Joseph Asten, a sensitive young farmer in rural Pennsylvania who lives with his aunt Rachel Miller, startles the household by dressing in his Sunday suit to court the city-bred Julia Blessing. His hasty marriage soon proves a mistake, and his consolation becomes his passionate friendship with the worldly Philip Held, a bond that has led modern readers to see the book as an early American novel of love between men.
A thoughtful 1870 novel of country life and feeling, increasingly read for its portrait of male intimacy. Download the free EPUB.