Code 10 (Ten), Code 7 (Seven)

From the dj: Out of the past comes an example of a life lived to the fullest, in adherence to the qualities most admired at a time when America was young. The life of Napoleon Hubert Gilbert, known as 'NH', takes us back, deep into the 19th century and on into the 20th century. For his admiring grandson, and the author of this fictionalized biography, whose life he profoundly influenced, NH or Grandpa, was a trailblazer, showing his grandson unmistakably the way to a truly good life. Hard times in Quebec of the 1870s drove 11 year old NH and his family from their farmland to New Hampshire. A willing and hard-working youngster, NH helps support the family and begins to make his way in the world. Later, disappointment comes when he is not accepted by the parents of Annie Charrette, the only girl he has ever loved. He continues to love her from afar, when she weds another and becomes the mother of three daughters, loving her even during her year of mourning after her husband dies. But will she accept him after this? This story is completely absorbing, with the mellow flavor of life in the late 19th century. Continuing into the second and third generations, it is a vivid historical novel.