Speak to the Winds
Three generations after Chin Island was inhabited by a bustling community of laborers, only a few families remain. A feud begins on Christmas Day, troubling the remaining inhabitants when they gossip and fan the flames of conflict. Two warring factions collide as the kindly Elbridge Gilman attempts to stop them along with his quick-tempered partner, Liseo MacGimsey. Readers will enjoy Ruth Moore's excellent descriptions of gales, dashing waves, and New England cooking. Speak to the Winds, originally published in 1956, remains a classic that still draws glowing reviews.
Ruth Moore
Born and raised in the Maine fishing village of Gotts Island, Ruth Moore (1903–1989) emerged as one of the most important Maine authors of the twentieth century, best known for her authentic portrayals of Maine people and her evocative descriptions of the state. In her time, she was favorably compared to Faulkner and Steinbeck. She graduated from Albany State Teacher’s College and worked at a variety of jobs in New York, Washington, D.C., and California, including as personal secretary to Mary White Ovington, a founder of the NAACP, and as an editor at Reader’s Digest. Her second novel, Spoonhandle soared to great success, spending fourteen weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and was made into the movie, Deep Waters. The success of Spoonhandle gave her the financial security to build a house in Bass Harbor and spend the rest of her life writing novels in her home state. Ultimately, she wrote fourteen novels. Moore and her partner, Eleanor Mayo, traveled extensively, but never again lived outside of Maine. Moore died in Bar Harbor in 1989, leaving a nearly unmatched literary legacy.
