Jan 2, 2010

The Country of the Pointed Firs | Critical Overview

Jewett is widely regarded as one of the best American local color authors of the nineteenth century, and The Country of the Pointed Firs is indisputably her masterpiece. At the time of its initial publication in 1896, Jewett was firmly established as one of the leading writers of her day and a master of the “local color” tale, vividly portrayed through her Maine coast characters in previous stories. Paula Blanchard observes that, by 1891, Jewett “was one of America’s best-loved and most admired authors.”

The Country of the Pointed Firs was warmly received...