The Orchard: A Memoir - Softcover

Robertson, Adele Crockett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553378597 ISBN 13: 9780553378597

Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback, 1997

Synopsis

The Orchard is an exquisitely beautiful and poignant memoir of a young woman's single-handed struggle to save her New England farm in the depths of the Great Depression. Recently discovered by the author's daughter, it tells the story of Adele "Kitty" Robertson, young and energetic, but unprepared by her Radcliffe education for the rigors of apple farming in those bitter times. Alone at the end of a country road, with only a Great Dane for company, plagued by debts, broken machinery, and killing frosts, Kitty revives the old orchard after years of neglect. Every day is a struggle, but every day she is also rewarded by the beauty of the world and the unexpected kindness of neighbors and hired workers.
Animated by quiet courage and simple goodness, The Orchard stands as a deeply moving celebration of decency and beauty in the midst of grim prospects and crushing poverty.

About this title

About the Author:

Adele Crockett Robertson was an award-winning writer from New England. John Updike called her memoir The Orchard "brave and beautiful." Her essays and columns frequently appeared in the Ipswich Chronicle and were compiled into a book called Measuring Time—by an Hourglass under the name Kitty Crockett Robertson.

From Library Journal:

Robertson, a Radcliffe graduate, left a comfortable life in Boston during the Depression to grow apples in the family orchard near Ipswich, Massachusetts, from 1932 to 1934. This remarkable woman survived near poverty; cold winters; faulty plumbing; frozen pipes; the specter of unsold, spoiled apples; and harassment from the local bank. She describes her experiences learning how to operate and repair a tractor, digging a well, packing and storing apples, and other tasks involved in running a successful orchard. The loyal workers who helped her run the farm and the university purchasing agent who bought her apples and introduced her to new clients helped make her lot bearable. In the epilog, written by her daughter, we learn that although the farm was later sold, Robertson continued to live in the house, married, and became active in the community as a shop steward, local radio reporter, historian, and journalist and did a stint in office as a selectwoman. This absorbing tale is recommended for all collections focusing on the contributions of women or American agriculture.?Irwin Weintraub, Rutgers Univ. Libs., Piscataway, N.J.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0553378597
• ISBN 13: 9780553378597
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256