Other Fiction Harte, Bret: The Argonauts of North Liberty. v1. 24 Nov 2014

[crutledge]

Francis Bret Harte (August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, fiction, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. As he moved from California to the eastern U.S. to Europe, he incorporated new subjects and characters into his stories, but his Gold Rush tales have been most often reprinted, adapted, and admired.

The Argonauts of North Liberty is a longer tale by Harte. Taking place in a staunchly reserved Presbyterian society, it illustrates in its heroine the revolt of an unruly and unregenerate nature against a Puritan society. North Liberty is a Connecticut town, and the "Argonauts" are a man and woman who migrate to California to begin life again, escaping the strictures of their earlier life, like the "Blue Law" setting of the opening. Once in California, Harte's feel for the time and setting can take full flower.

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