Herbs and Apples by Helen Hooven Santmyer

Ellen's Comments:   I remember the publicity when And the Ladies of the Club was published, but I never got around to reading it. I like to read books in the order in which the author wrote them, so I chose Herbs and Apples, Santmyer’s first published novel. It is autobiographical was first published in 1925, and reissued in 1985. While reviews say, “obviously a first novel,” or “stilted language,” I found the story charming and enlightening.

Here is the story of a fiercely independent girl growing up in small-town Xenia (aka Tecumseh) Ohio, at the turn of the century (19th to 20th). The tension between being true to herself and fitting in with her contemporaries is not dated, nor is the turmoil of doubt about one’s own abilities and one’s place in the world.

The novel is divided into four parts: growing up, college, “young working,” and maturity. I found the second and third parts most fascinating: the experiences of a group of girls going to an exclusive Eastern college and then moving on to live and work in New York City as the nation avoided and then moved toward involvement in World War I. A few years ago, my daughter discovered some diaries of a young woman who lived and worked in Washington D.C. and New York about the same time. I could picture Belle’s days as these girls worked, shopped, went to movies and plays, dated, and pondered the meaning of life, and could imagine myself among them.

It’s interesting to see life through the eyes of these very intelligent young women who could discuss literature, politics, music, art, and the human condition, but whose goal in life was to marry, have children, and generally be an asset for their husbands. We’ve come a long way, baby! (Check status at GPL)