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Originally Posted by bfisher
Thanks, Bookworm_Girl. I thought that the part where old Mrs. Lee visits was really well done; she must have been working from specific memories.
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Interesting comments, bfisher. I felt the same way that there were some strong and some weak elements to the novel and attribute it to being one of her first novels. I also felt that there were some things that were too stereotypical as if she were trying to capture too many opinions and statements into a single novel. Perhaps there could have been fewer characters and more development of them. Another example is that she threw some political statements about William Jennings Bryan and the free silver movement into the book that seemed abrupt rather than fluidly integrated. Lastly I understood Carl's character development through his art career in the big city but did he really need to go off prospecting in the Klondike? I have some more to say later after I've thought about the book a bit longer. Maybe readers of the day would have thought of these events more fluidly because they were current events to them.
Many of her characters in her books are based on family members, friends and neighbors from her childhood. I wouldn't be surprised if she had specific memories of old women and farmers that influenced the character of Mrs. Lee!