Audiobook · read by volunteers
Deephaven
Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909)
Read by Betsie Bush · 13 chapters · 5 h 18
About the book
Two young women leave the city for the summer and settle in an old house in a quiet Maine seaport, and the visit changes how they see the world. Kate and her friend spend their days exploring the harbour, talking with sea captains, visiting an elderly woman who lives surrounded by memories, and getting to know the people of a town that has seen better times. There is no great plot, only the slow, affectionate pleasure of looking closely at ordinary lives. Sarah Orne Jewett writes with a clear, calm voice that makes everyday events feel remarkable and gives dignity to the humblest of characters. Deephaven is a book of gentle charm, perfect for listeners who love place, memory and quiet, careful storytelling. It is a book to savour rather than to hurry through.
Introduction
Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909) was an American writer from Maine, best remembered for her stories and sketches of New England life. Deephaven was her first book, published in 1877, and it grew out of sketches that first appeared in magazines. It is already marked by the qualities readers later admired in her more famous work: a precise eye, a love of the coast and its people, and a refusal to dramatise what needs no embellishment.
The thirteen chapters are linked by the summer visit rather than by a conventional plot. They include the arrival at the Brandon house and its lighthouse, an encounter with a lady of the old school and a widow, and further scenes of village life. Along the way the book touches on class, the passing of an older maritime world and the friendship between the two women. It is a good choice for anyone looking for a restful, atmospheric story with a strong sense of a vanished time and place.
There is also a strong sense of friendship between the two friends, who learn as much from each other as from the townspeople. Jewett’s sketches of old sea captains, faded houses and local customs preserve a way of life that was already changing when she wrote, and they reveal her deep affection for it.
Thirteen recordings, about 5.3 hours in all, are read by a LibriVox volunteer, and the unhurried pace suits the book: this is a summer to spend in installments, one chapter at a time, as the days in Deephaven go by. Anyone who has enjoyed a quiet seaside holiday will recognise the mood.
Public domain
Sarah Orne Jewett died in 1909: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text