The Last Days of Dogtown: A Novel

Diamant, Anita

ISBN 10: 0743550978 ISBN 13: 9780743550970

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2005

Synopsis

A magnificent storyteller with vast imaginative range, Anita Diamant gave voice to the silent women of the Old Testament in The Red Tent. Now, in her third novel, she brings to vivid life an early New England world that history has forgotten.Set on Cape Ann in the early 1800s, The Last Days of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and "witches." Among the inhabitants of Dogtown is Black Ruth, an African woman who dresses as a man and works as a stone mason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her rural brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of a very strange aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave whose race denies him everything. At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself and inspires those around her to become more generous and tolerant themselves.This is a story of hardship and resilience -- and an extraordinary re-creation of an untold chapter of early American life. With a keen ear for language and profound compassion for her characters, Diamant has created her most moving and powerful story.

About this title

About the Author:

Anita Diamant is the bestselling author of the novels The Red Tent, Good Harbor,  and The Last Days of Dogtown, as well as the collection of essays, Pitching My Tent. An award-winning journalist whose work has appeared regularly in The Boston Globe Magazine and Parenting, she is the author of six nonfiction guides to contemporary Jewish life. She lives in Massachusetts. Her most recent novel is Day After Night. Visit her website at www.anitadiamant.com.

Kate Nelligan received Tony nominations for her performances in Spoils of War, Serious Money, A Moon for the Misbegotten, and Plenty, for which she also received the Olivier Award in London. Her films include How to Make an American Quilt, The Prince of Tides (Oscar nom), Frankie and Johnny (DW Griffith & British Academy Awards), Fatal Instinct, Eye of the Needle, Eleni, and White Room. She received an Emmy nomination for her performance on the television series The Road to Avonlea.

From AudioFile:

Anita Diamant's stark sketch of a group of society's throwaways focuses on the once promising community of Dogtown, near Gloucester, Mass. By 1814, the area is reduced to broken-down hovels populated by wild dogs, whores, emancipated slaves, destitute widows and orphans, who survive by wile, duplicity, and sheer force of will. Kate Nelligan's performance highlights these examples of human resilience, from Black Ruth, an African woman who dresses like a man; to Tammy, a vicious old woman who torments her orphaned nephew; to Judy, whose taboo love affair with Cornelius, a freed slave, is fraught with danger. With unsentimental eloquence, Nelligan embodies the free-thinking spirit of these New Englanders and handles individual joys and tragedies with compassion. A fascinating book and an extraordinary performance. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0743550978
• ISBN 13: 9780743550970
• Binding: Audio Cassette
• Number of pages: 6