Seasoned Timber [B1871]

1939 HC with a textured cloth cover, in nice clean condition (missing its original slipcase). From the author of the beloved children's classic, Understood Betsy. "Nobody values anything for its endurance nowadays," muses T. C. Hulme, headmaster of the Clifford, Vermont Academy. Long devoted to the school and to his eccentric aunt, T. C. is increasingly aware that life is passing him by. His hopes are renewed when he falls in love with a new teacher 20 years his junior. But as Dorothy Canfield Fisher shows, neither love nor Academy life runs smooth. A younger suitor steps in, and a rich, out-of-state trustee dies and leaves the Academy a million-dollar 'gift' in his will. The codicils are troubling however: Jews must be excluded, girls ousted, and local students squeezed out by a tuition hike. The affront to a Yankee sense of fair play is clear, but the school desperately needs funds. Thus T. C. and the town confront a struggle between the 'old' virtues of tolerance, integrity, and civic responsibility and 'modern' attitudes of expediency, exclusionism, and outside control.

Originally published in 1939, Fisher's last novel is remarkably prescient in its defense of human rights and the ramifications of their denial.

From the few (and mixed) Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "On the whole, I really loved the writing and enjoyed the story. I didn't like that the romance portion of this story was so built up during the first portion of the book and then just cast into the shadows, but perhaps that was Fisher's way of being real and raw and true to life? I was strengthened by the fight to save the school from the dirty money! I loved all the speeches about freedom and values and morals. Timothy Hulme is a character worthy of admiration for his ideals and his expression of those ideals. This book was published in 1939 - right in the middle of Hitler's evil reign and Fisher put the perfect words into her characters Mr. Dewey and Timothy Hulme as well as many others."; "This novel was double-sided for me. When it was telling the story of Timothy Hulme, principal of The Academy I really enjoyed it. When it became a thinly veiled dissertation on Socialist ideals, I wearied of it."; "Maple syrup tapped straight from the tree, crackling fires, stone and wood. The kind of book that creates its own charming atmosphere--one that's sometimes hard to escape from when you put it down. And it tells a good story, and asks questions about the necessity of roots, about the meaning of progress, and the truths of love. If you're looking to fall into a book and come out washed in the deep well, it doesn't get much better."; "Call it old fashioned if you will, but it is very satisfying to read about people who care about themselves, others, and their town. A bit long, but very rewarding."