Richard, “Dick” Dale is a New York artist who has come to the salt marshes of Sussex, Massachusetts (a placeholder for Essex, Massachusetts) to do some sketching. When the bloke meant to pick him up fails to arrive, Dale takes a wander, arriving at the Owen family homestead. There, he meets Doris Owen and is immediately smitten. But he’s not the only one. The local blacksmith, Dan Lester — the best friend of Israel Owen, Doris’s brother who died in the Civil War — also has conniptions for Doris; he just hasn’t been able to express his feelings. Doris is not clueless. She knows that both men are after her. But who will she choose? The New York dilettante (who resembles her dead brother… did I mention that bit?) or the quiet, hard-working, but quick-to-sulk local boy?

I read the edition of A Marsh Island, edited by Don James McLaughlin. He does a terrific job teasing out the queer themes in the novel via a lengthy essay and annotated text (which, amongst other things, points out where the book differs from the version serialised in the Atlantic Monthly).

The informative handholding from McLaughlin is a much-appreciated added benefit to an already elegant, subtle novel. Jewett beautifully evokes the Essex countryside, the marsh, the swirling hay that changes with the tide, the sparkling summer colour. It’s also a very kind novel. Jewett loves all her characters, allowing not only our three protagonists but also Mr and Mrs Owen to speak for themselves to express their desires and fears. There’s also a haunted quality to the story; as McLaughlin points out, the Owens are still struggling to process the death of their son. This is suggested in Mr and Mrs Owen seeing their son in the colour of Dick’s eyes, but also the sensation, felt especially by Dick, that Israel is present, at times experiencing the world through Dick. All of it, these different textures and tones, are handled with astonishing deftness and skill. 

A Marsh Island is a hidden treasure of a novel (McLaughlin admits that very few have heard of it, let alone read it), and much like Dick and Dan’s feelings towards Holly, I was besotted with it.

(I know I bang on about Backlisted, but whether you read this novel or not, I would heavily recommend that you listen to the episode on the book. Noreen Masud, in particular, is marvellous).