Ruth Moore was a literary giant of regional fiction during the mid—20th Century, compared favorably to William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Flannery O'Connor. Moore was born in the tiny Maine island fishing village of Gotts Island and brought her upbringing to her writing. Few other authors have so authentically captured coastal Maine, its people, and the midcentury as Moore, while also telling universal tales of human drama that went beyond the patch of rocky soil on which her stories were set. The New York Times declared, "It is doubtful if any American writer has ever done a better job of communicating a people, their talk, their thoughts, their geography, and their way of life." This new collection of her work features excerpts from Moore's novels, ballads, and poetry that showcase her brilliant writing and prove its staying power and influence on regional writing today.