Description

Set on the high ground at the heart of Cape Ann, the village of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and "witches." Among the inhabitants of this hamlet are Black Ruth, who dresses as a man and works as a stonemason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of his aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave. At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself against all imaginable odds.

Rendered in stunning, haunting detail, with Diamant's keen ear for language and profound compassion for her characters, The Last Days of Dogtown is an extraordinary retelling of a long-forgotten chapter of early American life.

About the Author

Anita Diamant is the bestselling author of the novels The Red Tent, Good Harbor,  and The Last Days of Dogtown, as well as the collection of essays, Pitching My Tent. An award-winning journalist whose work has appeared regularly in The Boston Globe Magazine and Parenting, she is the author of six nonfiction guides to contemporary Jewish life. She lives in Massachusetts. Her most recent novel is Day After Night. Visit her website at www.anitadiamant.com.

Praise for The Last Days of Dogtown…

"The book has a compelling, page-turning pull...with spare yet vividly descriptive prose."

-- The Boston Globe

"[Diamant's] theme -- that life teems even as it dwindles -- has all the more power for its subtle, unsentimental articulation."

-- The Washington Post

"[A] superb historical novel."

-- Baltimore Sun

"The book is haunting.... [It] will linger with you for days."

-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A quiet tribute to love's power."

-- The Miami Herald

"An excellent novel."

-- The New York Times Book Review