From the author of The Rope Walk, here is the story of a woman’s life in its twilight, as she looks back on a harrowing childhood and on the unaccountable love and happiness that emerged from it.
Ruth has always stood firmly beside her upstanding, brilliant husband, Peter, the legendary chief of New England’s Derry School for boys. The childless couple has a unique, passionate bond that grew out of Ruth’s arrival on Peter’s family’s doorstep as a young girl orphaned by tragedy. And though sometimes frustrated by her role as lifelong helpmate, Ruth is awed by her good fortune in her life with Peter. As the novel opens, we see the Derry School in all its glorious fall colors and witness the loosening of the aging Peter’s grasp: he will soon have to retire, and Ruth is wondering what they will do in their old age, separated from the school into which they have poured everything, including their savings. The narrative takes us back through the years, revealing the explosive spark and joy between Ruth and Peter—undiminished now that they are in their seventies—and giving us a deeply felt portrait of a woman from a generation that quietly put individual dreams aside for the good of a partnership, and of the ongoing gift of the right man’s love.
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Carrie Brown is the author of five novels and a collection of short stories. Awards she has received include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award, the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, and, twice, the Library of Virginia Literary Award. Her short fiction has appeared in One Story, Glimmer Train, The Georgia Review, andThe Oxford American. She lives with her husband, the writer John Gregory Brown, in Virginia, where she is distinguished visiting professor of creative writing at Hollins University.
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Seller: Orion Tech, Kingwood, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 0307908038-3-26378711
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Hardback. Condition: Good. Ruth and Peter have been married more than fifty years. He is the headmaster of the Derry School, a boys' boarding school in Maine; she has spent the four decades of her husband's tenure helping out wherever she is needed. But Peter's retirement is approaching, and Ruth wonders what will become of them when it finally arrives. How will they survive separated from the school into which they have poured everything, including their savings? As the story takes us back through the years, revealing the explosive spark and joy that brought Ruth and Peter together in their youth, The Last First Day becomes a deeply felt portrait of a woman from a generation that quietly put individual dreams aside for the good of the partnership, and of the ongoing gift of loving and being loved in return. Seller Inventory # 00103447321
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Hardback. Condition: Good. Ruth and Peter have been married more than fifty years. He is the headmaster of the Derry School, a boys' boarding school in Maine; she has spent the four decades of her husband's tenure helping out wherever she is needed. But Peter's retirement is approaching, and Ruth wonders what will become of them when it finally arrives. How will they survive separated from the school into which they have poured everything, including their savings? As the story takes us back through the years, revealing the explosive spark and joy that brought Ruth and Peter together in their youth, The Last First Day becomes a deeply felt portrait of a woman from a generation that quietly put individual dreams aside for the good of the partnership, and of the ongoing gift of loving and being loved in return. Seller Inventory # CIN0307908038G
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Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. First Ed 1st Printing. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 390243-6
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