine, known as Smiles, is a bright, kind young woman in a rough mountain setting. The Cumberland ridges and hollows give this story of rural life its home.
The novel belongs to a tradition that looks closely at families, local speech and hard daily work. Its central concerns are love, sacrifice and the courage to dream beyond familiar hills. Through Smiles, it invites you to consider the pull of belonging alongside the hope of a wider life, without dismissing the claims of either.
What you’ll discover
- A bright mountain heroine Meet Smiles, whose kindness stands out against the roughness of her mountain world.
- A place to enter Step among Cumberland ridges and hollows, where rural life gives the story its roots.
- Home and wider horizons Consider the quiet tension between loyalty to family and the courage to pursue dreams.
- Warmth at its heart Spend time with a romance shaped by love, sacrifice and hope beyond the hills.
- The ties of community Explore a world where families, daily work and local speech deserve close attention.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy warm, old-fashioned romance, mountain settings, nursing and medicine, and heroines who follow a calling. It suits anyone who likes faith and friendship woven through a story of the early 1900s.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lost hunter finds a smiling girl
- A dream grows from a single night
- A wandering preacher and a bloody morning
- Weak hearts, a hidden still and a lost friend
- A winter of sickness and a midnight telegram
- A surgeon, a nurse and a kitchen table
- From cabin to hospital and into a war
- What the story is really about
- How the book is told
Who’s who
- Rose Webb, called SmilesA kind, brave mountain girl raised by Big Jerry, she dreams of becoming a trained nurse and caring for sick children.
- Dr. Donald MacDonaldA blunt, gifted Boston children's surgeon who stumbles into the girl's life and becomes her guardian and friend.
- Big Jerry WebbA giant, gray-bearded old mountaineer and former marksman who raised Smiles as his own and cannot bear to lose her.
- Judd AmosA proud, brooding young neighbor who loves Smiles deeply, makes moonshine and sees Donald as a rival.
- Mr. John TalmadgeA gentle wandering minister who teaches Smiles, and helps Donald find a faith he thought he had lost.
- Gertrude MerrimanA skilled and cheerful nurse who works with Donald and becomes Smiles's loyal friend and guide in the city.
- Dr. Philip BentleyDonald's closest friend and fellow doctor, kind and witty, who becomes fond of Smiles during Donald's time away.
- Marion TrevilleA beautiful, proud Boston society woman engaged to Donald, who values comfort and position above his work.
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- Audiobook
- 10 h 48 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 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.
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Read and hear 'Smiles': A Rose of the Cumberlands 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.
'Smiles': A Rose of the Cumberlands
by Eliot H. Robinson · 1919
A barefoot mountain girl called Smiles sets out to become a nurse, and a Boston surgeon cannot stop her.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Smiles: A Rose of the Cumberlands, by Eliot H. Robinson, is an early twentieth century novel set just before and during the First World War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A lost hunter finds a smiling girl
Donald MacDonald, a Boston children's specialist, is lost in the forest on a hunting trip. Hostile dogs drive him to a cabin door, and he tumbles in, spilling hot stew on the ankle of a girl of about sixteen. She laughs at his fall instead of scolding him.
Her grandfather, the giant mountaineer Big Jerry Webb, welcomes him. The neighbors call the girl Smiles. A jealous young neighbor, Judd Amos, arrives soaked and scowling, and plainly dislikes the stranger.
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What is Smiles: A Rose of the Cumberlands about?
It follows Rose Webb, a mountain girl called Smiles, who meets a Boston children's surgeon and resolves to become a trained nurse. The story covers her home in the Cumberlands, a medical emergency, her hospital training and her friendship with the surgeon.
Who is Smiles in the book?
Smiles is the nickname of Rose Webb, a girl found as a small child by Big Jerry Webb and raised in his cabin. The neighbors call her Smiles because of the bright, warm smile that comforts everyone around her.
Is Smiles a true story?
No, it is a novel by Eliot H. Robinson, written in the early twentieth century. The story includes hospital training, First World War Red Cross work and mountain customs.
The author
Eliot H. Robinson
American novelist
Eliot Harlow Robinson wrote this novel in the early twentieth century. In his dedication he names his boys, and in his thanks he mentions doctors and nurses who helped him with the medical chapters. His book shows a deep interest in children's medicine, nursing and the life of the Appalachian mountains.
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